Brick repair in Manchester NH - a wall that sheds water and stops flaking
Brick faces flaking off or mortar crumbling out of the joints? I'll find what's letting the water in, then fix the brick so it holds.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
Can flaking or crumbling brick be repaired without redoing the whole wall?
Usually, yes. Brick repair in Manchester, NH means cutting out bricks that have cracked, crumbled or lost their face, setting sound brick in their place and renewing the worn mortar around them, since the joints are usually the first part of a brick wall to wear out. At Capstone Manchester Concrete and Masonry, we do this work in Manchester and many of the cities around it, including some just over the line in Massachusetts.
Most calls start with something you can see, like a few bricks shedding their face near the ground, a crack running up the wall or mortar you can scrape out with a key. The price turns on how many bricks need replacing, how high up they sit, how hard your brick is to match and how much joint work goes with it, and the schedule turns on the weather and on anything the city needs first. If the joints are the real problem, brick pointing may be all you need, and I'll tell you that when I come out and put what I'd fix, and why, in writing.
How can you tell your brick needs repair?
Brick faces flaking off
You'll see the face of a brick peeling away in flakes or popping off in a chunk, often low on the wall or under a gutter. That usually means water is soaking into the brick and freezing, and the longer it goes, the more bricks around it go the same way.
Mortar crumbling from joints
If sand comes out of the joints when you scrape them, or the mortar sits well back from the brick face, the joints have worn out and are letting water into the wall. Left alone, bricks start to loosen and a few bad joints turn into a whole section.
Cracks running through brick
A crack that steps up through the joints or splits bricks in a line usually means something under or behind the wall has moved, and I want to know what before I patch it. Waiting lets water into that crack every season, and it tends to open wider.
How we handle brick repair on your house
I start by working out where the water is getting in, because flaking brick tends to get worse once it starts and a new brick set in the same wet spot will go the same way. It's often a gutter spilling down the face, a cracked sill or cap above, joints that have worn open or soil keeping the bottom courses wet. Once that's dealt with, we cut out the damaged bricks and the mortar around them, set in brick that suits that spot on the wall, both for how it looks and for how wet it gets, and fill and tool the joints so they match the rest.
Brick that fails near the ground often traces back to how water moves around the house. If a sunken walk or driveway is sending water at the wall, we can rebuild it with driveway pavers, and where wet soil is banked up against the brick, retaining wall construction can pull the grade back from the house. I'll only bring those up when they're part of the cause.
Replacing a few bricks
This suits a wall where the damage sits in one spot and the joints elsewhere are still sound. We swap out the bad bricks, renew the joints right around them and leave the rest of the wall alone.
Rebuilding a damaged section
This suits a corner, the bottom few courses or a patch under a leak where too many bricks have gone to pick them out one at a time. We take the section down to sound brick and lay it back up, so the repair ties into the wall instead of sitting on it.
Get a written plan for your brick repair
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set up a free on-site estimate, with no obligation. I'll come look at the wall, find the cause and put what I'd fix in writing.
(603) 314-0526- Based in
- Manchester, NH 03104
- Hours
- Mon–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call about brick repair in Manchester?
From your first call to the final walk-around, here's how a brick repair runs with us and who you'll be dealing with at each step.
Call or send us a message
Call (603) 314-0526 or use the form and tell us what you're seeing and where on the house it is. We'll set a time for me to come out.
I come out and look
I look at the damaged brick, the joints around it and what's above and below it to track down what's letting the water in. Then I write up what I'd fix and why, so you can decide before anything starts, and if a smaller fix will do, I'll say so.
We fix it and walk it
Once you say go, we take care of anything the city needs, then do the repair. When we're done, I walk the finished wall with you so you can see every spot we worked on.
Why Manchester homeowners call us for brick repair
I estimate it and work it
I come out to see your wall and write the estimate, and I'm on the crew that does the repair. You won't be explaining the problem twice, and the person who found the cause is there when it gets fixed.
Trained on old, failing buildings
Before we started this business in 2023, I spent years doing upkeep for a property management company, patching brick, chimneys and foundations on a lot of older buildings. That's where I learned to chase down why a wall fails, and why I'd rather tell you a job is smaller than you feared than sell you more than you need.
Licensed and fully insured, every job
We're licensed and fully insured. That matters on brick work, where ladders, staging and loose brick are part of every day on the job.
Ready for Manchester's older brick
Manchester has historic districts, and plenty of the brick we're called to is old, so I look at what your wall was built with before choosing the brick and mortar that go back in. That way the repair suits the wall instead of just covering the damage.
If you can't tell whether it's the brick, the joints or something behind them, that's the part I like working out, so send us a message or call (603) 314-0526.
Brick repair, permits and older walls in Manchester
In Manchester, the city's Building Division handles plan review and permit approval, and its building permit applications are online. Whether a particular brick repair needs a permit isn't something I'll guess at, so we check with the local building office before work starts and take care of the permit paperwork when a job needs one. If your house is in one of the city's historic districts, the Heritage Commission reviews qualifying outdoor building permit applications for their impact on the district, which is one more reason to ask early. If you'd rather have an application mailed to you, Planning & Community Development can send one if you call 603-624-6450 or write to PCD@ManchesterNH.gov.
Around here, the brick that fails first is usually the brick that stays wet, like the bottom courses near the ground or the stretch under a leaky gutter or sill. We see the same pattern on jobs in Bedford and Goffstown, so I always check above and below the damage before I plan the repair.
Questions about brick repair in Manchester
How long does repointing brick last?
Professionally done repointing can last 20 to 30 years, sometimes longer, according to a national cost guide. Walls that see harsh weather or a lot of freezing and thawing may need it sooner, and the mortar and the mason's skill both shape how long it holds. Our work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee.
How much does it cost to repair flaking brick?
Across the US, repairing chipped or flaking bricks usually costs about $20 to $40 per square foot, according to a national cost guide, so a small patch and a whole wall land very differently. That's the going rate nationally, not our price. Your own figure comes from my on-site estimate, written up for your wall.
Why does flaking brick keep getting worse?
Once freezing and thawing knock off a brick's outer layer, the inside it leaves exposed is usually softer and more porous, so it takes on water and breaks down faster than the face did. That's why it pays to plan the repair early instead of waiting another winter.
What kind of mortar should be used on an old brick house?
For historic brick, federal preservation guidance generally advises against masonry cement, because it usually contains no lime and makes a hard, high-strength mortar that can damage older masonry. If your house is older, ask any mason which mortar they plan to use before work starts. I'll tell you what I'd use on your wall and why.
What is the best way to remove old mortar from brick joints?
Carefully, by someone skilled, because the method and the hands both matter. Power saws and grinders are the most common tools, but on thin joints like most brick walls, saws almost always chip the brick edges, and federal guidance for historic masonry warns they can be disastrous for soft, old brick in unskilled hands. Ask any mason how they'll take the joints out, and I'll walk you through how I'd do it on yours.
Can you just fill over cracked mortar joints instead of repointing?
No. Spreading new material over the old joints, called surface grouting, can't stand in for repointing, and federal guidance doesn't recommend it for historic masonry. Repointing takes out the worn mortar and packs in new, which is what keeps the wall sound, and if only a few joints are bad, I'll say so and keep the job small.
Related work that keeps water off your brick
Pavers lift and reset one at a time, so a driveway that settles or heaves can be fixed in patches instead of being torn out and poured again.
If your yard slopes toward the house or an old wall is leaning, a new retaining wall holds the soil back and gives water somewhere better to go.
Service areas for brick repair around Manchester
Capstone Manchester Concrete and Masonry is based in Manchester, NH, and 12 cities have their own page on our site, from Nashua to Methuen, MA just over the state line. They aren't the only places we work, so if your city isn't listed, call and ask.
Manchester, NH
Get your flaking brick looked at
Have a couple of photos of the damaged brick or worn joints and a rough size of the wall in square feet ready when you call or fill out the form, and I'll come out already knowing what to look for.