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.

312·458·5757 Get a free estimate
  • Spalling · cracks · steps
  • License TGC-098-734
  • 48-hour on-site estimates
  • Licensed
  • Bonded
  • Insured
  • License TGC-098-734
  • Est. 2014
  • 48-hour estimates
Definition

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.

Read the long guide: signs your brick needs repair →

Scope

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

Types of brick repair we handle in Chicago.

Spot

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.

Wall

Wall section & crack repair

Diagonal cracks, displaced courses and partial-wall rebuilds — epoxy injection, stitch repair or toothed rebuild as scope demands.

Hardscape

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.

How a project runs

Four steps from call to clean wall.

  1. Call or write

    Same-day reply during business hours. A close-up photo of the damage speeds the on-site visit.

  2. 48-hour visit & diagnosis

    The crew lead reads the wall, identifies the failure mode and confirms whether the repair is cosmetic or structural.

  3. 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.

  4. Build

    Cause fixed first, brick toothed in, surrounding courses repointed, cleanup and written close-out.

Cost

How much does brick repair cost in Chicago?

Spot brick repair in Chicago is $30–$80 per brick. Crack repair runs $300–$1,200 per crack depending on length and method. Wall-section repairs run $1,500–$6,000 per typical section. Brick steps and porch rebuilds run $2,500–$12,000 by size and footing condition.

ScopeRange
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.

See the full Chicago masonry cost guide →

Up close

What the work looks like.

Weathered brick wall with eroded, recessed mortar joints.
Brick wall with clean, even, tooled mortar joints.
Brickwork and mortar joints, up close (illustrative).
Weathered brick wall with eroded, recessed mortar joints.
Brick wall with clean, even, tooled mortar joints.
Weathered brick and matched repointing (illustrative).
Service areas

Where we repair brick in Chicago.

Lincoln Park

60614 · Primary service area

Greystones, brownstones and brick rowhouses. Spalling and porch step repair common.

Lakeview

60657

Condo facades and Wrigleyville two-flats. Wall section and lintel work.

Logan Square

60647

Common-brick three-flats. Spot replacement and crack repair.

Lincoln Square

60625

German-era brick and bungalows. Restoration-sensitive repair.

Old Town

60610

Pre-Fire and Victorian brick. Landmark-district sensitivity.

Bucktown

60647

Worker cottages and converted lofts. Spalling and porch repair.

Wicker Park

60622

Three-flats and adapted-use brick. Wall and lintel work.

All areas →

North Side · Chicago

Commercial requests reviewed across the wider North Side.
FAQ

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.

Related

Often paired with brick repair.

Walls

Tuckpointing

Mortar joints repointed in the same trip — usually the cause of the brick failure in the first place.

 Restoration

Masonry restoration

For pre-1920 stock and greystone limestone, restoration-grade approach with matched material and test panels.

 Commercial

Commercial & facade

Brick repair as part of Facade Ordinance critical exam scope, parapet rebuilds and lintel replacement.
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.

312·458·5757 Get a quote online