My name’s Tom Halloran, and I’ve spent close to twenty years laying stone and block around Austin, Texas. I build mostly in limestone down here,…
Masonry Foundation Repair on Texas Expansive Clay
The first crack a homeowner in Buda showed me ran diagonally up from the corner of a garage door, stair-stepping through the mortar joints like…
How Weather Affects a Masonry Pour
A mason buddy of mine near Round Rock, Texas called me one January morning sounding rattled. He’d poured a footing the afternoon before, and overnight…
Efflorescence on Brick and Block: Causes and Fixes
A young couple in Fair Haven bought their first house — a solid old brick place a few blocks off the Quinnipiac — and called…
Driveway Aprons and Curbing: A Masonry Primer
My name is Dale Kessler, and I’ve spent the better part of 22 years pouring concrete and doing masonry repair around Williamson County, working mostly…
Concrete Steps and Stoops: Repair or Replace?
A woman in Great Kills called me last winter because her front stoop was crumbling, and she’d already gotten two wildly different answers from two…