Is Your Brick Crumbling? When Kansas Homes Need Tuckpointing

Run a screwdriver along the mortar between your bricks. If it crumbles out like sand, water's already getting in. That's what we get called for most on older Wichita homes — the brick looks fine, but the mortar holding it together is shot. Left alone through a Kansas winter, a cosmetic issue turns structural. Here's when brick needs tuckpointing and what it takes.

TUCKPOINTING IN KANSAS: THE QUICK VERSION

•  Tuckpointing means grinding out failed mortar and packing in fresh — it fixes the joints, not the brick.

•  Mortar is designed to fail before the brick does; crumbling joints are a repair, not a rebuild.

•  Chimneys, north-facing walls, and anything near grade go first because they stay wet the longest.

HOW TO TELL YOUR MORTAR IS FAILING

If mortar flakes, cracks, or scoops out with light pressure, the joints have failed and water is getting behind your brick. In Kansas that water freezes, expands, and starts pushing bricks loose — so what looks cosmetic is the start of real damage.

•  Powdery or receding joints you can dig into with a key or screwdriver.

•  Hairline cracks running through the mortar lines, especially on a chimney.

•  Bricks that feel loose, bulge out, or show white chalky staining (efflorescence).

📐 QUICK START: THE SCREWDRIVER TEST

Walk your home's brick and press a screwdriver into the mortar every few feet. Solid joints resist; failed ones crumble. Pay extra attention to the chimney and the shaded north wall — note where it's soft, and you've mapped your repair before anyone quotes it.

Found soft joints on your chimney? — Get a free masonry inspection before winter: 316-945-3232 in Wichita, 913-453-3232 in Kansas City.

WHAT PROPER TUCKPOINTING ACTUALLY TAKES

Real tuckpointing starts with grinding the old mortar out to depth — not smearing new mortar over the old. The joints get cut back cleanly, then packed with mortar matched to the original in color and strength, and tooled to shed water. Skip the grinding and the patch falls out in a season.

•  Old joints cut back to a consistent depth so the new mortar has something to grip.

•  New mortar matched to the brick's age and hardness, not just whatever's in the bag.

•  Joints tooled and sealed so water runs off the wall instead of into it.

📐 QUICK START: ASK HOW DEEP THEY GRIND

Before hiring anyone, ask: "How deep are you cutting the old joints, and what mortar are you matching to?" If they say they'll just trowel new mortar over the top, that's a skim coat, not tuckpointing — and it'll fail by spring.

Got a bid that sounds too quick? — Call for a second opinion — in-house masonry crews, no subs guessing on your home's brick.

🔧 FROM THE FIELD

The failed-tuckpointing callbacks are almost always the same shortcut: somebody troweled a thin coat of new mortar over the old, crumbling joints without grinding anything out. It looks fixed for a few months, then Kansas freeze-thaw gets behind it and the whole skim coat sheds off the wall. Chimneys are the worst offenders — weather on all four sides, and nobody looks until a brick lands in the yard. We grind the joints back and match the mortar to the original so the repair moves with the wall instead of fighting it. We also check the chimney crown while we're up there, because a cracked crown funnels water straight into the joints you just paid to fix.

STOP WATER BEFORE IT STOPS YOUR WALL

The brick isn't usually the problem — the mortar is, and it's a repair you can stay ahead of. Catch failing joints while they're cosmetic and tuckpointing is straightforward. Wait until bricks are loose and you're looking at a rebuild.

P.S. — Noticed crumbling mortar or a chimney that's seen better days? Get a free masonry inspection before the first hard freeze: 316-945-3232 (Wichita), 913-453-3232 (Kansas City), email the office, or visit our site. Financing available through Lyon Financial.

Written by Stan Stiverson, owner of B & B Builders Inc. — concrete, masonry, decks, and outdoor living built by our own in-house crews across Wichita, Kansas City, and surrounding communities. Free estimates: 316-945-3232 (Wichita) or 913-453-3232 (Kansas City).

Last reviewed: October 2026