Masonry Work Examples: Renderings of the Repairs We Do

These are concept renderings that show the kind of work we do. They are not photos of client projects. Photos of our own jobs will be added as projects finish.

Swiss Masonry is a Cincinnati masonry contractor that also works as a general contractor, across the 50-mile area around the city, including Northern Kentucky and southeast Indiana. We are stonemasons first: block, brick, and natural stone. We also take on chimneys, tuckpointing, foundations, and historic restoration, plus full kitchen and bath remodels, patios, retaining walls, stucco, siding, and concrete. Drag any slider to compare the before and after view of each rendering. Below the renderings, we explain what each repair actually involves.

Why we show renderings, and when real photos go up

A rendering is a picture of the problem and the finished result. It is useful for one thing: helping you match what you see on your own house to the repair that fixes it. It is not proof of our workmanship, and we do not want you to read it that way.

What we can show you today is how we price a job. The owner comes out, looks at the wall, chimney or patio in person, and writes down what failed, why it failed, and what we would do about it. As our own jobs finish, and only with the property owner's permission, we will add photos of the actual work to this page. We will not post addresses or client names with them.

What each repair in these masonry work examples involves

Cincinnati's freeze-thaw winters, hillside lots and old soft brick cause most of what you see in the before views. Here is the work behind each after view.

Limestone and stone facades

Grime and old pollution crust come off with buffered masonry cleaners and water at 100 psi or less, the starting pressure the National Park Service recommends in Preservation Brief 1. We never put straight acid on soft stone or soft brick. Open joints get repointed with a mortar matched to the old one. More on our stone work and historic masonry restoration pages.

Tuckpointing and repointing

Failed joints are raked out by hand to about 2.5 times the joint width, refilled in lifts, and tooled to match the existing joint profile. We use Type N portland cement-lime mortar to ASTM C270. On pre-1920 brick we use a lime-rich Type N or O, chosen from a sample panel the building owner approves, because a hard mortar on soft brick pushes the damage into the brick itself. See tuckpointing in Cincinnati and our article on tuckpointing versus repointing.

Spalled brick

Spalling is water that soaks into a brick face, freezes, and pops the face off. We cut out the damaged units, set reclaimed brick matched for size and color, and where the outer layer of brick has pulled loose we tie it back with stainless steel helical pins, never corrugated galvanized ties. Details on brick repair.

Chimneys

The part above the roofline takes the most weather. When the brick there is loose, we take it down to sound masonry and rebuild it, then cast a new crown in reinforced concrete with an overhang, a drip groove and a bond break at the flue liner, and reflash it where it meets the roof. Read chimney repair or the five signs your chimney needs repair.

Garden walls and flagstone patios

A wall that leans or a patio that heaves usually sits on a thin base that holds water and moves every winter. The fix is to lift the stone, build a compacted base or a proper footing, give water a way out, and relay the stone. See retaining walls and patios and outdoor living.

Kitchens, bathrooms, stucco and siding

On remodels we work as the general contractor: we run the job and bring in licensed trade partners for the plumbing, electrical and HVAC, which we schedule and coordinate. Our masons handle the stone and masonry parts, such as a stacked-stone range surround. On stucco and siding, we find out how water got behind the old finish before we cover it. More on kitchen remodels, bathroom remodels, stucco repair and siding.

Seeing your own wall in one of these?

Send us a few photos from the ground: one wide shot of the wall or chimney, and one close-up of the worst joints with a coin or tape measure in the frame for scale. Please do not climb onto a roof to get them. Then the owner comes out, from Cincinnati to Covington, Newport and the suburbs in Butler and Warren counties, and prices the job himself.

• Every job is priced after the owner sees it. Common masonry ranges are on our pricing page.
• Insured. Certificate of insurance on request.
• A one-year workmanship warranty on the work we do.
• Questions first? Call 513-202-3598 or use our contact page.