Lindale is just up the road from Tyler, where we're based, and the masonry calls we get here are a lot like the ones we get in Tyler and Mineola. Older brick houses need worn mortar joints redone, cracked brick replaced and chimneys brought back into shape. Newer homes going up around town usually want a retaining wall, a walkway or a paver driveway. We do the same work out east in Longview.
On an old brick house, the job is matching what's already there so a repair doesn't stand out from across the street. On new yard work, most of the job is underground, because a wall or walkway only holds up as well as the base we dig out and pack under it.
Check whether you're inside the city limits
The first thing I check on a Lindale job is whether your address sits inside the city limits, because the City of Lindale serves properties inside them. A Lindale mailing address doesn't settle it on its own, so we look it up before we plan anything. If you're inside the limits, the city's permit and contractor rules apply to your job. If you're outside them, we find out what applies there instead. Either way, we tell you what we found, so you're not left wondering about paperwork while your job waits on it.
Making new mortar match the old
On the older brick houses here, the usual call is crumbling mortar joints, a few cracked bricks or a chimney that's showing its age. Tuckpointing, where we grind out the worn mortar and pack in new, usually handles the joints, but it only looks right if the new mortar matches the old in color, texture and the way the joint is finished. So we work out that match before we start, and where bricks have cracked we swap in ones close to the originals in size and color. If a wall is sound and just weathered, I'll tell you it can wait.
What moves the price and the schedule
Price comes down to how much brick, stone or block is involved, how deep the damage runs, how hard the wall is to reach and how closely we have to match old brick or mortar. On repairs, some of that only shows once the old mortar is out. The schedule turns on whether the city needs a permit and how long matching material takes to find. I come out, look at the job and write the estimate, so you get a number for your house instead of a guess over the phone. From there, a lead mason runs the crew on site.