General Contractor and Masonry in Anderson Township

General contractor in Anderson Township, with masonry as the specialty

Swiss Masonry works as a general contractor in Anderson Township and across the 50-mile area around Cincinnati, including Northern Kentucky and southeast Indiana. Masonry is the specialty: chimneys, brick, stone walls and concrete. Around it we run whole jobs, from exterior repairs to remodels, and bring in licensed trade partners for electrical, plumbing and HVAC. We are based on Cincinnati’s east side, so the township is close to home.

Anderson Township stayed mostly rural until the suburban growth that followed World War II. By the township’s own history, its population grew by nearly 1,000 people a year from the mid-1950s through the early 1990s, and Census estimates date about seven in ten of its homes to the years 1950 through 1989. The chimneys, stoops, patios and garden walls on houses from those decades are now old enough to need real repair.

The owner, Adriel Moore, looks at every job in person and prices it himself. We are insured, with a certificate of insurance on request, and the work carries a one-year workmanship warranty.

Zoning certificates and building permits in Anderson Township

Anderson Township is a township, not a city, and the paperwork is split between offices.

1. Township zoning certificate. The township’s Planning and Zoning Department issues zoning certificates for work such as fences, uncovered decks and patios, additions including covered porches, accessory buildings and driveway changes, whether the work is new or replaces what is there. There is no application form: you submit a site plan with dimensions and setbacks, plus the fee.
2. County building approval. The township notes that some plans also need approval from the Hamilton County Building Department.
3. Trade permits. Electrical, plumbing and HVAC go to licensed trade partners who pull their own permits.

The township says a contractor can prepare the site plan; on jobs we run, we draw it and handle the filing with you. The township’s residential zoning certificate guide lists what needs one.

Chimney repair in Anderson Township, painted brick included

Chimney repair in Anderson Township follows one logic: stop the water at the top, then fix what it broke. A painted brick chimney adds a step, because new brick and mortar must blend with weathered paint.

• Crown. Remove the cracked crown and cast a new one in reinforced concrete, with an overhang, a drip groove and a bond break at the flue liner.
• Top courses and band. Where the top courses or a decorative band have loosened, take them down to sound brick and relay them.
• Brick and joints. Replace spalled brick and tuckpoint the open joints.
• Paint. Strip loose paint from the repaired areas and repaint them with Sherwin-Williams Loxon XP, a coating made for masonry.

More on our chimney repair page.

Masonry contractor work in Anderson Township yards and stoops

Below the chimney, much of the masonry on a township house sits low to the ground: front stoops, brick or stone at the foundation line, natural stone garden walls and patio walls that hold up a raised terrace. Those parts stay wet longest.

• Stone patio and garden walls. Joints wash out, top stones work loose, and the slab behind the wall loses support. We repoint the joints, reset or replace the top stones, and pack under the patio slab where it has lost bearing.
• Stoops and steps. Concrete or brick steps settle and pull away from the house. We patch, overlay or rebuild them.
• Brick fronts. Cracks over windows and garage doors, open joints near grade and spalled brick by downspouts. We repoint in Type N portland cement-lime mortar to ASTM C270 and replace brick with a close match.

Read more about stone work, retaining walls and tuckpointing. A new or rebuilt uncovered patio needs a township zoning certificate.

Concrete, remodels and the rest of the house

A general contracting job often starts with one repair and grows: a patio wall leads to resurfacing the patio, or a chimney leak leaves a ceiling to fix. We do concrete overlays, crack repair, steps and slab replacement, plaster and drywall repair, gutters, soffits and fascia, and kitchen and bathroom remodels, with licensed trade partners for electrical, plumbing and HVAC.

Every job is priced after the owner sees it. Common masonry ranges are on our pricing page. See also concrete, bathroom remodels and our general contractor page. We work in nearby Milford, Mount Washington and Newtown too.