Brick repair in Huntsville AL - sound joints and brick edges left intact
Mortar crumbling from the joints or brick faces flaking off? We replace the bad mortar with a mix that suits your brick.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- We respond within 1 business day.
What does brick repair on a Huntsville house involve?
Brick repair in Huntsville usually means repointing, also called tuckpointing, which is cutting the worn mortar out of the joints and packing in new, plus swapping out any bricks that have cracked or started to flake. Done with the right mortar, it stops water getting into the wall and keeps the brick from breaking down.
Most people call Capstone Huntsville Concrete and Masonry because mortar is falling out of the joints or a few bricks have cracked, and they want to know if it's a patch or a bigger job. The price mostly comes down to how much of the wall needs new mortar, how many bricks need replacing, how hard it is to find a match and how high we have to work, and on older brick, cutting the joints by hand takes longer than a grinder. The schedule turns on the permit and historic district steps for your address and on getting matching brick in hand. Once I've looked at your wall, my written estimate gives you the figure for your job.
How can you tell your brick needs repair?
Mortar sinking or crumbling
If you can rake sand out of a joint with a key, or the mortar has sunk back from the face of the brick, it's worn out and letting water in. Left alone, that water starts working on the brick itself, and a repointing job turns into replacing brick.
Cracked or flaking brick faces
When the face of a brick pops off or cracks, it's usually water trapped in the wall or mortar that's harder than the brick around it. Those bricks need to come out, and the longer they sit, the more of their neighbors they take with them.
White bloom that keeps returning
A white powder on new brick is often just the wall drying out. If it keeps coming back on an older wall, water is likely getting in and staying, so we find where it's coming from before we touch the mortar.
How we handle brick repair
We start by marking every joint and brick that's coming out, so nothing gets cut that doesn't need to be. On soft or older brick, we cut the old mortar out by hand with a hammer and chisel instead of a grinder, because a grinder blade can take the edges off soft brick before you see it happen. It's slower, but your brick keeps its edges, and preservation guidance for old brick says hand tools usually do the least damage. Then we clean out the joints, swap any cracked or flaking bricks for the closest match we can find, pack in the new mortar and tool the joints to match the rest of the wall before we clean up.
Brick trouble often has a neighbor. If water off a sunken drive keeps splashing your brick, driveway pavers can give you a drive that sheds water away from the house. If a slope in the yard needs holding back, we handle retaining wall construction with the drainage behind the wall done right, because that's the part nobody sees once we leave.
Repointing the joints
This suits a wall where the brick is still solid but the mortar is sandy, cracked or sunk back from the face. We redo the joints that are failing and leave sound ones alone, so you're not paying to replace good work.
Brick replacement and repointing
This suits a wall with cracked, loose or flaking bricks as well as bad joints. We cut out the damaged bricks, set the closest match we can find and repoint around them so the patch ties into the wall.
Get a written estimate for your brick repair
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time. I'll come out and look at your brick, and you'll get a free written estimate with no pressure and no obligation.
- Based in
- Huntsville, AL 35801
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–9 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call about brick repair in Huntsville?
From your first call to the final walk-through, here's who you'll deal with and what you'll have in hand at each step.
Call or send us a note
Call (256) 417-4326 or use the form with your address and what you're seeing. We'll get back to you to set a time for me to come out.
I look and write it up
I look the wall over, take photos and tell you plainly what I see, including what doesn't need fixing. Your written estimate spells out which joints and bricks we'll redo, the mortar we'll use and how the old mortar comes out, so you know the price before anything gets cut.
Approvals, repairs and final walk-through
If you go ahead, I check the permit and any historic district steps with the office that covers your address, and our crew lead runs the job with our masons. When it's done, I walk the finished wall with you.
Why Huntsville homeowners call Capstone for brick repair
I sold brick before laying it
I spent years behind the counter selling brick, block and stone, then learned the trade on crews around Huntsville before starting this business in 2021. That counter time taught me which repairs fail and why, so the first thing I check on your wall is the mortar.
The owner writes your estimate
I do the estimates myself, and our crew lead runs the work on site with our masons. You hear what's wrong from the person who answers for the price, not from a salesperson.
Licensed and fully insured
We're licensed and fully insured on brick work like yours. That protects you and your house while our crew is on the property.
Only the work your wall needs
If your wall needs a few joints redone, that's what I'll quote, because I'd rather lose a job than sell you work you don't need. Satisfaction guaranteed on every job.
The mortar decides how long your brick lasts, so it's worth having someone look before anything gets cut. Send us a note or call (256) 417-4326 and I'll come take a look.
Brick repair, permits and historic districts in Huntsville
In Huntsville, building permits come from the city's Inspection Department, and minor repairs that don't need plan review can get a permit on a walk-in visit. Whether your brick repair needs one isn't something to guess at, so we check with the office that covers your address before work starts and handle the permit when the job needs one. If your house sits in one of the city's historic districts, any project that changes the outside of the building needs approval from the Huntsville Historic Preservation Commission before a permit can be issued, either a Certificate of Appropriateness or the quicker Expedited Staff Review. Routine exterior repairs are on the city's list for that staff review, which can be sent in any time and skips a full commission review, and we get it moving first.
On older brick homes around Huntsville, what we run into most is soft brick that's been patched over the years with hard gray mortar, and the brick next to those patches is usually what's flaking. We take the patches out by hand and repoint with a mix that suits the brick, and we see the same patchwork on older houses in Decatur and Athens.
Questions about brick repair in Huntsville
How much does brick repair cost in Huntsville?
Across the US, repairing brick usually costs about $210 to $260 per brick, and that's what the market charges, not our price. Your number depends on the things covered above, mostly how much of the wall needs work and how hard the brick is to match. My written estimate gives you the figure for your wall.
What is the best mortar for an older brick home?
A softer mortar with lime in it is usually right for older brick, because it gives before the brick does. Preservation guidance for historic brick says masonry cements generally contain no lime and make high-strength mortars that can damage old brick, so they're generally not recommended. One estimating guide says mortar too hard for the brick can damage it within 5 to 10 years, which is why the mix is the first thing I settle on an older house.
How long does tuckpointing last on a brick house?
One estimating guide says good tuckpointing with the right mortar lasts 25 to 50 years. The same guide says mortar life depends on the mortar type, how exposed the wall is and which way it faces, with south and west walls wearing faster from sun and rain.
Who can pull a building permit for brick repair in Huntsville?
A certified homebuilder licensed in the City of Huntsville and carrying a homebuilder's licensure card can buy the building permit. The owner can too, if they plan to live in the house for at least a year after all permits close.
Does a brick repair contractor need a license in Alabama?
Yes, once the job costs more than $10,000, labor and materials included. At that point, Alabama's Home Builders Licensure Board counts anyone repairing a house as a residential home builder, so on a bigger job, ask to see the contractor's card before you sign.
Can I repoint my own brick house in Alabama?
Yes, the state's licensing law doesn't stop you from doing this work on your own home. If you do, take the old mortar out with a hammer and chisel rather than a grinder and use the softer mix covered above, because those two choices decide whether your brick comes through it.
Related work around your brick
Driveway pavers
If the drive beside your brick has settled or cracked, pavers give you a surface we can lift and reset in sections instead of tearing out.
Retaining wall construction
When a slope in your yard needs holding back, a retaining wall with drainage done right behind it keeps the ground and water where they belong.
Cities we cover for brick repair
Capstone Huntsville Concrete and Masonry is based in Huntsville, Alabama, and does brick repair in the 10 cities listed here, including Madison and Guntersville. They aren't the only places we work, so if your city isn't listed, call and ask anyway.
Book a look at your brick
Have a few photos of the damaged brick and know whether your house sits in a historic district, so I can plan the visit and the paperwork before I arrive.