Overview: Masonry Services
Masonry contractors lay and repair anything set in mortar: brick, block, natural stone and the cast veneer that copies it. On a Canadian house that usually means a brick front, a chimney stack, the front steps and the parging over an exposed foundation. Most of their year goes to repairs, and most repairs are really about mortar.
Frost writes the rules here. Water soaks into a joint, freezes, and pries it open a little more each winter. That's why the mortar should be the weak link. The National Research Council's guidance on older masonry favours a softer, more permeable repointing mix that takes the damage so the brick doesn't. A hard cement mix flips that around, and old brick pays with its face.
Timing counts too. The same guidance says to repoint well before or well after freezing weather. A crew that wants to start in November should talk about tarps and heat. One that tells you to wait for spring is probably giving you straight advice.
Our listings show what each masonry contractor states on its own website. Pick your province, then your city, to find the bricklayers and stonemasons who take on work where you live.
Frequently asked questions
What is repointing and when is it needed?
It's cutting out worn mortar and packing fresh mortar into the joints. You need it when mortar crumbles under a key, when joints have worn back behind the brick face, or when damp shows inside an outside wall. Ask what tools the crew uses. The National Research Council warns that power saws and grinders chew up brick edges on thin or vertical joints, where hand chisels are safer.
Do I need heritage approval to repoint an old house?
In Ontario, only if the property is designated under the Ontario Heritage Act, on its own or as part of a heritage conservation district. On a property designated on its own, work that affects its heritage attributes needs the municipality's written consent before it starts. Routine maintenance usually doesn't. In a district, exterior work needs a heritage permit unless the district plan exempts it as minor. The designation by-law or district plan spells out what's covered, so call your municipality's heritage planner before the scaffold goes up.
What usually goes wrong with a chimney?
Water gets in at the top. A cracked crown lets meltwater into the stack, where it freezes inside the brick, and the courses above the roofline start shedding their faces. The flashing where the stack meets the shingles is the other leak, and ice damming makes it worse. A leaning stack or a stepped crack is a rebuild, not a pointing job. Book roof work for the warm months.
Why is white powder showing on the brickwork?
Efflorescence. Water moving through the wall carries salts out and leaves them as a white bloom when it dries. Brush it off dry and skip the pressure washer. It'll come back until the wet stops, so look for an eavestrough that overflows, a downspout emptying at the wall, or snow shovelled against the brick all winter. Road and walkway salt splashed onto the lower courses adds its own crust.
What holds a brick or stone veneer on the wall?
Metal ties anchor the veneer to the framing or block behind it, across an air gap that's meant to drain. The small openings along the bottom course let that water out. Once they're packed with mortar, caulk or ice, water sits in the cavity, the ties rust and frost goes to work low on the wall. Bulging brick, or a wall pulling away at the top, means the ties are failing.
How do I know a lintel has failed?
Look above windows and doors. A joint opening along the top of the frame, cracks climbing from the upper corners, or bricks sagging in the middle all point to a steel lintel rusting inside the wall. Rust swells as it grows and lifts the masonry. Fresh pointing over those cracks won't last a winter. The lintel gets cleaned and treated or replaced, and the brick above it relaid.
