Mortar crumbling out of the joints or bricks working loose? We repoint and repair with mortar chosen for your brick, so the wall holds up.
Masonry restoration in Summerville, SC usually means repointing your brick. We take the worn mortar out of the joints, pack in new mortar and repair or replace bricks that are too far gone, so the wall is tight and sound again.
Most calls start with something you can see from the yard. Mortar has sunk back from the brick face or crumbles when you scratch it, a brick rocks when you push on it, or a patch low on one wall looks stained and washed out. Mortar is supposed to wear before the brick does, so some of this is normal on an older house.
The price moves with how many square feet of joints need raking out, how deep the old mortar has failed, how many bricks need replacing and how tall the wall is. Walls above about 8 feet need scaffolding, which raises the cost per square foot. Brick that's hard to match and a drainage fix that has to go with the job add to it as well.
The schedule turns mostly on finding brick to match and on whether your job needs a permit or a historic design review first. Your written estimate lists the materials, the steps and anything not included, so you can line it up against other bids and see exactly what you're paying for.
New mortar only lasts if the reason the old mortar failed gets dealt with. These are the things I look at on a restoration walk-around, and why each one matters to your wall.
If a leaking downspout or poor drainage washed the mortar out, fresh mortar will wash out the same way. The downspout has to be replaced and the drainage repaired, so we note those fixes on your estimate and you can plan and budget for them with the repointing instead of after it.
A crack that steps through the joints or splits bricks can mean the wall has moved, and repointing over movement just fills a crack that will open again. When I see that pattern we look for the cause first, which sometimes points to foundation repair before any joint work.
Old brick often needs cleaning before or after repointing, but water at high pressure is very abrasive. Power washing and water blasting can etch soft stone and some types of brick, leaving the face rough for good. If anyone plans to blast your wall clean, ask what pressure they'll use and why.
From the first call to the last walk-around, you deal with me and our own crew. Here's how a restoration job usually runs at your house.
Call (843) 376-1285 or fill out our form and tell us what you're seeing on the wall and where the house is, so we can set a time for me to come out.
I come out, look the wall over, measure it and ask what you want from the work. You get a written estimate with the materials and steps, and before we start I check permits with the office covering your address.
Our own crew rakes out the old mortar, repairs or replaces brick and packs the new joints. I check the work as it goes, so a problem gets caught on that course and not after.
When it's done, we walk the wall with you so you can see the joints and any new brick up close, and we leave the site clean. Keep an eye on spots where water used to hit.
On an older house, we repair what can be saved before we talk about rebuilding. Most walls with worn joints still have good brick in them, and taking a sound wall down to relay it costs you more and loses the original work. Rebuilding a section makes sense when bricks are cracked through or the wall has moved, and I'll show you why before it goes on an estimate.
We take old mortar out by hand where a grinder could chip the brick. A mechanical grinder is fast, but it can knock the edges and corners off old brick, and that damage shows along every joint for the life of the wall. Hand raking takes longer, so it costs more in labor, and on old brick it's the trade-off I'd pick.
Any new brick we add is picked to match the old in size, color and how it's laid, so a repaired patch doesn't read as a patch from the street. That takes more looking than grabbing the closest brick at the yard, and it's the part of the job people notice most.
Restoration sometimes turns up work next to it. An old fireplace with a crumbling firebox may be better replaced than patched again, and our fireplace installation work covers that. Where a plain block or concrete wall sits beside your restored brick, stone veneer installation can give it a finished face, and we quote that separately so you can decide on its own merits.
If only a few areas are worn, spot repointing is the cheaper fix. When most joints are soft, I'd repoint the whole wall, because patches next to old joints weather differently and the rest will need doing soon anyway.
Doing the worst walls now and the rest later spreads out the cost. On a tall wall that needs scaffolding, I'd do it all at once, since setting scaffolding up twice means paying for it twice.
We get back to you within one business day, and the estimate is free, done on site and comes with no obligation. After you send the form, we set a time and I come out to look the wall over, measure it and write up the materials, the steps and anything not included.
(843) 376-1285The Town of Summerville Building Department requires permits and inspections for renovations and repairs to a building's structure, and the city wants contractors licensed by the state for the work and holding a city business license. Before we start, we find out whether your address is inside city limits or in the county, check with the office that covers it, and handle the permit and inspections when the job needs them.
If your house is in the Downtown Historic District, the Board of Architectural Review reviews exterior changes there. The city's design guidelines favor repairing walls over rebuilding them and ask for replacement brick matched in size, color and texture, laid in the original pattern with matching joints, which fits how we already work. We help you line up the board's approval before the permit.
We're based in Summerville and work across the cities around it in Dorchester, Berkeley and Charleston counties, including North Charleston and Goose Creek. Most of our restoration calls come from owners of older brick homes, and if your city isn't listed on this site, we're still glad to hear from you.
I learned brick, block and stone on a big commercial outfit, where every course got measured and checked before the next one went on. I started this business in Summerville in 2013, 13 years ago, and I still come out to look at your wall and measure it myself, because the plan is only as good as the numbers behind it.
Our own crew does the work, and I check the joints as they go instead of at the end, when a problem is harder to undo. We're fully licensed and insured. Satisfaction guaranteed on every job.
If your joints are going soft, call (843) 376-1285 or send us a few details and I'll set a time to come look.
If the walk-around shows the firebox or hearth is past patching, a new fireplace built to fit the room may serve you better than another round of repairs.
When a plain block or concrete wall sits next to restored brick, a stone face gives it a finished look that suits the rest of the house.
Restoration work goes out from Summerville to the cities listed below. Each page covers how we work there, and if your city isn't on the list, call and ask.
Repointing brick across the US usually costs about $3 to $25 per square foot, going by one national cost guide, and that's the general market range, not our price. Where your wall lands depends on the joint depth, height, brick matching and drainage work covered earlier on this page. I give you your own figure in a written estimate after I measure.
Soft old brick usually needs a mortar softer than the brick, so the joint wears and lets moisture out instead of the brick. National Park Service guidance on repointing describes a soft brick wall badly damaged by hard portland cement mortar that trapped moisture. We choose the mortar to suit your wall and name it on your estimate.
One national cost guide says brick and stone mortar requires repointing every 25 to 30 years, so it's upkeep you can plan and budget for well ahead. Joints that take steady water from a leak can wear out sooner, which is why we fix where that water comes from first.
Yes, pointing and repointing mean the same job of raking out worn mortar and packing in new. You'll also see it called tuckpointing, which is a looser name, but most quotes mean the same work. What matters more is which mortar goes in and how the old joints come out.
Move cars, grills, furniture and potted plants a few feet back from the walls we're working on, and trim shrubs so we can reach the bottom joints. Raking out mortar makes dust, so keep nearby windows shut on work days and tell us about any outlets or hose bibs on that wall.
Call (843) 376-1285 or use our form with a few photos, the wall's rough size and whether you're in the Downtown Historic District, so I come out already knowing what to look for.
