wat dis?
all the local brick repointing/restoration outfits seem to love a tuck pointing, but I think it looks kinda naff if done so-so, and if done perfectly (so you can't see the coloured mortar) it just looks too formal for an ordinary 1920s house.
^ I'd guess builders will use NHL, as it's closer to cement to work with.
It's probably worth finding out though, if nothing else jsutbto check they aren't sneakk in a bit of Portland, as aunt_maud says.
But yeah - soft reds only really get damaged when someone has reported with a cement mortar.
Or that awful dyed brick repair crap that someone has slapped on my place