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,…
DIY vs Hiring a Mason: Where to Draw the Line
Last spring I listed a house off Brushy Creek in Cedar Park where the seller had spent a Saturday “fixing” the front walkway himself. He’d…