How Repointing Can Fix Dampness and Help Insulate Your Home
While you can take measures to address dampness and improve insulation within your home, you shouldn’t overlook the value of repointing.
Of course, other steps can be necessary in each case (e.g. adding extractor fans to limit dampness, damp proofing, loft insulation, etc.), and repointing can help deal with the root causes of these issues. But how exactly and what might repointing cost? Let’s take a look!
Repointing to Fix Dampness
As touched on, other steps may be needed to address dampness, whether in immediacy or in dealing with the root cause. You may need to look into steps such as installing extractor fans and purchasing a dehumidifier.
Also, damp proofing from a professional may be required regardless to truly deal with the issue. If in doubt as to what is needed, you should consult with a professional for clarity in relation to your specific case.
With all that said, repointing can be much more than an aesthetic improvement. Among its various advantages is its capacity to at least help address dampness. But how does it do this?
Pointing that has become worn down over time will likely end up increasingly susceptible to penetrating damp in particular. After all, as pointing deteriorates, the brickwork becomes more exposed to the elements, including weather and water damage. By directly impacting the brickwork and masonry, penetrating dampness can occur and gradually worsen over time and cause havoc in your home.
Therefore, by having your home repointed, you can address this issue head-on. Again, other measures may be required,but if penetrating damp is a problem with your home, repointing can go a long way to fixing it.
Repointing to Insulate Your Home
Having your home repointed can also improve insulation. As you’d imagine, when pointing wears down over time, it can leave your property more exposed to cold air entering the property.
Repointing can play its part in sealing up your property’s brickwork and thus lower heat loss. To what extent repointing will improve the energy efficiency and warmth of your home will depend on a range of factors, including how worn down your current pointing is and the type and quality of the repointing job.
Of course, you may want to have other measures taken in the near future or at some point down the line to further insulate your home, but repointing can be a great start in many cases.
What’s more, if you only have the budget for one big project right now (i.e. repointing), there are a range of low-cost and even free measures you can take to help keep the heat in.
Some small-scale insulation ideas include adding draught excluders to suitable spots in your home, plastic lining for windows, adding rugs to wooden floors, fitting a hot water cylinder jacket to your hot water cylinder, moving furniture away from radiators and simply getting into a habit of keeping interior doors closed, especially when it’s cold out.
Cost of Having Your Home Repointed
On average, it costs about £1,300 to £3,250 to have an average terraced house repointed, around £1,900 to £4,750 in the case of a semi-detached house or approximately £2,900 to £7,250 if you’re looking to have a detached house repointed.
You’ll need to hire a bricklayer to repoint your home, as this is not really a DIY job. Only those with the right skills and knowledge should consider repointing their home by themselves.
Also, if taking this work on DIY, there are various key safety considerations to take into account, such as when using a ladder making sure you have someone to hold it from the bottom at all times. If in any doubt, consult with a professional as to all required steps and safety measures or simply hire a professional for the job. Also, if you house is old and the original mortar was lime, make sure you get your builder to replace it with lime, rather than modern materials.
