# Bought a quickpoint



## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

Ive always wanted one of these, alot of money can be made in simple repointing, especially if the laborer can fill the joints. I used it today on a 45' building. Of coase im on my hands and knees like an iddiot for most the day starting the building, but the things flies. I did the first 5' of the 45' building in 3 hours. Quicker than I can do it by hand thats for sure.


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## CJKarl (Nov 21, 2006)

Lets see some pics


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

I will get some tomorrow. Err if it doesnt rain again!!!


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## INTRA (Nov 27, 2008)

I have two of them, on bigger jobs we can't live without them. 
It's beat the hell of a grout bags,


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## dave_dj1 (Mar 16, 2010)

The price isn't that bad if it can live up to it's hype. Looks cool for sure!
Give us a report after a couple of days with it. If I was repointing a larger project I would have one. 
I had to ***** a log cabin once and bought a rigid quart cordless caulking gun, the thing worked super!


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

Yeah ill do a better review when im done. So far though its living up to the advertisements. Was mixing 1/2 batches, 2 buckets. Could go through it in 15-20 minutes with nice beads of mud on the joints.


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

Intra did you ever use the: http://www.gibco-usa.com/page3.html ?


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## MAULEMALL (May 16, 2010)

JBM said:


> Yeah ill do a better review when im done. So far though its living up to the advertisements. Was mixing 1/2 batches, 2 buckets. Could go through it in 15-20 minutes with nice beads of mud on the joints.


Put a bit of Dawn in your morter to lube the gun... I've used them for years...


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

Ahh no kiddin good idea!


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

MAULEMALL said:


> Put a bit of Dawn in your morter to lube the gun... I've used them for years...


We used one on this job. Wouldn't have made it with a bag. :laughing:

But keeping the hopper clean/unjammed was a bit of a PITA. Can you quantify "a bit"? We're getting ready to do a chimney we just built. Do you know if Dawn would affect the look of the colored mortar?


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## stonecutter (May 13, 2010)

Careful when adding soap to mortar. I`ll let this link say it for me.

http://www.masonryconstruction.com/industry-news.asp?sectionID=1398&articleID=250164


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## 2low4nh (Dec 12, 2010)

I had one IU bent the auger some how when we were pointing up some stone. it never worked that good. it was great for doing brick on long runs but for smaller chimneys it always plugged up. I can go just as fast with a grout bag and the bags are much cheaper then a $300 piece of plastic.


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

stonecutter said:


> Careful when adding soap to mortar.


Excellent point, and that was going to be my next question. :thumbsup:

In this case, we have lick & stick applied to the chimney, and are pointing around it. I wouldn't think strength and adhesion would be as critical a factor as in other applications. Or is it?


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## stonecutter (May 13, 2010)

Tinstaafl said:


> Excellent point, and that was going to be my next question. :thumbsup:
> 
> In this case, we have lick & stick applied to the chimney, and are pointing around it. I wouldn't think strength and adhesion would be as critical a factor as in other applications. Or is it?


Why not?...especially with the small amount of material that will be used to point the work. Just sayin, why use something that will weaken your mix.


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## stonecutter (May 13, 2010)

I would think that quickpoint would work great for brick and cultured stone but not for traditional pointing because it seems like the mortar needs to be loose to flow right.

Looks like a real time saver though...


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

stonecutter said:


> I would think that quickpoint would work great for brick and cultured stone but not for traditional pointing because it seems like the mortar needs to be loose to flow right.
> 
> Looks like a real time saver though...


I made it like brick mud and it flows well into a 3/8 tuckpoint wheel cut as well as thicker joints.


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## stonecutter (May 13, 2010)

JBM said:


> I made it like brick mud and it flows well into a 3/8 tuckpoint wheel cut as well as thicker joints.


When you re-point stonework do you use a brick mud type mix?


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## MAULEMALL (May 16, 2010)

stonecutter said:


> I would think that quickpoint would work great for brick and cultured stone but not for traditional pointing because it seems like the mortar needs to be loose to flow right.
> 
> Looks like a real time saver though...


I mix my morter a little loose and add A short squirt to a 5 gallon bucket..

And clean the **** out of it when you are done..

It doesn't change the color of the mortar but will add to the life of your point gun...

And clean the **** out of it when you are done..

Took days off some jobs...

And did I say And clean the **** out of it when you are done..


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

stonecutter said:


> When you re-point stonework do you use a brick mud type mix?


I'm not repointing stone work in case you thought I was, but if I had to repoint stonework I use type n with a scoop of Portland.


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## stonecutter (May 13, 2010)

MAULEMALL said:


> I mix my morter a little loose and add A short squirt to a 5 gallon bucket..
> 
> And clean the **** out of it when you are done..
> 
> ...


A few years back I passed on restoring an old furnace chimney that was 75 ft tall and 15 ft wide. I didnt have the help to repoint and had other things going at the time but if I had known about this tool I may have gotten a couple laborers and tackled it!


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## stonecutter (May 13, 2010)

JBM said:


> I'm not repointing stone work in case you thought I was, but if I had to repoint stonework I use type n with a scoop of Portland.


No, I understood it to be brick pointing.


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

stonecutter said:


> A few years back I passed on restoring an old furnace chimney that was 75 ft tall and 15 ft wide. I didnt have the help to repoint and had other things going at the time but if I had known about this tool I may have gotten a couple laborers and tackled it!


75 feet is pretty gosh darn TALL! I wouldst passed on it haha


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

stonecutter said:


> Why not?...especially with the small amount of material that will be used to point the work. Just sayin, why use something that will weaken your mix.


Well... it's not a _tiny_ amount. It'll take more to point than it did to stick.

Generally, I'd agree. Somehow I don't care for waking up at 4AM wondering if something caved in yet. :laughing:

But if it's an unnecessary worry in this case, I'd rather not worry about it and have the pointing go more easily. That pic is just the tip of the iceberg--we have 20-odd feet yet to do inside the house.

I freely admit that this type of work is new to me; I'm learning. And CT has one of the best collections of tutors on the planet. :thumbsup:


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## stonecutter (May 13, 2010)

JBM said:


> 75 feet is pretty gosh darn TALL! I wouldst passed on it haha


No joke dude. It was an old clockshop factory that was converted into apartments. The chimney was in horrible shape...from the ground it looked like the top 10' was shot and probably was. It had no cap and spalling bricks everywere. Probably would have became pandoras box.


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## stonecutter (May 13, 2010)

Tinstaafl said:


> Well... it's not a _tiny_ amount. It'll take more to point than it did to stick.




O.K. Just to clarify....I meant small amount in terms of depth and width not volume.

Air entrained in mortar or cement does weaken it. The last thing you want to do is have to repoint in 5 years because the joints are failing. Obviously, opinions will vary but you wont catch me adding soap to my mortar.:thumbsup:


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

stonecutter said:


> No joke dude. It was an old clockshop factory that was converted into apartments. The chimney was in horrible shape...from the ground it looked like the top 10' was shot and probably was. It had no cap and spalling bricks everywere. Probably would have became pandoras box.


A bud of mine tackled one of those. Brought in an engineer cuz up close it had a crack big enough to put his arm into lol. Had to take down the top X amount. Big pain in the ass. Those things need to come down.


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## stonecutter (May 13, 2010)

JBM said:


> A bud of mine tackled one of those. Brought in an engineer cuz up close it had a crack big enough to put his arm into lol. Had to take down the top X amount. Big pain in the ass. Those things need to come down.


Yeah, but the local hysterical society wont let it be taken down. They dont let cars park near it anymore because geico was getting too many calls about bricks falling from the sky!


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## TheItalian204 (Jun 1, 2011)

Why to use dishsoap if you can use Hastopur?


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## Tscarborough (Feb 25, 2006)

Soap=bad. Use lime.


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## MAULEMALL (May 16, 2010)

stonecutter said:


> A few years back I passed on restoring an old furnace chimney that was 75 ft tall and 15 ft wide. I didnt have the help to repoint and had other things going at the time but if I had known about this tool I may have gotten a couple laborers and tackled it!


I did a few chimneys that size with me and a helper...

I anchored I bolts and ran scaffold..Tied it as we went..
Helper ground and I ran the gun...

Just like butter..


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## MAULEMALL (May 16, 2010)

Tscarborough said:


> Soap=bad. Use lime.


Dawn is a lubricant for the gun..
The amount is miniscule..
bubbles .. Thats just silly


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## TheItalian204 (Jun 1, 2011)

MAULEMALL said:


> Dawn is a lubricant for the gun..
> The amount is miniscule..
> bubbles .. Thats just silly


Back in old country they would use soap for parge scratch coats and repointing.

Now there is big variety of products on the market to subsitute convenience store soap.

I can actually ship you a bucket for free if you wanna try it out. Probably best 40$ purchase i have made in my entire career.


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## MAULEMALL (May 16, 2010)

TheItalian204 said:


> Why to use dishsoap if you can use Hastopur?


How much does Hastopur cost...
I bought a big bottle of Dawn for $3.50 and it lasts a year...


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## TheItalian204 (Jun 1, 2011)

MAULEMALL said:


> How much does Hastopur cost...
> I bought a big bottle of Dawn for $3.50 and it lasts a year...


26 +tax(I get it for 15),good for 50 huge mixes and you are not taking chance with it 

Got 3 for 40 probably will be enough for a year too.


EDIT I guess you have to look at it from prespective of how much do you plaster/repoint because if it is small percentage of your business,it would be worthless.


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## MAULEMALL (May 16, 2010)

TheItalian204 said:


> 26 +tax(I get it for 15),good for 50 huge mixes and you are not taking chance with it
> 
> Got 3 for 40 probably will be enough for a year too.
> 
> ...


I was just reading up on it on the dow corning site...

http://www.kkchemicalindustries.com/clariant-products.html

Pretty interesting stuff..


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## TheItalian204 (Jun 1, 2011)

MAULEMALL said:


> I was just reading up on it on the dow corning site...
> 
> http://www.kkchemicalindustries.com/clariant-products.html
> 
> Pretty interesting stuff..


I highly recommend it. It does not subsitute lime,I still add on average 3.5-5 cups of lime per mix but it makes any mix fluffier,you get more spread,more workability. its ideal for scratch/brown coats and repoint...Just gotta remember to dump it into water before you add anything else.


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## jomama (Oct 25, 2008)

stonecutter said:


> Careful when adding soap to mortar. I`ll let this link say it for me.
> 
> http://www.masonryconstruction.com/industry-news.asp?sectionID=1398&articleID=250164


I actually always held this as a "trade secret", but now that it's out there, I use it all the time as a plastiszer when "bagging" joints. Never had a problem, and from what I can tell, it's a trick that's many decades old. Like anything, you need to use it sparingly, and NEVER add it to the mix water, just a fraction of an ounce at the end. The alternative is adding excessive water to the mix, which is no better IMO than a miniscule amount of Dawn.

BTW, from what I understand, it has nothing to do with the air-entraining at all. What makes it work is that the original (not the utra-concnetrated you find readily available nowadays) is a small amount of glyscorene that temporarily suspends the cohesion of the lime, making it a form of a plasticizer. 


As for the quik-point gun, glad to hear you're having good results. We tried them 5 ears ago and got agravated by them. Too heavy, too little of a hopper, and just plain too slow. Maybe they improved them since then.........


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## stonecutter (May 13, 2010)

MAULEMALL said:


> I did a few chimneys that size with me and a helper...
> 
> I anchored I bolts and ran scaffold..Tied it as we went..
> Helper ground and I ran the gun...
> ...


You wouldnt be bolted very long to this chimney. The whole thing was disintegrating. 

I`m impressed if you did chimneys like this with you and one guy. This one was built in 1873 and it was huge. Even though I didnt do this job, I have done a lot of historical masonry restoration and I guaranty this job would not go "like butter". 

Here is a pic of the chimney from the upper parking lot.











Note the efflorescence on the top. I never got the exact dimensions of the chimney just guesstimated from memory..I think it was bigger than I remember it.


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## TheItalian204 (Jun 1, 2011)

stonecutter said:


> Note the efflorescence on the top. I never got the exact dimensions of the chimney just guesstimated from memory..I think it was bigger than I remember it.


Was that efflorescence from salt in water of joint mix?


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## stonecutter (May 13, 2010)

jomama said:


> I actually always held this as a "trade secret", but now that it's out there, I use it all the time as a plastiszer when "bagging" joints. Never had a problem, and from what I can tell, it's a trick that's many decades old. Like anything, you need to use it sparingly, and NEVER add it to the mix water, just a fraction of an ounce at the end. The alternative is adding excessive water to the mix, which is no better IMO than a miniscule amount of Dawn.
> 
> BTW, from what I understand, it has nothing to do with the air-entraining at all. What makes it work is that the original (not the utra-concnetrated you find readily available nowadays) is a small amount of glyscorene that temporarily suspends the cohesion of the lime, making it a form of a plasticizer.


Thats why I added the disclaimer of opinions will vary and I`m not saying anyone is necessarily wrong for using soap in the mix..but I wont be adding soap to my mixes ever. I prefer tried and true methods that are older than decades...but thats me.

Interesting points though and worth futher investigation.


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