Long Beach · Masonry Services
Brick Laying
New brickwork and brick repair: veneer, walls, columns, porches, patios and fences, plus tuckpointing and repointing on tired mortar.
Brick Laying · Long Beach
New Brickwork And Brick Repair
Brick masonry splits neatly into building new and saving old, and we do both every week. New work covers brick wall construction, brick veneer over block or framing, brick columns and porch rebuilds, brick fences and garden walls, and brick patio work laid on a compacted base. Repair work covers tuckpointing and brick repointing where the mortar joints have eroded, individual brick replacement, brick steps repair, crack stitching, brick cleaning and brick sealing. Most of Long Beach’s brick stock dates from the twenties through the fifties, and the brick itself is usually in better shape than people assume. It is nearly always the mortar that has gone, which is good news because repointing a facade costs a fraction of rebuilding one. We match the original mortar color and joint profile so a repaired section reads as part of the wall rather than a patch, and everything ties back to the same brick masonry and stone masonry work we do across the harbor cities.
What Makes Our Brickwork Different
Two things separate good brickwork from the rest, and neither is speed. The first is mortar: matching the strength of the original mix matters, because modern Portland-rich mortar is harder than century-old brick and will spall the face off it within a few winters. The second is water management, since brick is porous by design and the wall depends on getting moisture back out. We spec the mix to the brick rather than to the bag, keep weeps and cavities clear, and use breathable sealers only where they are genuinely needed. The same care goes into the substrate on our stucco work and the setting bed under a paver installation.
- Mortar matched to the age and hardness of your brick, not a single mix used on everything.
- Joint profiles cut to match what is already there: concave, weathered, raked, grapevine or flush.
- Reclaimed and salvaged brick sourced when a repair has to disappear into an original wall.
- Brick cleaning done with the gentlest method that works, starting with detergent and a brush before anything stronger goes near a soft face.
- Sealing recommended only where the wall needs it. Sealing a brick wall that cannot dry out causes more damage than it prevents.
Reasons To Get Brick Work Done
Brick is a hundred-year material with a thirty-year consumable in it, and that consumable is the mortar. The moments to act:
Mortar joints are crumbling or recessed
If you can rake a joint out with a key or see the mortar sitting a quarter inch behind the brick face, the wall is taking water. Tuckpointing now costs a fraction of what rebuilding a saturated, frost-damaged wall costs later, and it is the single highest-value brick repair there is.
Bricks are cracked, spalled or loose
Faces flaking off, stair-step cracking through the joints, or individual bricks you can rock by hand all mean water has got in and is working. Individual brick replacement and crack stitching handle it while it is still localised.
You want the front of the house to change
Brick veneer over a plain stucco or siding elevation changes a tract house more than any other single move. Full brick facade work, brick columns at the entry and a rebuilt brick porch together read as an original feature rather than an addition.
The porch or steps have gone
Brick steps repair is one of our most common calls, because steps take weather, foot traffic and settlement all at once. Rebuilding treads and risers on a sound base is straightforward; leaving them until the base has moved is not.
You want a brick patio or a brick fence
Reclaimed brick laid in a basketweave or herringbone pattern on a compacted base makes a patio with far more character than a slab. A brick fence or garden wall does the same job at the property line, and it can be built as a solid wall or with a decorative pierced pattern.
The brick is stained, painted or dirty
Brick cleaning lifts efflorescence, soot and years of grime. Brick staining is the alternative to painting when the color is wrong, because it penetrates and lets the wall breathe instead of sealing a film over the face that will eventually peel.
Send a close-up of the joints and a wide shot of the wall and we can usually tell you what it needs before we visit. Call: (562) 379-4372
How We Work
Site walk, samples, engineering and permit, then build. One crew chief from excavation to cleanup.
1. Survey and mortar match
We look at the whole wall rather than the bad patch, because deterioration is usually worse at the top and on the weather side. Then we take a mortar sample to match color, aggregate and, most importantly, strength, so the new work does not outlast and damage the brick around it.
2. Cut out, rebuild or set
On repointing, joints are cut back to sound mortar to a depth of at least twice the joint width, brushed and dampened. On new brick wall construction, we set out the bond, build the leads, and run the courses to line with wall ties and flashing where the detail calls for it.
3. Point, clean and protect
Fresh mortar is packed in layers and tooled to match the surrounding profile once it has reached thumb-print firm. Then the wall is brushed down, washed if it needs it, and sealed only where the exposure justifies it. Any brick sealing is breathable.
Brick Services We Cover
Everything we take on in brick, from a single loose step to a full facade:
Tuckpointing and repointing
Cutting out failed mortar and replacing it with a matched mix. Brick pointing is the highest-value maintenance you can do on a brick building, and it is the difference between a wall that lasts another eighty years and one that needs rebuilding in fifteen.
Brick repair and replacement
Individual brick replacement, crack stitching with helical ties, rebuilding spalled sections and brick steps repair. We source reclaimed brick where a repair has to blend into an original wall rather than announce itself.
Brick veneer and facades
Thin brick veneer over block, concrete or framed walls, and full brick facade work on new construction. Wall ties, weeps, flashing and a drainage cavity are all part of the detail, because a veneer that cannot drain will find another way out.
Brick wall construction and fences
Garden walls, property-line brick fences, planter walls and screen walls. Solid or pierced, with a cast, brick-on-edge or natural stone cap. All of it sits on a proper footing, which is what separates a wall that stands from one that moves.
Brick columns, porches and steps
Entry columns, driveway pillars, gate piers, porch rebuilds and brick step treads and risers. These take more weather and more traffic than any other brickwork on a house, so the base and the flashing matter as much as the laying.
Brick patios and paving
Brick patio work laid on compacted base and bedding sand, in running bond, basketweave or herringbone. Closely related to our paver work, and often combined with it where a patio meets a driveway.
Brick cleaning, staining and sealing
Efflorescence and soot removal, paint stripping, and brick staining as a breathable alternative to painting. Brick sealing where salt air or heavy exposure warrants it, always with a vapor-permeable product.
What Affects the Cost of Brick Laying
Brick work is priced per square foot of finished face, generally $10 to $45 depending on the work. What sets the number:
- Repair or new build. Tuckpointing typically runs $5 to $25 per square foot. New brick veneer and brick wall construction sit higher because there is a substrate, ties and flashing involved.
- Access and height. Ground-level garden walls are quick. A two-story facade or a chimney stack needs scaffolding, and scaffold time is often the largest single line on a repointing quote.
- Brick sourcing. Standard modular brick is stocked and cheap. Matching a 1920s reclaimed brick means hunting for it, and salvage prices reflect that.
- Bond and pattern. Running bond is fastest. Flemish bond, herringbone, soldier courses, arches and corbelled detail all add laying time.
- Condition behind the face. A wall that has been taking water for years may have deteriorated backing that only shows once the face is opened up.
- Cleaning and finishing. Paint removal, heavy efflorescence and staining are separate scopes from the laying itself.
You get a free estimate and a flat written quote after we have looked at the actual joints. Where brickwork is part of a bigger project we price it alongside the retaining wall and stone masonry scope so it all runs together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can cracked brick be repaired?
Most of the time, yes, and the method follows the cause. Deteriorated joints are cut out and repointed. Individual broken or spalled bricks are removed and replaced with a match. A crack that steps through several courses points to movement, so we stabilize it with helical ties and address what moved. Long Beach has a lot of pre-war brick still standing, and on those walls prompt repair is the difference between pointing and rebuilding.
How much does tuckpointing cost?
Somewhere between $5 and $25 per square foot. What decides it is how hard the existing mortar is to remove without damaging the brick and whether the wall can be worked from the ground. One elevation or a chimney is often a few hundred dollars up to $1,500. A full house exterior is $2,000 to $8,000, plus scaffold where the wall goes above single-story reach.
How often does brick need maintenance?
The brick is good for a century or more. The mortar joints are the maintenance item, and they generally want repointing every 25 to 30 years. One inspection a year is plenty: look at the weather elevation, the joints under the eaves and the courses near grade where splashback lands. On properties near the harbor in Wilmington and San Pedro, salt in the air shortens the cycle noticeably.
What is the difference between tuckpointing and repointing?
In everyday use in the trade they mean the same thing: cutting out failed mortar and replacing it. Strictly, repointing is the repair itself, while tuckpointing originally described a decorative technique using two mortar colors to fake fine joints. If you ask us for either, you will get the same job.
Should I paint or stain my brick?
Stain, in almost every case. Paint sits on the surface as a film, traps moisture inside the brick and eventually peels, and stripping it later is expensive and can damage the face. Brick staining penetrates the surface, changes the color permanently and leaves the wall able to breathe.
Does brick need to be sealed?
Usually not. Brick is designed to absorb and release moisture, and sealing a wall that needs to dry out traps water behind the face. Where salt air or severe exposure justifies it, as in parts of Wilmington near the harbor, we use a breathable vapor-permeable sealer rather than a film-forming one.
Planning masonry work in Long Beach?
Tell us what you are building or what has failed, and we will come out, walk the site and give you a free estimate in writing.
Or call us now: (562) 379-4372