Repointing is the most common masonry repair on brick houses, and one of the hardest to compare prices on. Two contractors can look at the same house and come back with numbers $15,000 apart, and both can be honest. The difference is almost always in how deep they'll go, how they'll reach the wall, and what's included.
Our repointing guide explains what repointing is, how to tell your brick needs it, and how the work should be done. This post is about the money for a house: what it costs per square foot, what a typical row house or detached house comes to, and how to read a quote.
The basic price
Repointing is priced by the square foot of wall. In New York City, typical repointing runs about $18 to $35 per square foot of wall, before access. On Long Island, in Westchester and in New Jersey, prices are often somewhat lower for the same work. Very small jobs usually carry a minimum charge to cover setup and a day of crew time.
To estimate your square footage, measure the length and height of each brick wall you want repointed, multiply, and subtract the windows and doors. A typical window takes out 15 to 20 square feet.
Three worked examples
Illustrative figures for planning. Your house will differ.
Row house front facade
A 20-foot-wide, three-story row house front, about 35 feet tall. That's 700 square feet gross, less about 150 square feet of windows and door, so roughly 550 square feet of brick.
| Item | Planning figure |
|---|---|
| Repointing, 550 sq ft at $18 to $35 | About $10,000 to $19,000 |
| Pipe scaffold with netting, plus sidewalk protection | Often $3,000 to $8,000 for the job |
| Spot brick replacement and cleaning | Varies with condition |
| Rough total | About $13,000 to $27,000 |
Detached two-story brick house, all four sides
A 40-by-30-foot house with brick walls about 20 feet high. That's 2,800 square feet gross, less about 20 percent for windows and doors, so roughly 2,250 square feet of brick.
| Item | Planning figure |
|---|---|
| Repointing, 2,250 sq ft at $15 to $35 | About $34,000 to $79,000 |
| Access (ladders, pump jacks, scaffold or lift) | Often $1,500 to $6,000 |
| Rough total | About $35,000 to $85,000 |
The low end here reflects suburban pricing on soft lime mortar that rakes out easily. The high end reflects city pricing, hard cement mortar and careful color matching.
Spot repointing: chimney and the weather side
Many houses don't need everything done. Joints usually fail first on the side that takes the weather, below leaking gutters, around the chimney and at the base. Repointing a chimney above the roof and 300 square feet of the worst wall might come to roughly $6,000 to $14,000 including access. Our post on chimney leaks covers chimney work in more detail.
What drives the price
The old mortar. Soft lime mortar in an older house rakes out quickly. Hard cement mortar, often from a previous bad repointing job, has to be cut out carefully so the brick edges don't get chipped. That's slower and costs more.
Depth. Good repointing removes old mortar to a depth of roughly two to two and a half times the joint width, and down to sound mortar, typically at least half to three-quarters of an inch. Shallow work is faster and cheaper, and fails sooner.
Hand work vs. grinders. Grinders are fast but can widen joints and nick brick edges. Careful contractors cut the bed joints with a grinder where it's safe and clean the head joints and delicate areas by hand. More hand work costs more and looks better.
Mortar and color matching. The new mortar should be softer than the brick so the mortar, not the brick, takes the wear. Older and softer brick needs a lime-rich mortar. Matching color and texture often means a few test panels before the main job starts.
Height and access. One-story walls can be done from ladders. Two-story walls usually need pump jacks or scaffolding. Three- and four-story row house fronts need a pipe scaffold, and in the city, protection for the sidewalk below.
Brick condition. Spalled or cracked brick has to be replaced, usually priced per brick. Matching old brick can take time. Our spalling guide explains what causes brick faces to fail.
Other repairs found along the way. Cracked lintels over windows, loose parapets, failed flashing and a leaning chimney often show up once the crew is close to the wall. Ask for unit prices for those up front. Our lintel cost guide covers the most common one.
Cleaning and protection. Protecting windows, landscaping and neighbors' property, and cleaning mortar off the brick at the end, take real time and should be in the quote.
Permits and landmarks
Repointing a house is generally ordinary maintenance and doesn't need a DOB work permit. Scaffolds and sidewalk protection may need permits depending on the height and location. If your house is a designated landmark or in a historic district, repointing needs a Landmarks Preservation Commission permit, and LPC will expect the mortar to match the original in color, texture, strength and joint profile. Our LPC guide explains the process.
How to read a repointing quote
A good quote should spell out:
- Which walls, and roughly how many square feet.
- How deep the joints will be raked.
- Whether head joints and fragile areas will be raked by hand.
- The mortar type, and whether there'll be a test panel for color.
- The joint finish (profile) to match the existing.
- How the crew will reach each wall, and whether access is included.
- A per-brick price for replacing damaged brick.
- Protection of windows, plants and adjacent property.
- Cleaning at the end.
- Any warranty.
If one quote is far below the others, check those items first. The usual answer is shallow raking, no hand work, no access in the price, or no cleanup.
Red flags
- "Repointing" that smears new mortar over the old joints without raking them out.
- A plan to use a hard, high-cement mortar on soft, old brick.
- A recommendation to seal or coat the whole house after repointing.
- A firm price for the whole house given from the curb in five minutes.
- Large cash deposits before any work is done.
Our guide to choosing a masonry contractor covers licensing, insurance and references.
When to do it
Mortar needs temperatures of roughly 40°F and rising to cure, so repointing is a spring-through-fall job in the New York area. Open joints going into winter let water in to freeze, which is how small repointing jobs become brick replacement jobs. Our freeze-thaw guide explains why fall repairs matter. A typical row house front takes about one to two weeks. A full detached house can take several weeks.
Get a repointing price you can compare
NYC Superior Construction repoints brick houses, row houses and apartment buildings across New York City, Nassau, Westchester and Rockland counties, and Central and North New Jersey. Our quotes list the square footage, raking depth, mortar, access and per-brick replacement price, so you can compare them line by line with anyone else's. Send us photos of each side of the house and close-ups of the worst joints.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to repoint a brick house?
About $18 to $35 per square foot in NYC before access. Roughly $13,000 to $27,000 for a row house front, and $35,000 to $85,000+ for a detached house on all sides.
Why do repointing quotes vary so much?
Different raking depth, mortar removal, hand vs. grinder work, mortar matching, brick replacement, access and cleanup. Low quotes often leave something out.
Can I repoint just part of my house?
Yes, when failures are concentrated. When they're spread across most of a wall, doing the whole wall is usually better value.
Do I need a permit to repoint my house in NYC?
Usually not for the repointing itself, but scaffolds and sidewalk protection may, and landmarked houses need an LPC permit.
How long does repointing last?
Done right, often 25 years or more. Chimneys, parapets and very exposed walls wear sooner. Shallow work can fail in a few years.
This article is general information. Prices are planning ranges for the New York area, not quotes, and they change with the market and the house. Get a site visit and written bids before budgeting. Last reviewed: October 4, 2026.