From historic brick restoration in Montclair to natural stone patios in Paramus, our masons combine traditional craft with modern engineering. We tuck-point, rebuild, and lay new stonework with proper drainage and frost-depth footings.
Masonry work is unforgiving of the wrong material choice in a way that most exterior trades are not. Brick and stone assemblies are designed to manage water by letting it pass in and dry back out, and almost every masonry failure we are called to repair started with someone interrupting that cycle — a hard mortar where a soft one belonged, a waterproof sealer where a breathable one was needed, or a modern patch against a century-old wall.
Mortar hardness is the crux of it. Older North Jersey masonry was laid with lime mortar that is deliberately softer than the surrounding brick, so seasonal movement and freeze-thaw damage the joint rather than the brick face. Re-point that wall with a high-Portland mix and the relationship inverts: the joint becomes the hardest element, and the brick faces start to spall instead. That damage is not reversible — a spalled brick has to be replaced.
Freeze-thaw is the load that finds every one of these mistakes. Our winters swing across the freezing point repeatedly rather than holding cold, so water that has entered a wall expands and contracts many times each season. Any detail that admits water without letting it escape will fail here faster than the same detail would in a colder, drier climate.
No surprises mid-job. This is the same sequence on every project we take.
We determine where water is entering — a failed cap, an open joint, a bad grade, a leaking gutter above — because repairing masonry without fixing the source means repairing it again.
We assess the hardness, colour and sand of the original mortar and match it. On pre-1930 masonry that means a lime-based mix so the joint stays the sacrificial element.
Joints are cut back to sound mortar at a proper depth rather than smeared over. A skim coat over a failing joint looks fine for a season and then falls off along with more of the wall.
Brick or stone that has lost its face cannot be repaired and gets replaced with matched units. We source as close a match as is available and lay them into the existing pattern.
The top of any masonry element is where water gets in. Caps and copings are rebuilt to shed water clear of the wall face with proper overhang and drip.
Where a sealer is appropriate we use a vapor-permeable product that sheds liquid water while letting the wall dry. We do not paint or use film-forming sealers on historic masonry.
Seeing any of these? A free inspection costs you nothing and you get the photos either way.
Properly installed paver patios (compacted base, polymeric sand, edge restraint) last 25–40 years. Natural stone lasts indefinitely.
Yes. We source from regional brick yards and salvage suppliers and can match color, size, and texture on most homes built after 1900.
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