Maquoketa Public Library

Repointing the masonry of the Carnegie-era Maquoketa Public Library in Maquoketa, Iowa.

Mortar is meant to wear out first. Repointing on time protects the brick.

Client:

Design Professional

General Contractor

The Maquoketa Public Library at 126 S. 2nd Street is a well-known building in town. It's a Carnegie-era library with a columned front and a grand set of entry stairs, and like most masonry buildings that age, it had reached the point where the mortar joints were wearing out.

That's normal. Mortar is supposed to be the softer, sacrificial part of a masonry wall. It takes the weather so the brick and stone don't have to. But once the joints erode and open up, water gets into the wall, and every freeze after that pushes the damage a little deeper.

We repointed the library's masonry: cutting out the failed mortar and packing in new mortar to bring the joints back to a sound, weathertight surface. For a building like this, repointing on time is what keeps a maintenance job from turning into a restoration job.

This is the kind of work we do on public buildings across Iowa: tuckpointing.