Pointing Trowels: What to Buy and How to Use One Properly
The UK guide to pointing trowels. Which size and brand to buy from £6, how to pack and finish mortar joints, and the technique that matters more than the tool.
Crumbling mortar joints let water into your walls. Water freezes, expands, and blows out more mortar. Within a couple of winters, a few dodgy joints become an entire elevation that needs repointing, turning a Saturday afternoon job into a week of scaffolding and several hundred pounds in materials. A pointing trowel is the tool that prevents that. It costs less than a takeaway.
What it is and when you need one
A pointing trowel is a small, narrow-bladed trowel used to push mortar into the joints between bricks or blocks and then shape it to a neat finish. The blade is typically 4 to 7 inches long, flat and triangular, tapering to a rounded or squared-off tip depending on the pattern.
It's not the same as a brick trowel. A brick trowel is the large one bricklayers use to scoop and spread mortar when laying bricks. A pointing trowel is its smaller sibling, designed specifically for the fiddly work of filling and finishing joints. The narrow blade fits into the gap between bricks where a full-sized trowel can't reach.
You'll need one whenever mortar joints need attention. That includes repointing weathered brickwork, tidying up joints after new brickwork is laid, filling small patches, and making repairs. If your extension involves any exposed brickwork (and most do), somebody will be using a pointing trowel on it.
Types and variants
Two blade patterns dominate the UK market: London and Philadelphia. The names sound exotic but the difference is simple.
London pattern has a rounded heel (the wide end near the handle). This pushes mortar further forward on the blade toward the tip, giving you more control when pressing mortar into tight joints. It's the traditional UK pattern and the one most commonly stocked by Screwfix, Toolstation, and Wickes.
Philadelphia pattern has a square heel, which holds more mortar on the blade overall. Some bricklayers prefer it for blockwork where the joints are wider. For domestic pointing and repointing work, either pattern works. If you're buying your first one, go London. It's what the UK trade defaults to and what you'll find on the shelf.
Size
6 inches is the standard working size. It's what professional bricklayers carry, what every UK retailer stocks as the default, and what you should buy unless you have a specific reason not to. The 4-inch and 5-inch sizes exist for fine detail work in tight spaces (archaeologists use them, for perspective), but a 6-inch blade covers repointing a garden wall, finishing joints on an extension, and everything in between.
How to use it properly
The tool is simple. The skill is the mortar.
Community forums, professional bricklayers, and trade guides all say the same thing: beginners obsess over which trowel to buy and then struggle because the mortar consistency is wrong. Get the mix right and a £6 trowel works perfectly. Get the mix wrong and a £25 trowel won't save you.
Getting the mortar right
For modern brickwork (post-1930), mix 4 parts sharp sand to 1 part cement. Add plasticiser (not washing-up liquid, despite what your neighbour says) to improve workability. The mortar should hold its shape when you cut through it with the trowel edge, like cutting marzipan. If it slumps, it's too wet. If it crumbles, it's too dry.
For pre-1930 properties with softer bricks, use a lime-based mortar (3 parts sharp sand to 1 part lime), not cement. Cement mortar is harder than old bricks. Moisture gets forced through the brick face instead of evaporating through the joint, and the brick face eventually spalls and crumbles. This is irreversible damage. If your property has original soft bricks, lime mortar is not optional.
The technique
Load your hawk (a flat board with a handle underneath) with mortar. Cut a sausage-shaped portion off the hawk with the trowel blade and press it firmly into the joint, working it in from the face of the brick. Push hard enough that the mortar fills the entire depth of the joint with no air pockets behind it. A joint that looks filled but has voids behind the surface will crack out within a year.
Work in small sections. Two or three courses at a time, about a metre wide. This gives you time to finish each section before the mortar starts to set.
Fill vertical joints (the upright gaps between bricks, called "perps" or "cross joints") before horizontal joints (the long runs, called "bed joints"). This stops mortar from the horizontal joints squeezing into the verticals and leaving a mess.
Finishing the joint
Here's where beginners get caught out: the pointing trowel packs the mortar in, but you usually need a second tool to finish the joint profile. The standard combination in UK residential brickwork is a pointing trowel plus a brick jointer (a curved metal bar that presses a concave channel into the mortar).
Wait 20 to 30 minutes after packing the joints before finishing. Press your thumb into the mortar. If it holds the impression without sticking to your skin, it's ready. Too early and the mortar smears with no definition. Too late and it resists shaping or crumbles under pressure.
Run the jointer along the joint in one smooth pass, pressing firmly enough to compact the surface. This creates the concave "bucket handle" profile that's standard on most UK housing. It sheds water efficiently and looks clean.
After finishing, wait another 30 minutes, then brush the wall lightly with a soft-bristled brush to remove crumbs and mortar smears from the brick faces. Don't scrub hard or you'll drag mortar out of the joints.
The hardest part
Keeping mortar off the brick faces is the skill that separates clean work from messy work. Use a stiff mortar (not too wet), work the trowel blade precisely, and don't scrape the blade up or down the face of the brick. Scraping smears a thin film of cement across the surface that's difficult to remove once it sets.
If you do smear mortar on the brick face, clean it off within 15 minutes with a damp sponge. Once it cures, you'll need an acid-based brick cleaner, and that's a hassle you don't want.
Joint profiles
The bucket handle (concave) profile is the default for most UK housing and the easiest for beginners. But there are four common profiles, and the right one depends on the building.
| Profile | How it's made | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Bucket handle (concave) | Curved jointer or length of hosepipe pressed along the joint | Most residential brickwork. Sheds water well, clean appearance, forgiving for beginners |
| Flush | Wooden strip or trowel edge drawn across the joint to cut mortar level with the brick face | Modern, minimal look. Easy to do but shows imperfections more than concave |
| Weather struck | Pointing trowel angled to create a slope from top brick to bottom brick | Exposed walls. The angle sheds rain away from the joint. Takes practice to keep the angle consistent |
| Recessed | Mortar raked back 3-5mm from the brick face with a jointing tool | Contemporary aesthetic only. Not suitable for exterior walls in exposed positions because the ledge collects water |
If you're matching existing pointing on your house, look at the joints on an undamaged section and replicate the profile. Mismatched pointing stands out and looks like a patch job.
What to buy
A pointing trowel is one of the cheapest tools you'll own. Even the professional-grade options cost less than a round of drinks. Don't overthink it, but don't buy the absolute cheapest thing on the shelf either.
| Tier | Price | Brands/Models | Buy if... |
|---|---|---|---|
| Budget | £6-10 | Magnusson 6" (Screwfix, £9.99), Wickes own-brand 6" (£10), R.S.T. London Pattern 5" (B&Q, £6.76) | You're repointing a small patch or doing a one-off repair. The Magnusson at Screwfix has a 4.9-star rating from 21 reviews and is genuinely decent for the price |
| Mid-range | £13-21 | Ragni 6" (Toolstation, £13.98), Marshalltown 6" DuraSoft (marshalltowntools.co.uk, £19.94) | You're doing a full wall or working on an extension. The Ragni is excellent value at £14 with a 5-star rating. Marshalltown is the brand professional bricklayers trust |
| Premium | £25-30 | Marshalltown 6" (Screwfix, £24.99), Marshalltown M457D 7" DuraSoft (£29.14) | You want the best available. The premium is small in absolute terms. A Marshalltown will outlast the house you're working on |
The blade material is carbon steel across all tiers. Stainless steel pointing trowels exist but they're uncommon and unnecessary. Carbon steel holds a better edge for cutting mortar. The trade-off is rust, but that's easily managed: wipe the blade with an oily rag after use and don't leave it sitting in water.
Handle choice
Soft-grip (rubber-coated) handles are standard across the range, whether you're buying Magnusson or Marshalltown. They're more comfortable than bare wood during extended use and less likely to slip with wet hands. Marshalltown's DuraSoft handle is specifically praised in trade forums for long sessions. Wood handles still exist (Marshalltown offers them at £18 – £19) and some bricklayers prefer the feel, but for a homeowner buying one trowel, soft-grip is the right default.
If you're buying a pointing trowel for repointing work, pick up a brick jointer at the same time. A basic curved jointer costs around £7 – £10 and you'll need one to finish the joints. A length of 15mm copper pipe or garden hosepipe works as a free alternative for the bucket handle profile.
Looking after it
Carbon steel rusts. That's the only maintenance concern with a pointing trowel, and it's trivial to manage.
After each use, scrape off any remaining mortar with a stiff brush or the edge of another trowel. Wipe the blade with a cloth dampened with WD-40 or a thin machine oil. Store it somewhere dry. That's it.
If rust does appear (and it will if you forget to clean it after a session), remove it with wire wool and re-oil. Light surface rust doesn't affect performance. Some bricklayers deliberately force a patina by soaking the blade in vinegar overnight, which creates a dark oxide layer that resists further rusting.
Don't leave the trowel sitting in a bucket of water between sessions. A week of that and the blade pits. Ten minutes of washing mortar off is fine.
Where you'll need this
Pointing trowels appear at several stages of any extension or renovation project:
- Walls and blockwork - finishing mortar joints on new brickwork and blockwork as courses are laid
- Foundations and footings - tidying mortar joints on visible foundation blockwork above ground level
- Snagging checklist - checking mortar joint quality and repairing any defects before sign-off