Brooklyn Masonry Contractor
Masonry Contractor in Brooklyn, NY
Cracked brick, bulging walls, rusting lintels, loose stone and leaning garden walls repaired or rebuilt on Brooklyn row houses, brownstones and detached homes.
- Brick, block and stone repair and rebuilding
- DOB permits handled when needed
- Free visit and a written price
What Masonry Repairs Do Brooklyn Buildings Need Most?
Brooklyn buildings most often need brick replaced or rebuilt at parapets and chimneys, steel lintels replaced over windows, stone sills and stoop walls repaired, and areaway or garden walls rebuilt. These are repairs to the masonry units themselves, not just the joints between them.
Much of Brooklyn is brick. Row houses in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Bushwick and Sunset Park, detached brick homes in Flatbush and Midwood, and walk up apartment buildings across the borough all carry decades of weather. Water is the usual cause, and it finds the weakest spot.
If your walls are sound and only the mortar is worn, you may want our Brooklyn brick pointing service instead. Masonry work starts where pointing stops.
What We Fix
Which Brooklyn Masonry Problems Need a Mason and Not a Patch?
Bricks that are loose, cracked or pushing outward, stone that is flaking or shifting, and steel that is rusting inside a wall all need masonry repair. A surface patch hides the trouble for a season. The cause underneath keeps working.
- Bulging brick above a window or door
- Rust stains and cracks over lintels
- Flaking brownstone on stoop walls and sills
- Leaning or cracked areaway walls
- Loose chimney tops
- Parapets that lean or shed brick
- Leaning backyard and retaining walls
- Spalled concrete block on side walls
Why Do Steel Lintels Rust on Brooklyn Brick Buildings?
A steel lintel is the beam over a window or door opening that carries the brick above it. When water reaches it, the steel rusts and swells, and the expanding rust pushes the brick apart. You see stair step cracks and a bulge at the corners of the opening.
Many older Brooklyn buildings hide their lintels behind the brick face, so the first sign is the crack. Fixing it means opening the wall, replacing or treating the steel, and relaying the brick above. A joint patch cannot stop that rust.
Stone lintels and sills
Some buildings use stone above and below the windows. Cracked or shifted stone can be repaired or replaced, and matching the stone type matters on visible fronts.
Should a Brooklyn Brownstone Facade Be Repaired or Rebuilt?
Most brownstone facade problems are repaired, not rebuilt. A brownstone is sandstone, and flaking faces are usually patched or replaced piece by piece. Rebuilding is reserved for walls that are unsafe or badly displaced. A mason should look at the stone and what sits behind it before you choose.
On brick fronts, a few bad bricks can be cut out and replaced. A large bulge or a failed lintel usually calls for taking down a section and rebuilding it. Repair is cheaper up front, but only when the wall behind the face is still sound.
| What you see | Usual direction |
|---|---|
| A few cracked bricks | Cut out and replace the units |
| Bulge above a window | Open the wall, check the lintel, relay the brick |
| Flaking brownstone face | Patch or replace stone pieces |
| Leaning garden wall | Rebuild, often with a better base |
Do Brooklyn Masonry Jobs Need Permits or Landmark Approval?
Some do. Structural work such as lintel replacement or wall rebuilding can involve a Department of Buildings permit, and work on a landmarked building or in a historic district can need Landmarks Preservation Commission approval. Small repairs often need neither. Confirm current rules with the city for your address.
Brooklyn has many historic districts, including Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope, Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill and Bedford-Stuyvesant. On those blocks, stoop walls, areaways and facades are the areas the LPC watches. We tell you up front what your job is likely to need and plan the schedule around it.
Buildings taller than six stories fall under Local Law 11, the Facade Inspection and Safety Program. We do repairs, not the inspection, and we can work from the repair list your inspector gives you.
Step by Step
How Does a Brooklyn Masonry Job Go?
You get a free visit and a written scope. Then permits are filed if needed, scaffolding or protection goes up, the damaged masonry comes out, and new brick, block or stone is set in fresh mortar. The wall is cleaned and finished when the mortar has set.
Look and probe
A mason checks the wall, the lintels and what sits behind the face.
Written scope
The price names each repair, the material and any permits.
Permits and access
Filings, scaffold or lift, and sidewalk protection are arranged.
Take out and rebuild
Damaged units and steel come out, and new masonry is set to line and level.
Finish
Joints are tooled, the wall is cleaned and debris is hauled away.
Pricing
What Affects Masonry Cost in Brooklyn?
Masonry cost depends on the size of the repair, the height and access, how well the new material matches, any structural steel, permits and what is hidden behind the face. A single stoop wall and a full front rebuild are far apart, so each job is priced in writing after a free visit.
Size of the repair
A handful of bricks differs greatly from a full wall section.
Height and access
Upper floors may need scaffold or a lift.
Material matching
Old brick and brownstone take more effort to match.
Structural work
Lintels and bearing walls add planning and labor.
Permits and approvals
DOB, LPC or FISP related work can be part of the scope.
Every Brooklyn masonry job gets a written scope and price after a free visit.
Get a Free EstimateNeighborhoods
Brooklyn Neighborhoods Where We Do Masonry
Choose your neighborhood for masonry notes on the buildings we see there.
- Bath Beach
- Bay Ridge
- Bedford-Stuyvesant
- Bensonhurst
- Bergen Beach
- Boerum Hill
- Borough Park
- Brighton Beach
- Brooklyn Heights
- Brownsville
- Bushwick
- Canarsie
- Carroll Gardens
- Clinton Hill
- Cobble Hill
- Coney Island
- Crown Heights
- Cypress Hills
- Ditmas Park
- Downtown Brooklyn
- DUMBO
- Dyker Heights
- East Flatbush
- East New York
- Farragut
- Flatbush
- Flatlands
- Fort Greene
- Fort Hamilton
- Gerritsen Beach
- Gowanus
- Gravesend
- Greenpoint
- Greenwood Heights
- Homecrest
- Kensington
- Manhattan Beach
- Marine Park
- Midwood
- Mill Basin
- Ocean Hill
- Ocean Parkway
- Park Slope
- Prospect Heights
- Prospect Lefferts Gardens
- Prospect Park South
- Red Hook
- Seagate
- Sheepshead Bay
- South Slope
- Spring Creek
- Sunset Park
- Vinegar Hill
- Weeksville
- Williamsburg
- Windsor Terrace
- Wingate
No neighborhood matches that name. Call (718) 468-8803 and we will tell you if we cover your block.
Other Boroughs
Masonry Work Beyond Brooklyn
For properties elsewhere, see our citywide masonry page or the general masonry contractor page.
Material matched to your building
Brick, block, brownstone or limestone, the repair is planned around what your wall is made of.
Licensed and insured
Construction, injury and workers compensation insurance on every job.
25+ years in NYC
More than 25 years working on New York buildings of every age.
FAQ
Brooklyn Masonry Questions
Pointing renews mortar joints on a sound wall. Masonry repair replaces or rebuilds the brick, block or stone itself. Many Brooklyn walls need a little of both, and we split the scope clearly in the estimate.
Sometimes. If the bulge is small and the backing is sound, a section can be taken down and relaid. A large bulge or a rusted lintel behind it can call for a bigger rebuild.
Yes, with stone patching or replacement pieces. Historic district rules may apply on landmarked blocks, so check with the LPC for your address.
Yes. Leaning walls usually have a weak base or drainage problem, so the rebuild includes fixing that. Retaining walls can involve engineering and permits.
We handle DOB permits when the scope needs one. LPC approval, when required, is a separate process that we help you plan around.
Yes. We cover the neighborhoods listed above. Call (718) 468-8803 or send the form and we will set up a free visit.
Free on site estimate
Have a Cracked Wall in Brooklyn?
Send a photo and your address. A mason will look at it in person and put the scope in writing.
Contact
Request a Brooklyn Masonry Quote
Tell us what you see on the wall, chimney or stoop. We will call to set up a free visit.
- Call us(718) 468-8803
- HoursMon to Sat, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM
- Free on site estimate with a written price
- Licensed and insured, 25+ years in business
- We handle DOT sidewalk permits
- Serving Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx
Get Your Free Estimate
Takes about a minute. No cost and no obligation.