Professional masonry contractor in Hoover AL - repairs that match and walls that stay put

It depends on how much is actually failing, how hard your brick and mortar are to match, and how high or tight the spot is, so I price it after I've seen it. A few worn joints on one wall and a chimney that needs rebuilding from the roofline up are very different jobs. The estimate is free and done at your house.

Repair usually costs less when a wall is sound and only has a crack or a few loose blocks, but a wall that's leaning usually needs to come down and go back up with drainage behind it. Patching a leaning wall often buys a little time and then costs you twice. I'll tell you plainly which one yours is, and whether it can wait.

It depends on the size of the job and whether a permit has to come through before we start, so I give you a realistic picture at the estimate rather than a number over the phone. Mortar and concrete also need time to set before the next step, and we don't hurry that part.

Yes, we're licensed and insured. If an outdoor kitchen or another project needs plumbing or wiring, Hoover's permit rules say a licensed master plumber or a licensed master electrician, or the property owner, has to do that part of the work.

We handle it when your job needs one, after checking with the city or county office for your address before anything starts. Hoover's permit office doesn't accept submittals from third-party permitting services, and a new driveway that cuts into a city curb or sidewalk needs its own street-cut permit.

Yes, our work is satisfaction guaranteed. On a city crew you learn that somebody else lives with your work for years, so we don't hurry the parts nobody sees, like the base under a wall or the depth of a mortar joint.

If the bricks are sound and only the mortar is crumbling, repointing is usually the fix, and replacing brick is for ones that are cracked, flaking or loose. New mortar shouldn't be harder than the old, because hard mortar can crack the softer brick around it. I'll show you which is which when I come out.

Hoover requires a residential building permit before any construction work starts, including additions and exterior remodels, so ask before new masonry goes up. On the city's fee schedule, a permit for work on an existing home is $9.00 per $1,000 of construction value plus $51.00, with a $60 minimum and a $20.00 state fee added. Working without one doubles the permit fee on a first offense, and the city's Inspection Services takes residential questions at 205-444-7522.