Masonry · Brick · Stone
Brick, stone, block, mortar — when something stops doing its job (a leaning chimney, a crumbling joint, a retaining wall that's bulging) the right answer is rarely a patch. We rebuild it correctly the first time, with materials matched to what's already there so the repair doesn't read as a repair.
What We Do
Old mortar is ground out cleanly to a uniform depth, the joint is brushed and dampened, and new mortar is packed in and tooled to match the original profile. Done correctly, tuckpointed joints last another 30–50 years. Done with the wrong mortar (modern Type N over a soft historic brick is the classic mistake), the brick face spalls and the wall is worse than before.
Get a tuckpointing quote →Replacing damaged brick or stone with units that match the original color, size, and texture so the repair disappears. We salvage where possible, source matching units when not, and stage repairs so the structural sequence keeps the wall stable through the work.
Schedule a look →Segmental block, natural stone, or poured concrete — sized for the soil load behind them, drained behind the back face so hydrostatic pressure can't push them over, and finished with a cap that sheds water. Most failed retaining walls failed because nobody planned the drainage. We do.
See drainage →Chimney crown rebuilds, brick + mortar repointing, flashing fixes, leaning-chimney straightening, and where the structure is past saving, full take-down to the roof line and rebuild. Always inspected for liner condition and water entry path before scope is set.
Schedule chimney inspection →New stucco application, patch-and-blend repair on existing walls, and EIFS-vs-traditional assessment when problems show up. Often paired with crack repair on the substrate underneath — a stucco crack almost always traces back to a structural movement we should address first.
Foundation context →Brick stairways and walkways are the most common masonry rebuilds we get called for — they take freeze-thaw the worst because every joint is exposed. Rebuild on a proper drainage base with re-laid brick on a new mortar bed, and they outlast the originals.
Our freeze-thaw cycles are brutal on mortar. Water gets into joints, freezes, expands, and physically pushes brick and stone apart. Add 100+ year old homes in Jeffersonville and New Albany with original soft mortar, and you get exactly the joint failure patterns we see every week.
Clay-rich soils don't help — they swell when wet and shrink when dry, working brick and stone walls back and forth through every season. A retaining wall built without proper drainage behind it is on borrowed time from day one.
Free inspection, honest assessment, no pressure. We'll tell you whether it's cosmetic, fixable, or full-rebuild territory — and we don't sell the rebuild if a repair will hold.
Common Questions
From the Job Site
Every photo is a Cornerstone job. Click through the full project gallery for more.
Brick, stone, retaining wall, chimney — show us what you're seeing and we'll tell you straight. Repair, rebuild, or leave it alone — no pitch.
