We're a masonry contractor based in South Bend, and we cross the state line to repoint brick, fix chimneys and foundations, and build new brick and stone for homes in Dowagiac. I come out to look at your job myself.
(574) 213-0235
Dowagiac has a lot of houses that have been standing a long time, and the calls we get from there sound a lot like the ones from our older South Bend neighborhoods. We see mortar washing out of the joints, chimneys losing brick above the roofline, block foundations with a crack someone patched years back, and front steps pulling away from the house.
Most of that comes down to age and water finding its way in, and most of it can be repaired instead of torn out if it's caught early. That's the work I like best, because older brick rewards doing it the slow way and punishes a quick patch.
Tell us what you're seeing and what you'd like done, and ask about permits if you're wondering whether your job needs one. We reply within one business day, and then I set a time to come out to Dowagiac, walk the job with you and write the estimate up in plain words. It's free, with no pressure and no obligation.
(574) 213-0235Most of what we do on Dowagiac houses is repair, like tuckpointing and brick pointing where the joints have worn out, chimney repair, and foundation repair on old block and brick. We also build new, from walkways and retaining walls to stone veneer and outdoor kitchen masonry for a backyard you'd like to use more. Every service below is one we do here.
Dowagiac is in Cass County, and on the Michigan side the building permit comes from whichever office enforces the code for your address, which can be the state, the county or the city itself. We check with that office before work starts, and when the job calls for a permit we pull it as part of the job, so your start date usually turns on that step and on whether the office wants drawings. If your home is in a historic district, we help you reach the commission first. The state licensing department licenses residential builders, and anyone building a home has to hold that license, with some exceptions in the law, so it's fair to ask any contractor what they hold.
We're based in South Bend, so Dowagiac is a longer drive for us than our Indiana jobs, and we plan the work so the crew isn't running back and forth for materials. What moves the price is how much brick or block needs work, how high or hard to reach it is, how closely we have to match old brick and mortar, and what turns up once a wall or chimney is opened, which I won't know until it is. The estimate I write after walking the job gives you the figure for yours.
I come out to Dowagiac myself to look at the job, and I write the estimate in plain words so you know what we're fixing and why. I'm also on the crew alongside our masons and laborers, so the person who looked at your house is there doing the work.
I grew up on a farm where a patch done wrong cost more than fixing it right once, and I run jobs the same way. On older brick that means using mortar that suits the brick and finding where the water's getting in, not just covering the crack you can see.
We're fully licensed and insured, and we work in many cities across northern Indiana and southwest Michigan from our base in South Bend. Your satisfaction, guaranteed. Call (574) 213-0235 or use the form, and I'll set up a time to come see the job.
Under Michigan's guidance, ordinary repairs can be made without a permit, but cutting away a wall or partition or removing a beam or bearing support doesn't count as an ordinary repair. Changing a required way out of the house, or moving vent, drain or other piping, doesn't count either. Whether your job falls on one side or the other is the enforcing office's call, so we check before we start.
Look your address up on the state's jurisdiction list, which the state suggests checking before you apply because it changes as code enforcement shifts between offices. The application can come from you or from your builder, so when your job needs a permit, we file it for you.
Each permit application needs a set of plans for the work, though the building official can waive them when the written description is enough to judge the job. Plans must be sealed by an architect or engineer, except for a one- or two-family home under 3,500 square feet of calculated floor area. If your job needs drawings, I'll tell you when I write the estimate.
Your price comes from the size and condition of your job, and you'll have it in writing after I walk it with you. The biggest swings come from what's behind the brick, like a chimney crown that's let water in for years or a foundation crack that runs deeper than it looks, and from matching old brick by color and size. I'd rather tell you that up front than hand you a low number that grows.
Have the whole wall or chimney looked at, not just the spot you noticed, because the crack you see is usually where water has been getting in for a while. I'll tell you what has to be done now and what can wait, and we do the urgent part first so it doesn't spread.
Usually it's age and water getting into the joints. Mortar is meant to wear before the brick does, so after enough decades it softens and washes out, faster where a gutter spills down the wall or a chimney cap is cracked. Old patches done with mortar harder than the brick make it worse because the brick starts breaking at the edges instead, which is why we repoint with a mortar that suits the brick.
