Brick repair in Gilroy CA - mortar joints that keep water out of your walls
Crumbling mortar or chipped brick letting water in? We repair the joints with a mortar matched to your house, so the wall stays dry.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- Replies within 1 business day.
What does brick repair on a Gilroy house involve?
Brick repair in Gilroy, CA is mostly mortar work, because brick walls wear first at the joints. We clear out the soft, cracked or washed-out mortar, pack in new mortar suited to your brick and replace any brick too damaged to keep, so the wall sheds water again.
You've probably noticed sandy joints, a few chipped bricks or a damp patch that won't dry, and you want to know how big a job it is before you spend money. We're based in Gilroy and work in the cities around it, from San Martin and Morgan Hill up through the South Bay and over to Hollister, Watsonville and Salinas. The price mostly comes down to how much of the wall needs work, how high and easy it is to reach and how many bricks have to be replaced. The schedule turns on whether a drainage problem gets fixed first, whether a mortar sample has to go out to be matched, and the weather, since fresh mortar and heavy rain don't mix. If your trouble is mostly in the joints, our tuckpointing page covers that side in more detail, and the written estimate I leave you spells out the area, the work and the price for your wall.
How can you tell your brick needs repair?
Sandy, crumbling mortar
If you can rub mortar out of a joint with your finger, it has gone soft, and soft mortar lets water into the wall. Caught early, that's usually a repointing job, but once the water has been working on the brick for a few seasons the brick starts to go too.
Joints sunk behind the brick
When the mortar sits well back from the face of the brick, it has worn or washed out, often near a downspout or wherever runoff hits the wall. Those recessed joints hold water against the brick, and the longer they're left, the more of the wall has to be redone.
Chipped or flaking brick faces
Brick that's losing its face usually has water trapped in it, and sometimes an old repair made with mortar harder than the brick is to blame. A flaked face won't grow back, so that brick has to come out and be replaced, and the bricks next to it are often next.
How we handle brick repair
We start by finding where the water is getting in, because new joints in a wet wall just wear out again. On an older home I figure out what the original mortar was like, and when that's hard to tell we can send a sample out to be matched, so the new joints stay softer than the brick around them. Then our crew clears the worn mortar out of the joints, packs in the new mix, shapes the joints to match the rest of the wall, swaps out any bricks too far gone to keep, and cleans the wall and your yard before we leave.
Brick trouble often has a neighbor. When a sloped yard keeps pushing dirt and runoff against a wall, the lasting fix can be retaining wall construction that holds the soil back, and when the brick runs along your drive, we also lay driveway pavers.
Repointing the worn joints
This suits a wall where the bricks are still sound but the mortar is soft, cracked or washed out. We replace the mortar across the affected area, so water stops getting in, and leave the good brick alone.
Replacing damaged brick
This suits a wall with cracked or flaking bricks mixed in with good ones. We cut out the bad bricks, set in the closest match we can find and repoint around them, so the patch blends in and the wall holds together.
Get a written estimate for your brick repair
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set a time. I'll come out, look at the brick with you and leave a free written estimate, with no obligation to go ahead.
(669) 205-6449- Based in
- Gilroy, CA 95020
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–11 PM
What happens after you call about brick repair in Gilroy?
Here's how a brick repair goes with us, from your first message to the walk-through when the work is done.
Call or send a message
Call (669) 205-6449 or use the form, and tell us how old the house is and whether you've seen a downspout leaking near the wall. A few photos of the worn joints help me know what I'm walking into.
I walk the wall with you
I look at the joints, the brick and where the water runs, point out what I see and tell you what I'd do about it. Then I put it in writing, with the area we'd repoint, any bricks to replace and the price, so you know the cost before anything starts.
We repair, then walk it
Our lead mason and crew do the work, and I check in while it's going. When it's done, I walk the finished wall with you and point out what to keep an eye on.
Why Gilroy homeowners call Quality Gilroy Concrete and Masonry for brick repair
The owner writes every estimate
I come out myself, point at the crumbling joint or the flaking brick and explain what it means before we talk about fixing it. Most of the calls we get around Gilroy come from homeowners who want exactly that, and it leaves you able to ask good questions of any mason, us included.
Learned the trade from the yard up
I started behind the counter at a masonry supply yard, then learned the trade on a local mason's crew, and we've been in business since 2021. Selling brick is where I heard what goes wrong after the material leaves the yard, and it's why we're so careful about mortar.
Licensed and fully insured
We're licensed and fully insured on every job we take. That means the crew working on your walls is covered, and you aren't the one carrying the risk.
On brick, a dry wall and the right mortar matter more than anything else. Tell us about your brick or call (669) 205-6449, and I'll come take a look. Your satisfaction, guaranteed.
Brick and chimney repair on older Gilroy homes
California puts brick work under the C-29 Masonry Contractor license from the state's contractor license board, which covers baked clay products like brick, masonry walls and the cleaning that goes with the work. The state does let someone without a license do minor work up to $1,000, but only when the job needs no permit and that person hires no one to help, and brick work outside that exemption calls for a licensed contractor. So when you compare bids, the license question belongs on your list right next to the price.
Many of the older brick homes we see have a brick chimney, and a state seismic safety report found that older homes with unreinforced masonry chimneys are a substantial economic risk to California. Federal guidance on rebuilding earthquake-damaged chimneys on one- and two-family homes recommends the same practices for strengthening a chimney before the next quake. When we're on your house for brick repair, I look at the chimney too and tell you what I see, and chimney repair is a separate job if it needs one. We see the same older brick and chimneys on jobs in Morgan Hill and Hollister.
Questions about brick repair in Gilroy
(669) 205-6449There's no set price for brick repair, because it's priced from your wall, how much of it needs work and what it takes to do it right. A small patch on a garden wall and a leaking side of a two-story house are very different jobs, and a mortar match or a drainage fix adds to the plan. I'll give you a written price after I've seen it.
Usually not, if the wall is leaking. Brick industry guidance advises repointing every joint in the affected area, because it's hard to tell which joints are letting the water in. So when I write up a leak, the estimate covers that whole section, not just the cracks you can see.
A mortar no stronger than the one already in the wall. Brick industry guidance warns that stronger mortar stresses old brick and makes its face spall, or flake off. Mortar made before the early 1900s was mostly lime, so an older home likely needs a weaker mix than new construction uses, which is why we match the original first.
On older brick, preservation guidance says hand chisels carry the least risk and give the best result in most cases, though they take more labor. Power saws on thin joints, which most brick walls have, almost always chip the brick edges. Whoever you hire, ask how they'll clear the joints before you sign.
Water running down the wall is the usual cause, very often from a leaking downspout or poor drainage. Preservation guidance shows a leaking downspout washing mortar out of a wall and says drainage problems have to be repaired first. That puts the downspout fix at the start of the plan, before anyone repoints, or the new joints wash out the same way.
Pick someone who does repointing well, not just someone who lays brick well. A brick industry note says only a qualified, experienced tuck pointing craftsman should do the work, since an excellent bricklayer may not be good at it, and it advises testing a mason's skills before you hire. Check the state license too, as covered above.
Other masonry work around your brick
Driveway pavers
If the brick you're fixing sits beside a cracked or sinking driveway, pavers give you a surface that drains and can be lifted and reset in sections later.
Retaining wall construction
When a slope pushes soil and runoff against your house or garden wall, a new retaining wall holds the grade back and steers water away from the brick.
Service areas for brick repair near Gilroy
Quality Gilroy Concrete and Masonry is based in Gilroy, CA, and the 12 cities below each have their own page, including San Martin and Prunedale. They aren't the only places we work, so call if your city isn't listed.
Gilroy, CA
Have us look at your worn brick
Worn joints let in a little more water every rainy season, so the sooner the wall is looked at, the more of your original brick you're likely to keep.