Spot & spalled brick repair
Per-brick replacement for spalled face shells and broken units — usually a half-day visit on a Lincoln Park or Lakeview wall.
Service · Walls
Brick repair in Chicago — spalled, cracked or displaced brick made right.
Brick repair in Chicago covers everything that fails on a wall but isn't tuckpointing alone: spalled face shells, broken brick, cracks, displaced courses, brick steps and porch repointing. 312 Masonry diagnoses the cause first, sources matched brick and toothes the repair into the existing bond across Chicago's North Side. Licensed, bonded, insured. 48-hour on-site estimate.
- Licensed
- Bonded
- Insured
- License TGC-098-734
- Est. 2007
- 48-hour estimates
What is brick repair?
Brick repair is the in-place replacement of damaged brick units and the repointing or rebuilding of the courses around them. It starts with diagnosing the failure mode — spalling, freeze-thaw, water intrusion, settlement — before any brick comes off the wall, so the same problem doesn't return after the repair.
- The repair starts at the cause — water, freeze-thaw or structure.
- Replacement brick must match the original in size, colour, texture and absorption.
- Failed units are removed in toothed steps, not knocked out of the bond.
What a 312 Masonry brick repair includes.
Same line items every time, from a single spalled face shell to a brick step rebuild.
- On-site diagnosis with the crew lead — failure mode identified before scope.
- Cause addressed first — flashing, downspout, lintel, freeze-thaw, settlement.
- Matched brick sourced — salvage stock, original-mill or custom blend.
- Toothed-in replacement — units locked into the existing bond, not plug-and-fill.
- Repointing of surrounding courses — matched mortar, tooled to original profile.
- Daily cleanup and masonry-safe washdown — no acid on soft brick.
- Written close-out — brick source, photos and line-item scope you can keep.
Types of brick repair we handle in Chicago.
Wall section & crack repair
Diagonal cracks, displaced courses and partial-wall rebuilds — epoxy injection, stitch repair or toothed rebuild as scope demands.
Brick steps & porch repair
Step risers, cap brick, stringers and porch repointing. Footing checked first — most step failures start at the footing, not the brick.
Four steps from call to clean wall.
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Call or write
Same-day reply during business hours. A close-up photo of the damage speeds the on-site visit.
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48-hour visit & diagnosis
The crew lead reads the wall, identifies the failure mode and confirms whether the repair is cosmetic or structural.
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Brick sample & written scope
A matched brick sample is brought to site or sourced, then a line-item scope and price range arrive the same day.
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Build
Cause fixed first, brick toothed in, surrounding courses repointed, cleanup and written close-out.
How much does brick repair cost in Chicago?
| Scope | Range |
|---|---|
| Spot brick replacement (per brick) | $30–$80 |
| Crack repair (epoxy or stitch) | $300–$1,200 per crack |
| Wall section / partial rebuild | $1,500–$6,000 |
| Brick step & porch rebuild | $2,500–$12,000 |
| Cause-fix work (flashing, downspout, lintel) | priced separately |
Range. Final cost confirmed after a 48-hour on-site visit with the crew lead.
What moves the number up or down
- Number of brick to replace and access (ladder vs. scaffold).
- Matched-brick availability — common brick is easier than greystone limestone.
- Cause-fix work — flashing, downspout, lintel replacement.
- Structural sign-off (engineer letter for bowing walls or Facade Ordinance scope).
- Footing condition on brick step or porch rebuilds.
What the work looks like.
Service areas
Where we repair brick in Chicago.
Bucktown
60647Industrial-loft conversions, worker cottages along the 606 / Bloomingdale Trail, six-corners storefronts. Different angle from Logan Square next door.
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Glenview
60025North suburban institutional and church masonry — pillar rebuilds, flashing correction and decorative caps.
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Gold Coast
60610High-rise and landmark-district masonry — rope-access brick replacement and window leak repair.
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Hyde Park
60615Historic greystones and limestone-fronted apartment buildings — facade restoration and structural limestone work.
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Lakeview
60657Three-flats and six-flats, Wrigleyville two-flats, East Lakeview mid-rise condo facades along Sheridan. Facade Ordinance follow-up commercial scope.
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Lincoln Park
60614 · Primary service area1880–1920 Italianate greystones, brick rowhouses, three-flats and workmen's cottages. Greystone tuckpointing and limestone-band restoration the signature scope.
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Lincoln Square
60625German-era six-flats and the Chicago Bungalow Belt — 1900–1930 common brick with limestone trim and tile-gable porches.
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Logan Square
60647Chicago Boulevards System landmark blocks, common-brick worker cottages, Milwaukee Avenue commercial. Boulevard houses the highlight scope.
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Old Town
60610Old Town Triangle landmark district (designated 1977). Pre-Fire and Victorian brick, preservation-grade by default, Commission review the rule.
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Prospect Heights
60070Suburban condominium and multi-family masonry — flashing repair and decorative stone refacing.
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South Loop
60605Printers Row lofts, converted warehouses and rowhouses — foundation water management and limestone entries the recurring scope.
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Wicker Park
60622Pierce Avenue Beer-Baron mansions, Painted-Lady Victorians on Crystal Street, Flat Iron Building six-corners commercial.
View detailsWhat clients say.
★★★★★
They did a great job! They were thorough with every part of the process. Would definitely recommend!
★★★★★
Restoration on my building. Chicago common brick moisture damage and tuck pointing of the side wall.
★★★★★
I've had a great experience with Andriy. He was very quick to come by and check out my issues. We walked around the house — 130 years old — and he consulted me on all the issues he saw and things to…
Brick repair questions we get every week.
What causes brick to spall in Chicago?
Brick spalling in Chicago is almost always a freeze-thaw failure: water gets into the brick through a failed mortar joint, a missing flashing, a clogged downspout or a cracked lintel, then freezes, expands and breaks the face shell off the brick. The brick failed because something upstream let water in — that's the part to fix first.
How much does brick repair cost in Chicago?
Spot brick repair runs $30–$80 per brick. Crack repair $300–$1,200 per crack. Wall section repairs $1,500–$6,000 per section. Brick step and porch rebuilds $2,500–$12,000. Cause-fix work (flashing, downspout, lintel) is priced separately because it varies more than the brick itself.
Can damaged brick be repaired, or does the wall have to come down?
Almost always repaired in place. Failed units are removed in toothed steps — never knocking out a whole section — and replaced with matched brick locked into the existing bond. Full rebuild is only needed when the wall is structurally out of plumb or the bond has lost integrity over a large area.
How do you match old Chicago brick?
We match by size, colour family, texture and absorption. Sources are salvage yards, original-mill stock for common brick, and custom-blended brick for hard-to-match runs. On a Lincoln Park greystone the limestone bands are matched separately by quarry sample.
Is brick repair structural — do I need an engineer?
Cosmetic spalling, single-brick replacement and mortar joint repair are not structural and don't need an engineer. Bowing walls, large diagonal cracks, displaced courses near a lintel and any Facade Ordinance scope are structural and do require a registered structural engineer's letter — flagged on the first visit.
Do you fix the cause of the damage too?
Yes. The on-site diagnosis identifies why the brick failed and the scope addresses the cause as well as the visible damage. Otherwise the same brick comes off the wall again the next time the weather turns.
Free estimate
Get a brick repair scope within 48 hours.
One call, one on-site visit, one written scope with the failure mode named and the cause-fix included.