Traditional Tuckpointing

Traditional Tuckpointing is all about the importance in using the correct methods and materials, there are so many factors that come into play when working on heritage buildings and with traditional lime mortars. Of course the final result is extremely important as this is what the customer gets to see, but what is as important is the materials used to get these results and the knowledge and experience in using such materials, which these days is so often overlooked, we are proud to be one of only a very few traditional tuckpointers left.

To get high quality work the craftsman needs to be diligent in all aspects of the finish from job preparation to maturing the lime, aggregate selection to colours and curing, each part of the procedure is as important as the next, and all comes with years of experience working with traditional mortars.

Traditional tuckpointing is a way of repointing masonry to give the observer the impression of gauged work, traditional work is one of the hardest finishes to execute and takes many years to master and if done well can be very impressive, a traditional tuckpointer will look at their work as more as an art form than a trade. Our advice to anyone thinking of getting restoration work done is to do plenty of research.

Today tuckpointing is almost exclusively reserved for use on old brickwork which is being restored to its original joint finish. The techniques and materials used have changed little down the centuries, but it is important to know how it would have been executed traditionally, and to relate this to the methods employed today. Dr Gerard Lynch - The Red Mason