Unpopular opinion: tuckpointing is harder than laying new brick

Had a talk with an old timer named Dave at the supply yard last week. He said guys fresh out of school all want to lay wall but can't fix their own mortar joints. I've been laying brick for 12 years and always thought tuckpointing was just cleanup work. Dave told me he spends more time matching color and texture than he ever did stacking block. It hit different cause I watched him fix a 100 year old church wall and you couldn't tell where new stopped and old started. Made me wonder if we should be training apprentices on repair work first instead of new builds. What do you think, is tuckpointing a lost art or just a pain in the ass?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_river1mo ago

You ever had to match a 100 year old mortar mix by eye? I helped a guy on a church job last summer and we spent three full days just testing colors on scrap brick before we even touched the wall. That part is WAY harder than laying new where everything is already matched up for you. What worked for me was getting real patient and learning to mix small batches with different sand colors until it looked like it belonged there. The payoff is worth it though when you step back and see your work blends in like it never got touched.

harper_wells1mo ago

You ever notice how matching mortar feels more like art than trade work? @the_river nailed it with that three day color test thing. I watched a guy on a job last fall spend two hours getting a single patch to look right, and by the time he was done you couldn't even see where he worked. That kind of patience is rare now. Every apprentice I've met wants to throw up a wall in a day, but they can't even tell you what kind of sand they're using.