What Is Repointing?
Written by James Walker · Last reviewed 16 August 2026
James Walker has 2 degrees in construction (BSc (Hons) Building Surveying · MSc Environmental Design of Buildings) and an extensive background in issue resolution, resolving over £4 billion of consumer issues.
Pointing is the mortar finish between bricks or stones. Repointing is raking out the old mortar and replacing it, usually because it has eroded, cracked or fallen out.
Why it matters
Failed pointing lets water into the wall. That water then shows up inside as damp, frequently at low level, where it is mistaken for rising damp and treated with an injected damp course that does nothing about the actual cause.
Checking the pointing is one of the first things a competent damp surveyor does.
The cement problem
On older solid-wall buildings, repointing in hard cement mortar causes damage.
Traditional walls were built with soft lime mortar so that moisture escapes through the joints rather than through the brick. A harder cement joint forces moisture out through the brick face instead, which then spalls and crumbles, a much more expensive problem than the pointing was.
On anything built before roughly 1919, ask specifically whether lime mortar is being used and why.
What to check in a quote
The mortar type and mix, how deep the old mortar is being raked out, and the joint profile. Pointing that is simply smeared over the old surface without raking out will fail quickly.
How it works
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