Flatbush Repointing
Brick Pointing in Flatbush, Brooklyn
Fresh mortar joints for the pre war apartment buildings, brick row houses and older detached homes between Church Avenue and Cortelyou Road.
- Facades, parapets and chimneys
- Mortar chosen to suit the brick
- Free visit and a written price
What Mortar Problems Do Flatbush Buildings Have?
Flatbush buildings mostly show open joints on street facades, crumbling mortar at parapets and chimneys, and stained walls where water has been getting in. Many buildings here are pre war, so the mortar has been through decades of freezing winters and is often past its useful life.
Flatbush mixes building types more than most Brooklyn neighborhoods. Pre war apartment buildings line the big avenues, brick row houses fill many side streets, and large detached houses stand in the Ditmas Park and Prospect Park South sections. Each one fails a little differently.
- Open joints on avenue facades
- Crumbling parapet mortar
- Loose brick at chimney tops
- Water stains after rain
- Hard old patches cracking brick
- Sand at the base of walls
Apartment buildings along Flatbush Avenue, Nostrand Avenue and Coney Island Avenue often have tall street walls that take the worst of the weather. On those buildings the parapet is usually the first place to fail, because water hits it from the top and both sides.
Mortar Falling Out of Your Flatbush Wall?
Send a photo of the joints. We will tell you what section needs work and what can wait.
How We Fix It
How Is a Flatbush Wall Repointed?
The crew grinds or chisels out the loose mortar to a proper depth, cleans the joints, and packs in new mortar in layers. The finished joint is tooled to match the wall. We choose the mix after checking the brick, since mortar that is harder than the brick can damage it.
Older Flatbush brick is often softer than modern brick. That makes tool control important, because a careless cut chips the edge of the brick along with the joint. We cut carefully and keep the original joint profile where it survives.
On taller buildings the work needs a scaffold or a lift, and that is part of the written estimate. Chimneys and parapets are usually done first, since they let in the most water.
Do Flatbush Historic Districts Affect Brick Pointing?
They can. Greater Flatbush contains Prospect Park South, Ditmas Park, Ditmas Park West and Albemarle-Kenmore Terraces historic districts. Work on facades inside a district may need Landmarks Preservation Commission approval, so confirm the rules for your address with the city before repointing begins.
Outside the districts, most repointing does not need a landmark review. Tall buildings are a separate matter. Under Local Law 11, buildings taller than six stories must have their facades inspected every five years, and the repairs that follow often include pointing.
Where a permit is needed, we handle the filing along with the job. Ask us about your building and we will tell you what we know, then point you to the city for the current requirement.
Pricing
What Goes Into a Flatbush Repointing Estimate?
Price follows the wall area to be repointed, the height and the access equipment needed, how deep the old mortar has failed and how closely the new mortar must match. We look at the wall in person and write down a price, since a phone guess would mean little.
Wall area
A chimney and a full apartment facade are very different jobs, so we measure the joints that need work.
Height and access
Tall Flatbush buildings need a scaffold or a lift, and that setup is listed in the estimate.
Mortar match
Older brick may call for a softer lime based mix and slower, more careful cutting.
Brick condition
Spalled or loose brick has to be reset or replaced before the joints are filled.
On a detached house in Ditmas Park the work may be limited to a chimney and a few front wall sections. On a pre war apartment building the owner often decides in phases, with the parapet first, then the street facade, then the sides and rear.
Phasing is fine as long as each phase is finished properly. We write each phase as its own line so you can see what you are approving and plan the budget across seasons.
What Happens if Flatbush Owners Wait on Repointing?
Waiting lets water get deeper into the wall each season. Freezing water expands inside open joints and pushes brick faces off, and rusting steel behind the brick can swell and crack the wall. Small mortar repairs cost far less than rebuilding sections that failed while the joints stayed open.
The damage often shows up first inside. A stain on a plaster wall near an exterior corner, or peeling paint below a window, can trace back to a joint that has been open for years.
Signs you should not ignore
- Brick faces flaking or falling off the wall
- A crack that follows the mortar line in a stair step pattern
- Loose brick at a parapet, where a fall could reach the sidewalk
- Bushes of green growth or moss in the joints
On a street facade next to a busy Flatbush sidewalk, loose brick is also a safety issue for people walking below. If you see brick shifting at the roofline, tell us right away so we can look at it first.
Why Us
Why Flatbush Owners Choose Us
25+ years of masonry work
Older brick and lime mortar are familiar territory for a crew with our years in NYC.
Licensed and insured
Construction, injury and workers compensation insurance cover the job.
A price in writing
The estimate lists the scope, so you know what is being repointed and what is not.
Nearby
Brick Pointing Near Flatbush
The same crew repoints walls in the neighborhoods next to Flatbush.
FAQ
Flatbush Brick Pointing Questions
Scratch a joint with a key. If mortar comes away as sand, or you can slide the key in, the joint has failed. Stains inside after rain and gaps around the parapet are other signs.
Yes. Many owners start with the parapet and chimneys because they leak the most. We can price the rest of the facade as a separate phase.
People use the words loosely in New York. Both mean removing failing mortar and replacing it. We describe the exact scope in the written estimate so nothing is unclear.
It depends on the wall area and height. A small house front is a short job, while a tall facade takes longer because of scaffold setup. We give a schedule with the estimate.
We match it as closely as the wall allows. New mortar looks different at first and settles toward the old color as it weathers.
Yes. We serve Flatbush and give free on site estimates. Call (718) 468-8803 and we will set a time.
Free on site estimate
Repoint Your Flatbush Facade
Tell us about the building and we will arrange a look at the wall.
Contact
Request Your Flatbush Pointing Quote
Give us the address and say which walls concern you. Photos of the joints and the roofline help.
- Call us(718) 468-8803
- HoursMon to Sat, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM
- Free on site estimate with a written price
- Licensed and insured, 25+ years in business
- We handle DOT sidewalk permits
- Serving Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx
Get Your Free Estimate
Takes about a minute. No cost and no obligation.