Brick repair in Palm Beach Gardens FL - sound joints that keep water out of your walls
Mortar crumbling out of the joints or a brick cracked through? We repair what failed so water stays out of your wall.
- Service
- Brick repair
- Call
- (561) 268-0530
How can you tell your brick needs repair?
Mortar crumbling out
You run a finger along a joint and sand comes off, or there are gaps where mortar used to be. The joint has usually worn past doing its job, and every rain after that pushes more water into the wall behind it.
Hairline cracks along joints
Thin cracks that follow the mortar lines are often the first way water gets into a brick wall. It's a lot easier to fix a few joints now than a whole section once the damage spreads.
A brick cracked through
When a crack runs through the brick itself, the joints around it have usually let go too. Left alone, that brick can work loose and fall out, and then you're replacing brick instead of mortar.
White powder that returns
A white, chalky film on brick sometimes brushes off and stays gone. When it keeps coming back, water is likely getting into the wall and staying there, and that's worth tracking down before it does more harm.
What does brick repair in Palm Beach Gardens actually involve?
Brick repair in Palm Beach Gardens is mostly mortar work. We grind out the joints that have worn or cracked, fill them with fresh mortar and replace any brick that has cracked through, and redoing worn joints is one of the most lasting ways to stop rain from working into brickwork.
Most of the brick I look at in Palm Beach Gardens and the cities around it, from Jupiter down through West Palm Beach and up into Martin County, still has plenty of life in the brick and tired mortar in a few spots. The price moves with how many joints have actually failed, how many bricks need swapping and how high or hard to reach the wall is, and the schedule turns on the size of the job and the weather, since fresh mortar wants dry days. The written estimate I send after seeing your wall gives you the figure for your own house.
Details to note before an estimate
- Rough wall size in square feet
- Which walls or features to include
- Crumbling, cracked or missing mortar joints
- Bricks cracked through or loose
How we do brick repair, joint by joint
I came to the trowel late, after years behind a building supply counter, and the mason who took me on made sure I could read a wall before I touched one. So we start by going over your brick joint by joint, because we fix the joints and bricks that have actually failed and leave the sound ones alone, and you're not paying to redo good work. Original joints in good shape hold up better than new ones, and repointing is slow work by hand, so keeping it to the failures keeps the job and the bill smaller. Our crew grinds out the bad mortar, cleans the joints, packs in fresh mortar, replaces any brick that's cracked through and shapes the new joints to match the old. New mortar has to be weaker than your brick, because mortar harder than the brick can make the brick faces flake off, and I'm glad to show you how the mortar we plan compares with yours before we start.
Once the brick is sound, a lot of folks turn to what's around it. If the drive leading up to the house is cracked or patchy, driveway pavers give you a fresh surface laid by the same crew, and if soil keeps washing off a slope or a bed, retaining wall construction gives it something built to hold it in place.
Other work people pair with brick repair
Driveway pavers
If your driveway is cracked, stained or settling next to repaired brick, pavers give you a surface that's easy to fix one piece at a time.
Retaining wall construction
When a yard slopes toward the house or a planter wall is leaning, a well-built retaining wall holds the soil back and keeps water moving away.
What happens after you call us about brick repair?
Call or send a message
Call (561) 268-0530 or use the form on this page, and we'll get back to you to set up a time. Tell us roughly where the trouble is so I know what I'm walking up to.
I look the wall over
I come out myself, go over the brick with you and point out which joints have failed and which are fine. Then I send you a written estimate for the work we talked through, so the price isn't a surprise later.
Our crew does the repair
Once any permit is taken care of, our lead mason, the crew and I do the work together. We stick to the joints and bricks we went over with you.
We walk the finished job
We clean up the dust and mortar crumbs, then I walk the finished wall with you. I'll tell you what we did and why, so you know what you're looking at for years to come.
Common questions about brick repair
How do I know if my brick mortar needs repointing?
Mortar usually needs repointing once it has worn back more than ¼ inch, is crumbling, or shows hairline cracks or holes, and also when bricks have cracked along with the joints. That check decides whether you need the work at all, so have someone who knows masonry look at the wall before anyone starts grinding.
How much does brick repair cost in Palm Beach Gardens?
Brick repair across the US usually costs about $20 to $40 per square foot, so the size of the area that has actually failed matters more than the size of the whole wall. Failed caps, the pieces along the top of a wall, bad flashing that's supposed to shed water, or brick that's soaked through add work beyond the joints. Your own number comes from the written estimate after I've seen the wall.
Do I need a permit to repair brick in Palm Beach Gardens?
That's the city's call, and the City of Palm Beach Gardens Building Department, which handles building and permit work in the city, is the place to ask. When a job needs a permit, we pull it with the city or county office that covers your address and set up the inspections.
What should I ask before hiring a contractor for brick repair?
Ask to see their county or state license and their liability and workers' comp insurance, because Palm Beach County requires its contractors to be certified and insured and tells owners to check. Ask to see repointing jobs they've done, since a good bricklayer isn't always good at repointing, and hold the final payment until any permit is closed out. We're licensed and insured, in business since 2013, and I'm happy to show you all of it.
How long does new mortar last on a brick house?
New mortar usually lasts roughly 25 to 50 years, while the brick itself can go 100 years or more. That gap is why a perfectly good brick wall still needs its joints redone at some point in the life of the house.
What is the difference between repointing and tuckpointing?
Tuckpointing is repointing with an extra step for looks. The mason fills the joints with mortar matched to the brick color, then runs a thin groove of contrasting mortar so the joints read straight and tight, and our tuckpointing page covers that look. Sand color and cement type both change how new mortar looks, so you can ask for a small sample in a hidden spot on the wall to check the match.
Get a written estimate for your brick repair
Send the form and we respond within 1 business day to set up a visit. I come out, look the brick over with you and send a free written estimate, with no obligation to go ahead.
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Send us photos of your mortar joints
Call (561) 268-0530 or use the form, and have a few close-up photos of the bad joints and a rough wall size in square feet ready, since this work is usually priced by the square foot.