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After many years of repointing bricks, chimneys, foundations and stones by hand, I finally purchased a quickpoint mortar gun. It is my pleasure to offer a Review for the Quickpoint Mortar Gun. Here is a description of the tool by the manufacturer.
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Clik here to view.The Quickpoint is up to five times faster than conventional pointing methods, he said, adding that over the last 16 years, the company sold 30,000 of the old units.Image may be NSFW.
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- For tuckpointing, brick work, stone work, thin brick, grouting, crack repair, and glass block.
- Speeds application of mortar 5 times faster to all types of masonry joints.
- Quick, clean, and accurate!
- Works on floors and walls
Features
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Hopper holds three quarts of mortar.
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Uses all standard and pre-mixed pointing mortars.
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Excellent mortar penetration.
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Vibrator fed auger drive assures constant mortar bead.
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Unbreakable polyurethane body and nozzle holder.
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Takes just 10 seconds to reload 1/2 gallon hopper.
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Quick clean up in less than a minute simply by flushing with water.
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Portable, weighs only 10 lbs (approximately 13 lbs loaded).
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Specially designed nozzle with 4 interchangeable steel tips (small: 3/16″ X 0.8″, medium: 1/4″ X 0.8″, large: 0.55″ X 0.66″, and special angled tip for overhead work 1/4″ x 0.8″).
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Nozzle rotates for horizontal and vertical joints.
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Mounts any 3/8″ drill, if you are using a cordless drill must be 18 Volts.
The Quickpoint company is located about 30 minutes from me in Concord Mass. I was able to drive there and pick it up in person. Couldn’t have bought it off of nicer people, really helpful and informative. I purchased the drill with the quickpoint so I could just leave it assembled.
As far as the claim to it being 5 times faster than traditional pointing methods, well, I guess that would depend on who is doing the pointing. Professional pointing masons use a hawk and a slicker, sometimes a grout bag which is similar to a bag used to decorate cakes. A hawk is a square metal thingy with a handle under it, often seen by plasterers. A slicker is a flat jointer with a wooden handle.
There are some guys who can seriously fly with either method. Is it 5 times faster for me? Hell yeah it is. I cannot put into words how much I like this tool. It gets a perfect score from me!
The real value from it I think is that any person completely unskilled in repointing brick-work can squeeze a trigger on a drill and fill a crevice with mortar. The ability to have one or more of your helpers seriously contributing to repointing is extremely valuable. Often a person is new on the job and cannot do many of the tasks without OJT or on the job training, and this training takes time and repetition. Not with the quickpoint mortar gun. In about 30 seconds I had figured it out!
How well is the Quickpoint Mortar Gun made?
The hopper seems to be made out of an “uncrackable” plastic, kinda similar to a poly snowplow, not that I expect many of you to know what that feels like, in short “tough”. I certainly would not drop it if at all possible. I think it could tweek the auger inside of it if it landed badly. Fortunately it comes apart and can be repaired should it get damaged somehow.
I purchased this tool directly from the manufacturer – in person as they operate a couple towns away from where I live. The main reason for the Black and Decker drill is because it operates at a slower drill speed. A high speed drill would froth the mortar causing problems. After a couple years of use on repointing projects this tool works as well as the day I purchased it back in 2010. The drill doesn’t work hard and should last a long time.
A note about pre mixed mortars
I do not suggest using a pre-mixed mortar from the box stores. Either the sand is too fine or there is not enough plasticizers for the mortar to be workable inside the tool. The mortar clumps up and doesn’t flow well at all. If a professional grade mortar mix is available, such as the “Pro” brand here in Massachusetts, it very well may work as it is made with better ingredients.
How to best clean the Quickpoint Mortar Gun:
From what I can see if the insides are not cleaned very well it would probably cause undue wear, it could lead to something bending if someone tried to operate it with old hard mortar inside of it. I cant imagine someone not cleaning this, but ya never know. If it was put away dirty for some reason, It would be a pain in the you know what to take it apart and clean it after the fact. I would bet it would be one of those lessons learned and never happen again!
Summary
So in summary I give this tool a 5 outta 5, an A+ whatever the case may be. This does increase my repointing by at least 5 times. The Quickpoint delivers as advertised. The company has been around for quite a while and isn’t going any where any time soon. Replacement parts can be ordered, or I could just bring it down to their shop and i’m sure they would fix it as I waited. Anyone who is serious about repointing bricks on a chimney, walkway, or a wall for money should invest in one of these immediately, it will pay for itself the first day.
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Uses all standard and pre-mixed pointing mortars. Excellent mortar penetration. Vibrator fed auger drive assures constant mortar bead. Unbreakable polyurethane body and nozzle holder. Takes just 10 seconds to reload 3 quart capacity hopper.
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