We're a small South Bend masonry crew best known for careful repair on older brick, the repointing, chimney and foundation work that keeps a house sound. If you want it fixed right instead of fast, call (574) 213-0235.
(574) 213-0235
Most of our South Bend calls come from people in older houses. The brick has usually been patched a few times by different hands, the chimney is showing its age, and the owner wants it done right this time. I learned this work under an experienced mason around here, and it's still most of what we do.
On a lot of these houses, what you see isn't the whole story. A crumbling joint or a loose brick near the top of a chimney often means water is getting in somewhere else, so I look past the spot you called about before I tell you what it needs. Some of it I can't know until we open the wall, and I'll tell you that up front.
We reply to every call and message within one business day. After you send the form, I'll set a time to come out to your South Bend address, walk the job with you and write the estimate up in plain words. It's free, and there's no obligation.
(574) 213-0235Most South Bend calls are for repointing worn mortar, chimney repair and brick that's cracked or working loose. We also handle foundation repair on older block and brick foundations, along with retaining walls, walkways, pavers and new brick or stone work. Each service below has its own page that explains how we go about it.
Most home work here starts with the city's building department, which issues permits for every address in South Bend and for houses with a 5-digit address in St. Joseph County. When a job needs a permit, work can't start until it's issued, so that's usually the first thing your schedule waits on. The same department registers contractors, and everyone working on your house, subcontractors included, has to be registered or licensed with it, so that's worth asking any contractor about before you hire them.
Before we start, we check with the office that covers your address, and when the job calls for a permit we pull it as part of the work. The price moves with how much of the brick or mortar actually needs work, how high we're working and what turns up once a wall is open, and I write all of that into your estimate in plain words. We plan jobs the same way in Mishawaka and Notre Dame, checking with whichever office covers the address.
I come out myself, look at the brick with you and write the estimate in plain words, so you know what we found and why we'd fix it that way. When the work starts, I'm on the crew alongside our masons and laborers.
Growing up on a farm, I learned that a patch done wrong costs more than doing it right once. On old brick that means using mortar that suits the wall and fixing what's causing the damage, not just covering the crack you can see.
We're fully licensed and insured on every job. I started this business in 2023 after learning the trade under an experienced mason around South Bend. Your satisfaction, guaranteed. To talk through your job, call (574) 213-0235 or send us the form.
Often, yes, because masonry and chimneys are both listed on the city and county renovation permit application. I'll tell you at the estimate how your job looks on that front. If your property is in a flood plain or wetland, the city notes that prior approval may be needed as well.
Ask the city's building department, because every contractor working in South Bend and St. Joseph County, subcontractors included, has to be registered or licensed with it. If you'd rather do the work yourself on the single-family home you live in, you can, after you sign an affidavit with the proof the department asks for.
The minimum permit fee in South Bend is $60.00, as of January 1, 2026. When you hire a contractor, the contractor buys the permit, and owners doing their own work have to buy one too. On our jobs we pull it as part of the work, so it's not something you have to chase.
Contact the Historical Preservation Commission first, because the city has owners of historic district and landmark properties go there before applying for any building permit. That includes houses in places like the West Washington Street Historic District. If your home is in one, we help you reach the commission before anything else happens.
I give you a price after I've walked the job, because the cost comes from what your wall or chimney actually needs. Repointing only the failing joints costs less than redoing a whole wall, and a chimney costs more when we have to rebuild above the roofline or match brick that isn't made anymore. A permit, when the job needs one, goes into the total too.
Call (574) 213-0235 or send the form, and I'll come out, walk the job with you and write it up. If you say yes, we check with the office for your address, pull any permit the job needs and put you on our schedule. If something only shows up once the wall is open, I stop and talk it through with you before we go further.
