Window & door perimeters
The most common scope: the joint between frame and masonry on greystones, two-flats and condo elevations. Usually the first place water gets in on an otherwise sound wall.
Service · Weatherproofing
Caulking in Chicago — the joints a wall cannot seal itself.
Caulking is the flexible sealant that closes the joints masonry is not meant to close on its own: around windows and doors, at expansion joints, where dissimilar materials meet, and at every through-wall penetration. 312 Masonry removes failed sealant back to sound substrate and re-seals with the right sealant for the joint. Licensed, bonded, insured. 48-hour on-site estimate.
- Licensed
- Bonded
- Insured
- License TGC-098-734
- Est. 2007
- 48-hour estimates
What is caulking?
Caulking is the installation of a flexible sealant into a joint that has to move. A masonry wall expands, contracts and settles; the joints between the wall and a window frame, or at a building's expansion joint, cannot be filled with rigid mortar because they would crack open again in a season. Sealant absorbs that movement and keeps water and air out while it does.
- The joint moves — sealant flexes with it, mortar cannot.
- The failure is usually the old sealant losing adhesion, not the masonry.
- Done right it is removal to sound substrate first, sealant second.
What a 312 Masonry caulking project includes.
The same line items whether it is one bay window or every opening on a six-flat.
- Joint survey with the lead — every opening, expansion joint and penetration walked and counted before pricing.
- Full removal of failed sealant — cut and pulled back to sound substrate — sealant over sealant fails within a season.
- Substrate prep — joint faces cleaned and dried; primer where the sealant manufacturer requires it.
- Backer rod sized to the joint — so the sealant bonds on two faces and can stretch, not three and tear.
- Sealant matched to the joint — urethane on traffic and horizontal joints, silicone on glass and metal, matched colour on masonry.
- Tooled finish — pressed into the joint and tooled, not just laid on the surface.
- Clean-out and written close-out — old sealant removed from site, photos of the finished joints.
Types of caulking we handle in Chicago.
Expansion & control joints
Vertical joints designed into longer walls and parapets. These carry real movement and need the right sealant and a properly sized backer rod.
Flashing, copings & penetrations
Coping joints, counter-flashing terminations, conduit and vent penetrations — small joints that account for a large share of leaks.
Four steps from call to a sealed wall.
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Call or write
Same-day reply during business hours. A photo of the joint speeds the visit.
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48-hour on-site visit
The crew lead reads the joints, checks whether the sealant or the masonry behind it failed, and counts the work.
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Written scope
Line-item scope by opening and joint type, with the sealant specified. Same day or next.
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Build
Cut out, prep, backer rod, seal, tool, clean. Daily progress photos, one crew start to finish.
How much does caulking cost in Chicago?
Caulking is quoted by linear foot after the on-site read, because the number is driven by things that only show up at the wall: how much old sealant has to be cut out, whether the joint was ever sized correctly, the access, and whether the substrate behind it is sound.
What the work looks like.
Service areas
Where we caulk 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…
Caulking questions we get every week.
How long does exterior caulking last?
A correctly installed masonry sealant on a properly sized joint runs 10 to 20 years depending on exposure. South and west elevations take the most UV and weather and go first. Sealant applied over old sealant, or into a joint with no backer rod, often fails within two or three seasons — which is why removal is most of the labour on a re-caulk.
Can you just caulk over the old sealant?
No, and anyone who offers to is selling you the same repair twice. New sealant will not bond reliably to weathered sealant, and the joint ends up bonded on three faces instead of two, so it tears instead of stretching. We cut the old material out to sound substrate first — that is the part that makes the repair last.
Is caulking the same as tuckpointing?
No. Tuckpointing replaces failed mortar in the joints between masonry units — a rigid repair on a joint that is not supposed to move. Caulking seals joints that are supposed to move, between the wall and something else. A wall often needs both, and we scope them separately so you can see what each costs.
My window leaks — is caulking the fix?
Sometimes, and often not. Failed perimeter sealant is a common entry point, but water at a window is just as likely to be coming from a rusting lintel above it, an open mortar joint a few courses up, or missing through-wall flashing. We trace the entry point before we quote, because sealing the symptom on a wall that is leaking somewhere else just moves the stain.
Do you match sealant colour to the brick?
Yes, where the joint is visible on the elevation. Masonry sealants come in a wide colour range and we pick against the actual wall, not a chart in the office. On joints that sit behind trim or in a reveal we specify performance over colour.
What time of year can caulking be done?
Most of the year in Chicago. Sealants have a minimum application temperature and the joint has to be dry, so mid-winter work depends on the forecast and the product. Spring through late autumn is straightforward; we will tell you if the weather window is the reason to wait rather than book you into a repair that will not cure.
Free estimate
Get a caulking scope within 48 hours.
One on-site visit, one written scope by joint and opening, one crew on the wall.