Age and type of house
Hard cement strap pointing has been run over soft lime joints on a Victorian front. Why can that pointing damage the brick even when the wall looks tidy?
Because hard cement strap pointing has been run over soft lime joints, it can damage the brick even while this Victorian front looks tidy. Strap pointing is a raised ribbon of mortar on the joint. Cement is harder and tighter than the lime and the soft brick it covers, so water can be held at the face and the brick can shell behind a neat line. The survey records that combination. It does not say every brick has already failed, and it does not design a new front.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Lime mortar and soft brick work together. A hard strap sits proud of the joint and looks, from the pavement, like careful maintenance. Damage shows later at the edges of the bricks, which spall while the ribbon remains. A tidy face is therefore not automatically a sound face. The surveyor is warning you about the materials, not praising the straightness of the straps. Read the wall past the neatness of the pointing.
If the straps are to come out, that is a bricklayer cutting cement without tearing the brick, then using a mortar suited to this wall. The report does not give the mix. Do not lay another cement strap over the first. Ask for a note of how much brick has already spalled, because the survey has not condemned the whole elevation. The defect is hard pointing on soft joints, on a front that can still look tidy.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- How much of this front carries the cement strap pointing?
- Have bricks already spalled beside the straps, or is the note about the mortar itself?
- Could you see lime mortar still in the joints beneath the cement?
What are the typical next steps?
- Do not add more cement strap pointing over these soft lime joints.
- Ask a bricklayer for a mortar suited to the brick, not another hard ribbon.
- Separate any bricks that have already spalled from the pointing note itself.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the front looks tidy, can the strap pointing stay?
Looking tidy is part of the problem. Hard cement over soft lime can hurt the brick behind a neat face. A tidy front is not evidence the pointing is harmless.
Must every joint on the house be raked out now?
Not as an order from this survey. The note is the hard pointing on this front. How much is cut out is for a bricklayer who has seen the brick, not a whole-house assumption.