How to Spot Fretting Mortar Before It Becomes a Problem

Fretting mortar, or crumbling mortar, is a common issue that can compromise the structural integrity of your brickwork. Recognizing the signs early can save you from costly repairs in the future.

What is Fretting Mortar?

Fretting mortar occurs when the mortar between your bricks deteriorates due to factors like moisture, weather exposure, or poor original mix quality. This can lead to loose bricks, water ingress, and eventual structural damage.

Signs to Look For:

Powdery Residue: Accumulations of mortar dust at the base of walls.
Cracks Between Bricks: Visible gaps where mortar has eroded.
Flaking or Loose Bricks: Movement in bricks or visible wear around joints.
Water Stains: Damp patches on walls, often caused by water penetrating through weakened mortar.

What to Do if You Notice Fretting Mortar:

Contact a professional like Mortarfix for an inspection.
Avoid DIY fixes; improper materials can worsen the problem.
Act promptly to prevent further damage.

Don’t let fretting mortar weaken your walls! Contact Mortarfix today for expert brick repointing services.

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Simon and Tony and crew were not only profressional, they were punctual and the beat competitor quotes by a mile. The tuck pointing and mortar repair was done swiftly and I couldn’t be more happier. Look no further if you want both value and top notch work.

James Nguyen

Sam mortered an out door fireplace for us. It was a huge job and she carefully and artfully created a fabulous finish. The area was left spotless and her friendly manner made it a seamless and positive experience. Look no further than Mortafix for an honest and professional service. Thanks Sam, we’re delighted with our new fireplace.

Dee Sheehan

Tony and Sam were great to deal with! Tony was able to provide us with a prompt quote for our fretting mortar and Sam did such a great job colour matching the mortar it blends in seamlessly. Friendly service and left our place clean and tidy.

Ella Compton

Very knowledgeable and happy to help.

Paul Dawson

Super professional and friendly and most importantly they do great work!! Would highly recommend!

Adam Delpero

We're really happy with the work that Tony and his team did. We had 5 aircons removed and walls repaired. The work was done quickly, they were clean, had great attention to detail and very well priced. We can't even see where the old aircons used to be on our exterior wall. Thank you so much! Cannot reccomend you guys enough!

Beverly Collen

I had a very small job to fix some holes left from an outdoor light. It was done quickly and with no mess for a great price. I'm sure it was more hassle for them than it was worth but they came out and fixed it anyway. Thanks.

Mathew Bamford

WOW! - absolutely fabulous work on a very large, tired looking limestone wall with facing block erosion and mortar cracking. After Sam and the team finished it looks amazing. A real value add to my house. Such clean workers - the driveway is cleaner then when they arrived, really quiet and efficient. Reasonable price - I couldn't be happier.

Shauna J Waters

Thanks Samantha for doing such a great job on the fretting mortar (and some which had disappeared completely) recently. The job was done cleanly and efficiently. In fact it is difficult to see the difference between the new mortar and the old as the colour is a perfect match. I highly recommend Mortarfix for your brickwork requirements.

Susan Douglas

Very good service, would highly recommend

Darryl Knight

I have been doing business now for 2 years or so with Tony ,i bumped into him on one of his jobs, I have found tony to be a genuine professional person who is very knowledgeable in his chosen trade and does a fantastic job, there is not much about mortar fixing Sam and Tony don't know.. Thank you Tony for all the advise you and your daughter Sam have given over the years. Marcus

Marcus Keeley

Completed repointing of limestone footings. I was very happy with the price and the quality of work completed, will use again!

Kendal Boughton

Looking for some information on the internet, of services to remove an old air conditioning unit on the side of the house, I fell on the Mortarfix website. Brilliant find. After a phone call, and a couple of emails exchanged, a time was booked to proceed with the job. Tony arrived on time, did a fantastic job, (we barely see where the old unit was before), cleaned up, took away the unit, for a very reasonable price. We now have extra wall space for photos😊. I wholeheartedly recommend Tony and his team at Mortarfix, this is the perfect example of a great business.

Colette Desvaux

We used Mortarfix to repoint our large limestone block retaining wall which was quite degraded in parts. Good price and we are really happy with the quality of the work, it was exactly what we asked for. Thankyou!

Adrian Jarvis

Tony did a great job on our brick fence, I would happily recommend him.

Libby Hocking

An amazing job on our 1950s home with missing mortar all around the property. We are so pleased with the quality of work for the price. Excellent company to work with. Would not hesitate to recommend to others. Thank you both.

Lisa S

Did a excellent job in removing the box air con and bricking up the hole inside and out. It was about 4 meters high. The rubbish and aircon was removed and place cleaned.

Charlie McIntyre

Work was first class and very clean.

Martin Lanyi

We have a 1908 federation brick house which has been gradually developing cracks. Tony impressed me with his in depth knowledge of this type of house: he's been working with them for a few decades now, and really took the time to explain what was going on. His quote was one of the cheapest, funnily enough because it's an industry full of shonky operators who take advantage of the anxiety that cracks cause. (I was warned about this by a friend in the building trade). The work he and his daughter did: repointing, replacement of damaged bricks, and lintel replacement was impeccable. I genuinely couldn't tell old from new. Best of all: no further cracking. Highly recommended.

Michelle Murphy

Very happy with Tony's professionalism and quality of work.

Stuart Folkard

My husband and I were delighted with the work done by Tony and his daughter. The job involved fixing areas of our front fence where the mortar/bricks had deteriorated. An excellent job was done in a situation where it was hard to source matching bricks. Very hghly recommended.

Karen Mortlock

Tony & Samantha from Mortarfix conducted some repointing at my house and my neighbours house not so long ago. They did a fantastic job and I was more than happy as was my neighbour. They are a very professional father and daughter team and I would highly recommend them. It’s hard to find reliable trades who will arrive on time and do a good job but I can definitely say Tony and Samantha are those reliable trades. Great work Mortarfix !! 👍

Leanne Finlayson

The service we received from Mortarfix was excellent. Tony was on time, courteous and friendly and worked tirelessly to have the work completed that same day. The finished work, inside and out, was faultless. He matched our bricks perfectly and plastered our indoor wall with a seamless finish. I cannot recommend Mortarfix highly enough.

Lisa McBride

Great small business. They delivered a high quality job at a good rate. Tony was reliable and provided trustworthy advice. I was very happy with the outcome.

Luke van der Beeke

Tony did a fantastic job in my old house. The lintel replacement and brickwork are exceptional. On time, very affordable price and sincere. I highly recommend this honest man. God bless

NEBU

Tony has done a couple of jobs for us and we've always been very happy with the result. He's a pleasure to deal with - we'd happily recommend him.

Toby Marsh

Mortarfix did an awesome job with restoring the limestone mortar on our 1950 Art Deco home. The Mortar had all but eroded but Tony and Samantha did a great job in making it look like new. I would highly recommend the work they did and the manner in which they conducted themselves.

Jodi Balhorn

Hi. We had Tony to our premises to repair pointing on our home, he was on time and even though I asked him for some extra work to be done, he did not charge me any extra. At all times we found him to be professional in keeping us informed of the work he was doing. I have no hesitation in recommending him and his company Alan Wilson .

Alan Wilson

We were very pleased with Mortafix. They came and removed 3 ugly old in-wall aircondioners in our recently purchased house. They repaired the walls to look like the original condition. After we painted, you can't tell where they have been. They were very tidy as well. All of this was at a very reasonable price. Thank you Mortafix.

Graham St John

We engaged Mortarfix to repoint the limestone foundation of the wall along one side of our house. Tony and Samantha did a splendid job for a very reasonable price.

Suzie and Clinton Turner

I used Mortafix to repair a large vertical crack through the mortar joints in a corner of a large retaining wall. Tony did a fantastic job of repairing the crack. Over 18 months on there is no sign of any new cracking. Well worth it. Highly recommended.

Jeff Smith

Tony did some work on our property, re applying loose mortar to the brickwork. He was very punctual and worked quietly. Will definitely recommend and call upon him again in the future.

Evelyn Tan

Very good workmanship and clean and tidy

Mark Busio

How to Spot Fretting Mortar Before It Becomes a Problem

What is Fretting Mortar?

Signs to Look For:

What to Do if You Notice Fretting Mortar:

Get a Free Quote

We're here to help. Please contact us below.

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