MASONRY
Brick, mortar and concrete that hold up to a Chicago winter. Tuckpointing, parapets, pavers and flatwork, designed and managed end to end.
Masonry work covers repointing failing brick, rebuilding parapets and stairs, sealing seams at grade, and laying new paver and concrete surfaces. Purpose Design+Build designs the approach, locks the budget, and manages the build.
Most masonry on the North Side is repair before it is anything else. Mortar is the sacrificial layer, softer than the brick on purpose, and when it goes water gets into the wall and a cosmetic problem turns structural. So we do it the slow way. The old mortar is ground all the way out of the joint and repacked, not smeared across a joint nobody opened. Done properly that is preservation rather than patching, and it holds for around twenty years. Individual brick can be chopped out and replaced where it has already split. Parapets are what stop a building crumbling at the roofline, and where the ground meets the house we seal the seam so water cannot wick in. On new concrete and paver work we design the surface first, then set slope and drainage so water runs away from the building instead of back at it.
Assessment of what is failing and why
Full grind out and repack, never a surface smear
Mortar, brick and paver selection matched to the building
Managed build, and permits pulled under our own license
We hired Steve to do our backyard concrete, and the results are fantastic! The work was done on time, with great attention to detail, and the space looks completely transformed.
We work across Chicago's North Side. See masonry in your neighborhood:
How much does masonry cost in Chicago?
Repair tuckpointing typically lands between $1,500 and $6,000. Paver and hardscape installs run $20,000 and up. Every project is still priced after a site visit, because the scope depends on what we find in the existing brick and mortar. The range educates, the site visit prices.
What does the masonry process look like?
We listen, design it with you, lock the plan and budget, match you with the right builders, and manage the build. You approve before anything is built.
Do you work in my neighborhood?
We work across Chicago's North Side, including Andersonville, Edgewater, Lincoln Park, Lake View, and Lincoln Square. See the neighborhood links on this page.