How can I tell if my house needs repointing, and how urgent is it?

Repointing means renewing the mortar joints between your bricks once the old mortar has worn back — it is not just cosmetic, because those joints are what keep water out of the wall. The clearest signs are mortar you can rake out with a screwdriver or that crumbles to sand, joints that have receded well behind the brick faces, hairline cracks running through the pointing, and any brick that feels loose. Damp patches on inside walls, moss or small plants rooting in the joints, and brick faces flaking off after a frost all point the same way: water is getting in where it should be shedding off.
How urgent it is depends on how far it has gone. A few soft joints on a sheltered wall can wait for dry, mild weather. Receded joints on a weather-facing elevation, loose bricks, or active damp should be sorted before winter, because every freeze-thaw cycle widens the gaps and can crack the bricks themselves.
One thing worth getting right before you accept any quote: if your home was built before roughly 1919 it almost certainly needs a lime-based mortar, not modern cement. Cement is harder and less breathable than old bricks, so it traps moisture and can spall the brick faces over time — a common and costly mistake on period homes. A good bricklayer will match the mix, colour and joint profile to what is already there.
For typical prices by wall size and mortar type, see our repointing cost guide. When you are ready, we can match you with vetted local bricklayers so you can compare like-for-like quotes.