Masonry restoration in Macon GA - old brick and stone made sound again
Crumbling joints, stained brick or a wall that keeps wetting through? We find what's causing it and repair it gently so it holds.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
Is your old brick worth restoring, or does it need replacing?
Masonry restoration in Macon, GA is careful repair of the brick, stone and mortar you already have. It usually means new mortar in worn joints, fixing whatever is letting water in, and a gentle cleaning, so your walls stay sound without losing their old face.
Most of the calls we get are about an older brick house with sandy joints, a damp patch that won't dry, or an earlier patch job that didn't hold. The price moves with how much mortar has to come out, how high and hard to reach the wall is, how many bricks need brick repair, and whether gutters or downspouts need work first. The schedule turns on the weather for any cleaning and, if your home is in a historic or downtown district, on design review. The estimate lays out the materials and the steps, so you can see the numbers for your own house.
How can you tell your brick or mortar needs restoring?
Mortar that turns to sand
If you can scrape a joint with a key and it crumbles out, the mortar has worn through and isn't keeping water off the brick anymore. Left alone, water gets behind the face, and the job grows from new joints to replacing brick.
Dark streaks under a downspout
A damp or stained stripe running down the wall usually means a gutter or downspout is soaking that one spot. That's where the mortar goes first, so it's worth catching before the damage spreads along the wall.
Brick faces flaking off
When the face of a brick chips or peels while the mortar beside it still looks hard, water is often getting out through the brick instead of the joints. Every face that flakes off is a brick that has to be cut out and replaced, so this one shouldn't wait.
How we handle masonry restoration, start to finish
Restoration is about protecting what's already there, so the order of work matters. We start with water, because a leaking downspout can leach the mortar right out of a wall, and new joints under the same leak won't last long, so any gutter or downspout repairs go into the job first. Then we rake out the worn mortar and repoint with a mix that's no harder than your brick. Hard cement mortar lets less moisture through than soft old brick, so water gets trapped in the wall and the brick takes the damage instead. Cleaning comes last, once the joints are sound and the wall is watertight, so water can't seep inside and rust the metal anchors or stain the plaster. We don't reach for a pressure washer first, and we save any water cleaning for weather with no chance of frost, since water that freezes inside the masonry can flake and crack the face.
Restoration sometimes turns up other work. If a chimney breast or firebox is too far gone to bring back, we can talk through fireplace installation, and if you're adding onto an older house, we do stone veneer installation so the new part sits well beside the old.
Repointing worn joints
This suits a wall where the brick is still sound but the joints are sandy, cracked or missing. New mortar protects the brick you have, which costs far less than replacing it.
Gentle cleaning of brick and stone
This suits a facade that's dark with dirt or old stains, once the repairs are done. We start with the mildest method that works, because old brick and stone lose their face quickly to anything rough.
Get a free on-site look at your brick and mortar
We reply within one business day to set a time for me to come out. The visit and the estimate are free, and there's no obligation to go ahead with the work.
(478) 309-1109Masonry restoration in Macon's historic and downtown districts
If your property in Macon is zoned "H" or "CBD", it sits in a Design Review District. Changes in design or materials there need a Certificate of Appropriateness, and the same goes for any of Macon's historic districts. The project may also need a look from the Design Review Board before work starts. Whether new mortar or a cleaning counts as a change on your house is something the review settles, not us. So I check your zoning at the estimate, and if you're in one of these districts, we help you work through the review steps before the crew starts.
Most of what we restore around here is older brick, often with a hard gray patch from years back sitting next to the soft original mortar, and downspouts that empty right against the wall. We're based in Macon and work across Middle Georgia, and we see the same problems on jobs in Milledgeville and Fort Valley.
What happens after you call about masonry restoration?
Call or send the form
Call (478) 309-1109 or fill out the form, and we'll find a time for me to come out. Tell us what you're seeing and roughly where it is on the house.
I look at the whole house
I come out myself and look at the walls and everything around them, down to the gutters and downspouts. Then I tell you what I think is going on, and what I can't know until the old mortar comes out.
You get a written scope
The estimate spells out the materials and each step of the work, so you can see what you're paying for and why. Nothing starts until you've had time to look it over.
The crew works, I check in
A lead mason and the crew do the work, and I check in along the way. When they're done, I walk the finished wall with you before we call it finished.
Frequently asked questions
What causes mortar to crumble between bricks?
Mortar is meant to wear out before the brick does, because it's the sacrificial part of the wall that takes the wear so the bricks stay protected. Water running down the wall speeds that up. Repointing, also called pointing, removes the worn mortar from the joints and replaces it with new, which puts that protection back without disturbing sound brick.
What is the best way to clean old brick without damaging it?
Start gentle and skip the power washer, because water at too high a pressure, as in power washing and water blasting, is very abrasive and can easily etch marble, other soft stones and some kinds of brick. Before you hire anyone, ask how they plan to clean your walls. We'll go over our plan for your house at the estimate.
Do I need a permit for masonry restoration in Macon?
You will if the job is big enough, because in Macon-Bibb any construction over $2,500 requires a building permit. If you have questions about what's required, the Macon-Bibb Building and Fire Safety Department answers them. At the estimate, we'll tell you whether your job is likely to cross that line.
How often does brick need repointing?
About every 20 to 30 years as general maintenance, according to one home services marketplace, for brick and stone walls and chimneys alike. Treat that as a rough guide, not a deadline. Joints under a leaky gutter or up on a chimney can wear out well before the rest of the house, so it's worth checking them on their own.
How much does masonry restoration cost in Macon?
The cost is set mostly by how much wall needs new mortar and how deep the old mortar has failed. Matching an old lime mortar, fixing drainage first and cleaning a stained facade each add to it, while repointing only the worst sections keeps it down. Your estimate gives you a figure for your house, with the materials and steps written out.
Does a historic house in Macon need a special mortar?
Usually it needs a softer one than you'd use on new work. Federal guidance for historic masonry calls for lime-based mortar no stronger than the stone beside it or the original mix, with the original worked out by laboratory analysis. On an older house, that's the place to start the conversation, and we'll talk it through when I come out.
Macon, GA
Find out why your mortar is failing
Photos of the walls and any leaking downspouts help me come prepared, and if you know your property's zoning, mention it when you call or send the form.