Older brick and stone can hold up for a long time, but once mortar starts opening up or individual materials begin to fail, the repair needs to account for more than the spot you can see. Lovell Masonry helps Birmingham homeowners with residential masonry work that fits the existing home, addresses the damaged area, and is built for durability in Michigan weather.
One thing we see fairly often is a wall or chimney that looks good overall except for a handful of crumbling bricks or mortar joints that have started opening up.
That doesn’t automatically mean there’s a major problem.
We can usually tell pretty quickly whether you’re looking at localized brick repair or something that needs a closer look. Cracks that keep traveling through the brickwork, movement in a wall, or damage that comes back after an earlier fix can point to a larger issue, not just surface deterioration.
When most of the masonry is still sound, tearing into more of it than necessary doesn’t make much sense.
They provided a detailed estimate, arrived on time each day, and the finished job exceeded expectations.
We are so very pleased with the entire experience with Lovell Masonry. They provided a detailed estimate, arrived on time each day, and the finished job exceeded our expectations.
A family business that was professional, friendly, on time, and did excellent work.
Family business, one son did the estimate, another did the job. Both professional, friendly, came right on time, and did excellent work. Thank you very much!
They showed up on time, did what they said they would do, and honored the price they promised.
They showed up on time for the estimate. They showed up on time for the work. They did what they said they would do at the price they promised. Who could ask for anything more in masonry.
The tuckpointing and brick work looked awesome.
These guys were great, my tuck pointing and brick look awesome. Highly recommended.
They were responsive, did a great job redoing the porch, and had the best pricing out of five quotes.
This company is very responsive, and did a great job re-doing my porch. I will certainly be using them again to do all of my brick work! Pricing was the best I received out of the other 5 quotes I got.
Lovell Masonry reinstalled and leveled patio steps and handled the approval process well.
Very happy with the work Lovell Masonry completed to reinstall and level my patio steps from the kitchen entry door to the back patio. Team was great at handling inspection and project approval process as well!
A homeowner points out two or three damaged bricks and assumes that’s the whole project.
It might be.
One of the first things masonry contractors look at is why those bricks failed. Maybe the mortar around them has opened up. Maybe water has been getting into that part of the wall. On a porch, there may be movement underneath it. Around pavers or concrete, the problem may have started with settling or drainage.
Stone masonry has its own version of this. One loose piece of stone doesn’t tell you much until you look at the joints and the surrounding work.
If everything around the damage is solid, keep the brick repair small.
If it isn’t, replacing what you can see won’t do much about what caused it.
Lovell Masonry offers senior and military discounts on eligible masonry projects. Discount details can vary by project scope, so contact the team to talk through the work and ask what may be available.
Brick masonry isn’t all the same.
On older Birmingham homes and buildings, differences in size, texture, color, and mortar can become pretty obvious once new materials are installed next to the original work. Older stonework can be even less forgiving.
Good brick repairs shouldn’t hurt the home’s curb appeal or leave you staring at the repair every time you pull into the driveway.
Matching the existing masonry as closely as practical takes some patience and attention to detail. The same applies to tuckpointing. Mortar joints have a color, profile, and proportion that affect the appearance of the entire wall, chimney, or porch.
The repair still has to perform. It also has to belong there.
A hairline crack in mortar is one thing. Stair-step cracks running through several bricks are another.
Same with a porch that’s moved a little over the years versus one that’s pulling away from the house.
At that point, we want to see what’s moving before deciding what gets repaired.
Common questions about brick, stone, chimney, porch, and mortar repair in Birmingham, MI.
Often, yes, and that’s fairly common. It depends on what the brickwork around them looks like and whether the deterioration is limited to a small area.
If it’s getting wider, coming back after a repair, or running through several bricks, we’d want to take a closer look at what may be moving.
Usually we can get pretty close. Some older brick and stone is harder to match than others, so the existing size, texture, color, mortar, and joint style all need to be considered.
Open mortar joints and damaged brick are worth looking at before winter, especially if they’re taking on water.
Show us the brick, mortar, stone, chimney, or porch area that has started to deteriorate. Lovell Masonry can review what’s happening, explain whether a focused repair or a larger scope makes sense, and provide a free estimate for your Birmingham property.
Lovell Masonry is a small, family-owned masonry contractor based in Royal Oak and serving homeowners across Metro Detroit. With more than 25 years of hands-on experience, the company focuses on practical residential masonry work for brick, mortar, chimneys, porches, concrete, pavers, patios, and stonework.
