Masonry repair · Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania

Repointing of historic mortar joints, partial wall reconstruction, chimney rebuilds and crown work, lintel replacement, brick rebuilding around windows and doors, stone capping, garden-wall repair. We do not do pressure washing, paint stripping, or below-grade waterproofing as primary scopes — those are separate trades.

Pre-1920 brick is soft. Portland mortar is hard. The two expand and contract at different rates, so the joint stops the brick from moving. The brick spalls instead. Within a decade of a Portland repoint on a pre-1920 wall, the face of every brick adjacent to the joint is failing. Lime mortar matches the brick’s compressibility and lets the wall do what it has done since 1900.

By sample. We chip a clean section of original mortar from a sheltered location, send it for petrographic analysis where the project warrants it, and replicate the binder ratio, sand grade, and color. For most pre-1920 work in Pittsburgh that is a natural hydraulic lime with a coarse local sand. We mix small batches and lay test joints before the production work begins.

Yes — repointing, crown rebuilds, cap install, flashing repair where it ties to the masonry, and full chimney rebuilds above the roofline as a separate scope. Chimneys above the roof are a different engagement from a body repoint because of staging, flashing, and roof access. We will scope each separately.

Tuck-pointing is part of the practice — that is, raking failed joints to a clean depth and refilling with matched mortar. Waterproofing of a brick wall is a separate question. Most water issues on Pittsburgh masonry are joint failures, not body failures; repoint correctly and the wall sheds water as it was designed to. Coating a wall with a waterproofing membrane traps moisture inside the brick and accelerates spalling. We will tell you that on the property walk.

A single chimney head: two to four days. One elevation of a row house: one to two weeks. Full-house repoint of a 1910 brick body: four to eight weeks depending on access and the percentage of joints requiring rework. The specification names linear feet by elevation and the production rate that drives the schedule.

Yes — we sub masonry to general contractors on properties where the GC is running the larger scope. We do not sub to operators who specify Portland mortar on pre-1920 walls or who push for a cure schedule that does not match the chemistry. The work has to last; we do not put our crew on a job that will not.

One year on workmanship — joint failure, mortar separation, settlement of a partial reconstruction. The warranty is in writing on the back of the proposal. Acts of God, third-party damage, and continued failure of an adjacent wall section we did not work on are not covered.