Brick repointing in Ottawa costs approximately $15 to $30 per square foot of wall area in 2026, with most homeowners paying $3,500 to $12,000 for a partial job and $15,000 to $35,000+ for a full whole-house repoint. Chimney repointing — the most common single job in this city — typically runs $1,500 to $4,500 depending on height, access, and how much of the crown and cap needs rebuilding. Smaller spot repairs on an accessible ground-level wall can be as little as $900 to $2,500. Ottawa's freeze-thaw climate is the reason this work is so common here: water enters failing mortar joints, freezes,...
Masons price repointing by the square foot of wall face, and the rate depends heavily on access and mortar type. A straightforward ground-level or single-storey wall in standard Portland-based mortar runs about $15–$22 per square foot in Ottawa. Second- and third-storey work requiring scaffolding pushes that to $22–$30 per square foot, since setup and safety compliance consume a real share of the labour. Heritage work with custom-matched lime mortar and hand-raking of joints commands $28–$45 per...
If brick faces are spalling, the wall is bulging, or courses have shifted, repointing alone won't fix it — that section needs to be taken down and rebuilt at roughly $40–$70 per square foot. An honest mason will tell you which sections need which treatment.
Ottawa averages well over 60 freeze-thaw cycles per year, and each one drives the same destructive process. Rain or meltwater soaks into porous mortar joints, temperatures drop overnight, the trapped water expands roughly nine percent as it turns to ice, and microscopic cracks widen. Repeat that dozens of times each winter for three decades and the joints crumble to sand. Road salt and de-icing spray accelerate the damage on lower courses near driveways and walkways, and improper grading or a do...
This is the mistake that costs Ottawa homeowners the most money. Homes built before roughly 1930 — the bulk of the housing stock in the Glebe, Sandy Hill, Centretown, Lowertown, New Edinburgh, and Hintonburg — were built with soft, porous brick and lime-based mortar. Lime mortar is deliberately softer than the brick, so it absorbs movement and lets moisture evaporate out through the joints. Repointing a heritage wall with hard modern Portland cement traps moisture inside the brick, and when it f...
Ask any mason quoting a pre-1930 home what mortar mix they intend to use and why. A confident answer referencing lime content and matching the existing mortar's strength is what you want. A shrug and "standard mix" is a reason to keep shopping.
Repointing quotes carry line items beyond the mortar work itself. Scaffolding or a boom lift is the largest: expect $800–$3,000 for a residential job depending on duration and how many elevations need staging, and note that tight urban lots in the Glebe or Old Ottawa South can complicate setup and add cost. Chimney work often reveals a failing crown ($600–$1,500 to rebuild) or a missing rain cap ($200–$500 installed), and a chimney past saving may need full rebuilding from the roofline up at $3,...
Repointing is preventive maintenance with an unusually clear payoff. Deferring it lets water into the wall cavity, which leads to interior damage, insulation problems, structural deterioration of the brick itself, and eventually rebuild costs several times higher than the repoint would have been. Buyers and home inspectors flag crumbling mortar quickly, and it becomes a negotiating point on any Ottawa sale. Because good masons are booked out weeks or months during the short season, get quotes in...
In 2026, brick repointing in Ottawa costs about $15–$30 per square foot of wall area. Most partial jobs run $3,500–$12,000, and a full whole-house repoint on a two-storey home typically costs $18,000–$35,000. Heritage lime-mortar work runs higher, at roughly $28–$45 per square foot.
Chimney repointing in Ottawa typically costs $1,500–$4,500 depending on height and access. Rebuilding a failing crown adds $600–$1,500, and a full chimney rebuild from the roofline up runs $3,500–$9,000.
Ottawa's 60-plus annual freeze-thaw cycles typically mean mortar needs attention every 25–40 years, sooner than in milder climates. Chimneys and salt-exposed lower courses usually fail first, so inspect them every few years for sandy debris and gouging mortar.
It's possible on a small, accessible ground-level area, but it's slow, physically demanding work, and improper joint cutting or the wrong mortar mix causes damage that costs far more to fix than hiring a mason. On pre-1930 Ottawa homes with soft brick, DIY repointing with hard Portland cement can permanently spall the brick faces.
Homes built before roughly 1930 need soft lime-based mortar matched to the original mix. Hard modern Portland cement traps moisture in soft historic brick and causes the brick face to spall during freeze-thaw cycles. Always confirm the mortar specification in writing before work starts.