Masonry Work We Handle in NYC
Masonry is different from poured concrete. It covers work built from individual pieces, brick, block, or stone, joined together with mortar. Here's what our crews handle most:
- Brick repair and repointing (a.k.a. tuckpointing)
- Brownstone stoop and step repair
- Facade repair and Local Law 11 work
- Brick and stone retaining walls
- Cinder block and CMU wall repair
- Chimney and parapet wall repair
- Foundation and basement wall masonry
- Stucco repair and stucco over masonry
- Brick walkways, patios, and garden walls
- Brick waterproofing and sealing
Don't see your project here? Call us anyway. Most masonry work falls somewhere in what we do every day. And if you also need concrete work done, like a driveway or sidewalk, we handle that too.
Why NYC Property Owners Call Us
We've worked on NYC brick and brownstone buildings for 25 years, and that teaches you a few things. Cold winters push water into mortar joints. The water freezes, expands, and cracks the brick or pushes stone apart. We've seen this pattern on buildings across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, and we know how to fix it so it holds up.
We hold an NYC Home Improvement Contractor license through the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, and we carry general liability coverage plus full workers' comp. Certificates go out to your building or managing agent before we start. Our crews follow OSHA safety rules on every job.
Before we quote a price, one of our estimators visits your property, looks at the actual damage, and explains what needs to be done in plain terms.
Our Customer are Satisfied
Recently Completed Projects
How We Handle Your Project
- Call or request a visit. We schedule a free onsite estimate at a time that works for you.
- We inspect the damage. Our estimator looks at the brick, stone, or block in person and explains what's wrong. If you have an FISP report, we go through it with you.
- You get a written price. Broken out by item. No hidden costs once work begins.
- We handle permits. If your project needs Department of Buildings approval, we take care of the filing. Landmarked buildings also need LPC approval, and we file that too.
- Our masons do the work. We match new material to your building's existing brick, stone, or mortar as closely as we can.
- You get a final walkthrough. We check the finished work with you before we call the job done. And you get a written warranty.
Signs Your Brick or Stone Needs Repair
Not sure if you need a repair or just a routine check? Look for these signs:
- Cracked, loose, or missing bricks
- Crumbling or missing mortar between joints
- White, chalky staining on the brick surface (efflorescence)
- Damp spots or water stains on interior walls near brick
- A wall or chimney that leans or bulges
- Gaps or shifting in brownstone steps
- Cracked or open joints along a parapet or coping stone
- Rust stains or a sagging brick line above a window or door
These get worse fast once cold weather sets in. If you're seeing one or more, it's worth a call before winter.
How Much Does Masonry Work Cost in NYC?
Here's what our masonry work typically runs:
| Type of Work | Typical Price Range |
|---|---|
| Spot repointing (small section) | $500 – $2,500 |
| Full wall repointing | $10,000 – $35,000 |
| Brick replacement (individual units) | $800 – $3,000 |
| Lintel repair or replacement | $1,500 – $5,000 per opening |
| Parapet wall rebuild | $8,000 – $30,000 |
| Chimney repair or rebuild | $2,500 – $12,000 |
| Brownstone stoop and step repair | $3,000 – $18,000 |
| Retaining wall repair | $4,000 – $20,000 |
| Stucco repair | $1,500 – $8,000 |
| Local Law 11 / FISP facade repairs | $15,000 – $150,000+ |
| Brick waterproofing and sealing | $2,000 – $9,000 |
Height, access, scaffolding or sidewalk shed requirements, and landmark mortar matching all affect the final number, so we give you a written itemized price after inspecting the building in person.
Where We Work
We work across all four boroughs, and most of our jobs come from the same kinds of buildings, row houses, brownstones, and prewar apartments.
Manhattan. Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, the Upper West Side, the Upper East Side, Chelsea, and Greenwich Village. A lot of this work is landmarked brownstone and prewar brick, where the mortar match matters as much as the repair.
Brooklyn. Park Slope, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Crown Heights, Brooklyn Heights, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Bay Ridge, Sunset Park, Flatbush, and Williamsburg. Brownstone stoops and facades make up most of what we do here.
Queens. Astoria, Long Island City, Sunnyside, Ridgewood, Jackson Heights, Forest Hills, Flushing, and Jamaica. More brick apartment buildings and semi-attached homes, which means a lot of parapet, lintel, and repointing work.
The Bronx. Riverdale, Kingsbridge, Fordham, Mott Haven, Longwood, Throggs Neck, and Pelham Bay.
We work regularly inside landmark districts including Brooklyn Heights, Park Slope, Mount Morris Park, Greenwich Village, and Ridgewood, so we know what the Landmarks Preservation Commission will and won't approve before we file.
Every neighborhood has its own building types, and its own masonry problems. Years of local work mean we know what to expect before we even get there.
Get Your Free Onsite Estimate
Masonry problems don't fix themselves, and they rarely stay small. If you're seeing cracks, loose brick, or crumbling mortar, call us for a free onsite estimate. We'll come look at the property, walk you through what we find, and give you a straight price. No obligation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Concrete is poured or cast in place. Masonry is built from individual units, like brick, block, or stone, set together with mortar. Brownstones, brick facades, and stone walls are all masonry. Sidewalks, driveways, and poured foundations are concrete. We handle both, so if you're not sure which one your project needs, just describe the problem and we'll point you in the right direction.
It depends on the scope of the work. Small repairs, like fixing a few bricks or repointing one section of wall, usually don't need a permit. Larger jobs, like rebuilding a wall or major facade work, often need approval from the NYC Department of Buildings. We check this for every project and handle the filing if it's required.
Send us the report. We'll read the conditions your inspector flagged, walk the building, and price each item so you know what it takes to close them out. Unsafe conditions have to be made safe right away and repaired within 90 days, so those move first. SWARMP conditions have until your next filing, but they're much cheaper to fix now than after they've had five more winters to get worse.
Some damage is easy to spot, like a crack or a loose brick. Other signs are easy to miss, like a small water stain on an inside wall or white staining on the brick surface. If it's been a few years since your last inspection, or you're just not sure, our onsite visit is free. There's no cost to find out.
One of our estimators comes to your property and looks at the damage in person. We explain what's causing it, what it takes to fix, and give you a written price before any work starts. There's no cost and no obligation. We think you should see a real price for your real project, not a guess over the phone.
It depends on how much wall needs work, how high up it is, and whether we need scaffolding or a shed to reach it. Spot repointing on a small section usually runs $500 to $2,500. A full wall runs closer to $10,000 to $35,000. Landmarked buildings cost more because the mortar has to be mixed to match what's already there. Your onsite estimate gives you a real number for your building instead of a range.
Yes. A lot of our work is on older buildings, where the brick color, mortar mix, or joint style needs to match what's already there. We look at the existing material and get as close a match as we can, so the repair blends in instead of standing out. On landmarked buildings we mix to the historic spec, which usually means a softer lime mortar rather than modern Portland cement, because hard mortar cracks old brick instead of protecting it.
Yes. Loose brick, a bulging wall, or anything that could fall is a safety issue, and we treat it like one. Call us and describe what you're seeing. We'll move quickly to get someone out to look at it and make the area safe.