The Problem
The owner of a 1928 Chicago bungalow in East Skokie had deferred the tuckpointing for two years while assessing the full scope. By the time we evaluated it, the north and west elevations were past the point of waiting - joints recessed 1/2 to 3/4 inch across most of both faces, with open voids at the north foundation line where mortar had fallen out.
The face brick was original 1920s Chicago common face brick, warm red and slightly varied in tone the way hand-sorted brick tends to be. It was structurally sound with no spalling. The risk was the mortar, which had carbonated enough to crumble at the surface in the worst sections.
A previous owner had repointed a section of the east elevation using a lighter, harder gray mortar. Three of those joints showed hairline cracking at the bond line where the harder mortar was stressing the soft original brick face.
Our Solution
We raked all four elevations to 3/4-inch depth with diamond blades. On face brick courses, grinding depth requires controlled passes - the face brick profile is thinner than the body and aggressive cutting can clip the edge. At corners, window reveals, and porch pier returns, we switched to hand tools.
The previous east elevation tuckpointing was assessed joint by joint. Where harder mortar had not yet cracked the brick, we raked and replaced it with the correct Type O mix. Where hairline cracks showed bond stress, we raked carefully to avoid disturbing the affected brick face.
The replacement mortar was Type O lime-rich, matched against original 1928 mortar from beneath the south windowsill overhang - a warm gray-tan with very fine aggregate. Our blend used fine silica sand at a high lime-to-Portland ratio consistent with pre-war specifications. A 48-hour test cure confirmed the color before full production. All joints were moistened, packed in two lifts, and tooled concave. Both front porch pier cap joints were packed with a slight outward slope at the leading edge to drain water clear of the pier face.
The Result
All four elevations and both porch piers show uniform concave joint depth. Mortar color matches the original surviving joints in sheltered areas. The mismatched hard-mortar section on the east elevation is gone, eliminating the stress concentration at those brick faces. The bungalow reads as one continuous surface.
