Concrete, Brick & Stone Repair
As foundations age and deteriorate, repair or relay is sometimes needed. We help determine exactly what's required, then restore the strength, and the look, of your concrete flatwork, brick, and stone.
Concrete, Brick & Stone Repair in Kansas City
As foundations age and deteriorate, repair or relay is sometimes needed. We help determine exactly what’s required, then restore the strength, and the look, of your concrete flatwork, brick, and stone.
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Masonry Ages, And Kansas City Accelerates It
Brick, block, and stone are durable, but the mortar between them is the sacrificial part, and it is designed that way. Mortar is meant to be softer than the masonry so it takes the movement and the weathering instead of the brick.
In this climate that mortar takes freeze-thaw cycling all winter. Water gets into the joint, freezes, expands, and works the mortar loose a little at a time. Once joints open up, water gets deeper into the wall and the deterioration compounds. Tuckpointing at the right time is inexpensive maintenance. Waiting until units are loose is a rebuild.
How We Approach Masonry Repair
Assess the cause first
Deteriorated mortar from age and weather is one thing. Stair-step cracking through brick is often the foundation telling you something. We determine which before repairing, because repointing a crack caused by active settlement just means repointing it again.
Tuckpointing
Deteriorated mortar is cut out to appropriate depth and repointed. Grinding out old joints properly is what makes the repair last; skimming new mortar over failed joints does not bond and does not hold.
Mortar matching
Mortar should be compatible with the masonry it is joining. Using mortar that is harder than the brick means the brick takes the stress instead of the joint, and you get spalled brick faces. On older homes with soft brick this matters a great deal.
Rebuilding and relaying
Where units are loose, displaced, or a section has failed, that area gets taken down and relaid. Common on chimneys, porch piers, foundation faces, and steps.
Concrete flatwork repair
Where the concrete is the problem rather than the masonry, we repair or replace the affected section, matching the existing work as closely as new concrete allows.
Repair Or Rebuild?
Repointing territory
Mortar joints that are recessed, crumbling, or can be scratched out with a key, while the brick or stone units themselves are sound and in position. Caught here, it is straightforward maintenance.
Rebuild territory
Units that are loose or have shifted, a section bulging out of plane, a chimney or pier leaning, or masonry that has already been repointed several times over failing units. At that point the wall needs to come apart and go back correctly.
What Determines The Cost
We do not publish a price, because a number without seeing your foundation is a guess. Here is what actually moves it, so you know what we are looking at during the free inspection.
- Square footage or linear footage of the area being repaired
- Repointing versus rebuilding, which are very different scopes
- Access and height, since anything requiring scaffolding costs more
- Matching existing masonry and mortar, especially on older homes
- Whether units have to be salvaged and reused or sourced new
- Any underlying structural issue that has to be addressed first
Concrete, Brick & Stone Repair FAQs
Cutting out deteriorated mortar joints to an appropriate depth and repointing them with fresh mortar. It restores the weather barrier and the structural integrity of the joint. It is maintenance, and doing it on time is far cheaper than what replaces it.
If you can scratch mortar out of the joints with a key or a screwdriver, if joints are visibly recessed compared to the brick face, or if you see sand at the base of the wall, the mortar is going. Catching it there is inexpensive relative to waiting.
It often is. Stair-step cracking through mortar joints commonly indicates foundation movement rather than simple mortar deterioration. Repointing it without addressing the movement means it reopens. That is why we assess the cause before quoting the repair, and it is one of the advantages of the masonry work being done by a foundation company.
We work to match as closely as possible, and we are honest that an exact match on an older home is difficult. Brick that has weathered for decades does not look like new brick, and mortar color shifts as it cures. We will show you what to expect rather than overpromise.
Yes, including repointing, rebuilding deteriorated sections, and addressing chimneys that have started to lean. A leaning chimney is usually a footing issue, which is squarely in our wheelhouse.
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