A hairline crack in mortar is not automatic bad news, and I say that to a lot of nervous homeowners right after they’ve texted me…
Sealing Brick and Stone: When It Helps and When It Hurts
The first sealer I ever brushed onto my own house was a mistake, and I paid for it about three winters later when a whole…
Repairing a Cracked Brick Wall Step by Step
A house near Old Town Buda almost fell out of contract last fall over a crack in the garage wall. The seller called me in…
How Salt and De-Icers Damage Masonry
“That stoop looked fine on Halloween. By Presidents’ Day it’s flaking like a sunburn.” I hear some version of that line from a seller almost…
Cleaning Brick Without Damaging the Mortar
A guy in Wooster Square nearly ruined the front of a beautiful 1870s brick townhouse with a rented pressure washer last summer. He had good…
What Drives the Cost of a Masonry Project?
Two brick jobs, same week, same footprint — one quote came in almost double the other. The homeowner on the pricier job in St. George…
Permits and Inspections for Masonry Work
Last spring I sat at a kitchen table in New Dorp with a homeowner who had already bought pallets of pavers and a load of…
How to Read a Masonry Estimate Line by Line
A reader over in East Rock forwarded me two estimates for the same chimney and repointing job last winter and asked me to referee. One…
Getting Accurate Quotes From Masonry Contractors
Three quotes landed on a Cedar Park kitchen table last month: $9,000, $14,000, and $22,000, all supposedly for the same stone veneer job. The homeowner…
Deposits and Progress Payments on Masonry Jobs
A woman over in Westlake once handed a mason 90 percent of a $30,000 chimney job before he’d so much as pulled a brick loose,…