Masonry Magazine June 2004 Page. 19
As we do a professional job when building new sonry projects, we can achieve the same degree quality through acquired knowledge when tack-older structures.
The word "tuckpointing" once referred to a specialized application of pointing that consisted of first sanding the bricks to a smooth, even surface (Figure 2), then masking the original mortar joint with a thin one that matched the brick in color, usually red (Figure 3). One would have created - up to this point - the illusion of looking at a solid wall of clay, as opposed to a wall consisting of individual bricks (Figure 4). Then, after having rubbed the red mortar with a piece of jute and dying the work to a uniform color, fine lines were cut with a knife into the "masking" mortar while it was still soft, in a rigidly symmetrical fashion to produce a perfect geometrical outline of each brick. At that point, a fine, usually white, lime putty mortar joint was tucked over the lines and meticulously manicured, you might want to say, so as to create the illusion that the wall had been laid with perfectly rectangular bricks in a mortar bed as thin as 1/16th of an inch! (Figure 5)
Tuckpointing originated in England in the 17th century as a cheaper alternative to gauged brickwork - which was the ultimate method of laying bricks, consisting of rubbing the stones to exact dimensions and perfect edges, then dipping them lightly into lime putty, providing a true 1/16" joint. Tuckpointing subsequently became the pointing style of choice during the Georgian and Victorian periods, minimally for the front façade of brick buildings.
If you live by or have visited older towns where Georgian and Victorian brick buildings are prevalent, you undoubtedly have come into contact with true tuckpointing, whether you've realized or not.
It is interesting to note that "hiding" immediately behind what seems to have been a misunderstood nomenclature was a lost art, which, I am pleased to announce, has now been fully brought back to life in North America.
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June 2004
Masonry 17