You can do the looking: inspecting joints, testing the mortar and fixing the water sources that wreck it. The actual repointing is a different story. In Chicago it is permit work that goes through a licensed mason contractor, unless you qualify to act as your own contractor on your primary residence. The mistakes that cost owners twice, grinding too deep and using mortar harder than the brick, are exactly the ones first-timers make.
Can you DIY tuckpointing? Partly. You can do the inspection, the prep and the follow-up, and you should. The repointing itself is where a first job usually goes wrong, and in Chicago it also carries a permit, a licensing question and a dust hazard. Here is where the line sits, so you can save money on the right parts and not pay twice on the wrong one.
Is DIY tuckpointing legal in Chicago?
The permit does not care who holds the grinder. The City of Chicago lists "routine maintenance and repair for masonry walls, such as tuckpointing" as work in its Express Permit masonry category, and tuckpointing is not on its list of work that needs no permit. Masonry permits require a licensed mason contractor unless an owner qualifies to act as the contractor.
That owner exception is real but narrow. If the building is your primary residence, single-family or a multifamily of three stories or fewer and six units or fewer, the City's mason license exceptions let you act as your own contractor on one property per calendar year. The Express Permit then asks for the owner-as-contractor form and a government ID showing you live there, and you take on responsibility for worker safety, inspections and code compliance (City of Chicago).
So the honest answer is yes, an owner can, on an owner-occupied two-flat or three-flat, if you pull the permit and own everything that follows. A rental you do not live in does not qualify. Confirm the current requirements with the Department of Buildings before you buy a single bag of mortar.
Skipping the permit is the expensive way to save money. Work without a required permit can draw a stop work order, a tripled permit fee in most cases, and an order to correct or remove the work at your own cost (City of Chicago).
What parts of tuckpointing are safe to DIY?
Plenty of the job around the repair is owner work, and doing it well makes the mason's bid cheaper and more accurate.
- Inspect every elevation. Walk the building with binoculars and a phone. Photograph crumbling joints, gaps, loose bricks and stains. Our guide to how to tell if your brick needs tuckpointing walks through it.
- Test the mortar. Press a key or screwdriver into a joint. Mortar that powders or falls out in chunks has lost its job. Do this at ground level only.
- Fix the water sources. Clogged gutters, a downspout that dumps against the wall and a leaking hose bib all feed the wall. Repointing a wall that stays wet is money wasted.
- Keep growth off the brick. Vines and moss hold moisture against the joints.
- Get photos and measurements ready. Photos from the street, a rough count of stories and which sides are worst. The City's permit application asks for at least one photo of the existing condition anyway (Express masonry page).
- Ask the right questions of bidders. That is half the battle. See tuckpointing mistakes that cost Chicago owners twice.
Where does DIY tuckpointing go wrong?
Three places, and each one is hard to see until it is too late.
1. Depth. Old mortar has to come out to a depth of about 2 to 2.5 times the joint width, which for most brick joints is roughly 1/2 to 1 inch, so the new mortar has something to bond to (National Park Service). Too shallow and the new mortar pops out. Too deep and you have weakened the wall. We cover this in how deep to grind mortar joints.
2. The tool. Hand chisels are the least damaging way to remove old mortar. Power grinders belong in skilled hands, on horizontal joints, with care (NPS Brief 2). One slip and the grinder cuts the brick edge, and that damage does not heal. A rental grinder and a Saturday is how arrises (the sharp brick edges) get chewed.
3. The mortar. Repointing mortar has to be softer and more vapor-permeable than the brick, and no harder than the original mortar (NPS). Bagged "tuckpointing mix" from a big box store is often built for strength, not softness. Mortar that is less permeable than soft brick pushes moisture and salts out through the brick face, and the face can spall (NPS). Choosing the mix is a call a mason makes by looking at your brick.
On older Chicago two-flats and greystones we often find a patch of hard, bright gray mortar sitting in a wall of soft, aged brick. The patch looks fine for a couple of winters. Then the brick faces around it start to flake while the new mortar stays put. That pattern is usually a mortar mismatch, and the fix is to grind the patch back out and redo it correctly.
What about dust, ladders and scaffolding?
Dust. Grinding old mortar throws silica dust. The federal OSHA silica standard requires a handheld grinder used for mortar removal to have a shroud and dust collection system, and requires respirators for the workers. That standard covers employers and workers, so it will not police your own weekend, but the hazard is the same for you and for your family and neighbors downwind. Dry sweeping that kicks the dust back up is not allowed on a regulated job either.
Old paint. If the brick or trim around it is painted and the building was built before 1978, lead is a real possibility. The EPA's lead rule for paid renovators generally does not apply to homeowners working on their own home, which makes it your job to take the risk seriously.
Height. A first-floor patch is one thing. A third-story wall from a rented ladder is another, and that is where owners get hurt. If any scaffold, dumpster or material will sit on the sidewalk, street or alley, that is a separate public way permit from the Chicago Department of Transportation (City of Chicago).
When is it time to call a mason?
Call one when any of these is true:
- The wall is more than one story, or the work is above a porch or over the sidewalk.
- The brick is soft, old and flaking, or you are not sure what mortar is in there.
- You see rust stains, bulging, stair-step cracks or loose bricks. That is not a mortar-only problem. See chimney and parapet conditions as examples.
- The building is a rental, or you do not live in it, so the owner exception does not apply.
- You do not want to own the permit, the inspections and the liability.
Not sure whether your job needs a tuckpointer or a full mason? We break it down in tuckpointer or mason: who do you call. For the whole picture, from signs to cost to permits, start with the Chicago tuckpointing guide. If you would like a second set of eyes before you decide, our tuckpointing team will look at the wall and tell you straight whether it is a DIY patch or a mason's job.
Common questions
Only with the permit. Tuckpointing is permitted masonry work, so an owner has to qualify as their own contractor, which generally means a primary residence of three stories or fewer and six units or fewer, one property per calendar year. Confirm current rules with the Department of Buildings first.
Sometimes on paper, rarely in the end. The labor savings disappear if the joints are ground too deep, the mortar is too hard for the brick, or the job has to be redone. Mortar that outlasts the brick face can mean replacing bricks, which costs far more than the tuckpointing did.
A professional job uses hand chisels or a shrouded grinder with dust collection, a pointing trowel and jointing tools, proper mortar mixed for the brick, and respiratory protection. Hand chisels are the least damaging way to remove mortar according to the National Park Service.
Not as a substitute. Surface patching does not bond to the old joint the way mortar ground to depth does. Read can you caulk mortar joints instead of tuckpointing for what caulk can and cannot do.
Sources
- City of Chicago: Guide to Building Permits: Mason Contractor License FAQ
- City of Chicago, Department of Buildings: Porch and Deck Safety
- City of Chicago: Express Permit Program: Masonry Work
- City of Chicago, Department of Buildings: Mason Contractor License
- City of Chicago: Guide to Building Permits: What Types of Work Do Not Require a Building Permit?
- City of Chicago: Guide to Building Permits: What Happens If I Start Work Without a Required Permit?
- National Park Service: Preservation Brief 2: Repointing Mortar Joints in Historic Masonry Buildings (PDF)
- OSHA: 29 CFR 1926.1153: Respirable Crystalline Silica in Construction
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program
Facts last checked: October 7, 2026.
This article explains general rules and common situations in Chicago. It is not legal advice, and City rules change. For a specific property, check with the Chicago Department of Buildings or a licensed professional.