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Fieldstone Ontario Concrete and Masonry
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Brick repair in Ontario CA - new mortar that's gentle on your old brick

Mortar crumbling out of your brick joints? We fix the worn joints with a mix matched to your house and leave the sound brick alone.

Request an estimate(909) 738-1042
A broad driveway of rectangular gray and taupe pavers leads to the street, with bare soil and yellow guide lines along the edges.

Is it the brick or the mortar that needs fixing?

Brick repair in Ontario, CA usually means clearing out the worn mortar between your bricks and packing in new mortar that suits the age of your house, so the wall stays sound and the brick around it isn't harmed.

Maybe you've noticed sand piling up at the base of a wall, gaps where mortar used to be, or joints on a chimney that look washed out, which is often where chimney repair starts. A lot of the time the bricks themselves are fine and it's the mortar between them that's worn, and that's good news, because the fix is in the joints. The price mostly follows how much joint work there is and how high we have to reach, and the schedule turns on the size of the job and whether the city needs to sign off first. When I come out, the estimate spells out what we'd fix and what can stay as it is.

Why Ontario homeowners call us for brick repair

When you call about your brick, you get me looking at your wall, a straight answer on what needs fixing and what can wait, and a crew that cleans up after itself.

  • I see every job myself

    I come out to look at your brick in person, and I'm on site with our crew while the work gets done.

  • Licensed and insured for your job

    We're licensed and insured, so you aren't carrying the risk of someone uncovered working on your house.

  • Sound brick stays put

    We fix the joints that have failed and leave good brick and mortar alone, because tearing out sound work costs you money.

  • Doing it carefully since 2023

    I started this business in 2023 after years of property upkeep, so I could do masonry carefully instead of fast.

  • A tidy site at a lived-in home

    Years of working around tenants taught me to keep the site clean, because people are living in your house while we work.

The brick repair work we do

The right repair depends on how old your house is and what the brick and old mortar are made of, so I look at both before we pick a method or a mix.

  • Repointing worn joints

    When the bricks are still solid but the mortar between them is sandy, cracked or sitting back from the face, we clear out the worn mortar and pack in new. It fixes the real problem without disturbing brick that's still doing its job.

  • A mix that suits older brick

    On an older house, a hard modern mortar like Portland cement can leave the bricks soaking up moisture until they fail, and that damage can go deeper than looks. A harder mix isn't better if it ends up hurting the brick around it, so I pick one that suits the brick in your wall.

  • Clearing old joints by hand

    Preservation guidance for old masonry says hand chisels and a mash hammer, a short heavy hammer, take more labor but usually pose the least risk, while a power saw on thin joints almost always breaks brick edges. On an older wall, ask whoever you hire who's clearing the joints and with what, and I'll tell you the same in your write-up.

  • Brick edging, planters and garden walls

    Brick isn't only on the house, so we also repoint the brick borders and planters that sit beside driveway pavers and low garden walls. If a wall holding back soil is leaning or pushing out, that's usually a job for retaining wall construction rather than new mortar, and I'll tell you so.

What happens when you call about brick repair in Ontario?

Every brick job starts with me looking at your wall, and we plan the work around your schedule and the people living in the house.

  1. Call or send the form

    Call us at (909) 738-1042 or send the form with a few photos, and we'll get back to you to set up a visit.

  2. I look at the wall

    I come out in person, take photos and show you right there what I'm seeing in the brick and the old mortar.

  3. Your written estimate

    I write up what we'd fix and what can stay as it is, so you know exactly which joints you're paying for and why.

  4. The work and walkthrough

    Once you say go, we set a schedule together, our crew does the work with me on site, and we walk the finished job with you.

Questions about a step? Call and talk it through.

(909) 738-1042

Brick repair questions we hear

What is brick repointing and why does it matter?

Repointing, which some people call pointing or tuckpointing, means removing worn mortar from the joints of a brick wall and replacing it with new mortar. On older brick, sound joints carry moisture through the wall, which helps keep the bricks themselves from damage, so worn joints are worth fixing before the brick starts to suffer.

How much does brick repair cost in Ontario, CA?

There's no honest flat price for brick repair, since every wall needs a different amount of work. Reaching a chimney or a second story, clearing old joints by hand and matching mortar on a historic home all raise it, while a short run of joints on a low garden wall costs less. I'll put a number on your wall once I've seen it.

How long does repointing last on a brick house?

One estimating guide puts well-done repointing with the right mortar at 25 to 50 years. The same guide says mortar that's too hard for the brick can start damaging it within 5 to 10 years, so the mix decides how long the whole repair holds up, and that's why I take my time choosing it.

Will repointing protect my chimney in an earthquake?

No, repointing on its own won't do much to protect a chimney in a future earthquake. San Bernardino County's building guidance encourages repointing as regular chimney upkeep but says it does little to lower the chance of quake damage, so if protection from quakes is your goal, plan for more than new mortar.

Can someone without a license do small brick jobs in California?

Yes, but only on jobs up to $1,000, under the state's small-job exemption from contractor licensing. It only applies when the work needs no permit and the person has no one working for them on the project, so a bigger repair, or one with a helper on it, calls for a licensed contractor.

What causes some brick walls to wear out faster than others?

Sun and rain do most of it, so the south and west sides of a house usually wear first. If you're checking your own joints, start on those walls, and when I come out I'll look there first too.

What to know about brick repair in Ontario

The City of Ontario Building Department handles plan review and inspection here, and whether a given brick repair needs a permit is a question for that office, not something I'll guess at from the curb. When a job does need sign off, we take care of the permit and set up the inspections. Homes in Ontario's historic neighborhoods add a step, because city planning staff and the Historic Preservation Commission review changes to the outside of historic buildings through the city's historic preservation program. Ordinary repair is allowed on those homes when the design, material and look stay the same, and the city's guidelines for historic properties call for removing worn mortar by hand, matching the new joints to the old ones' width and shape, and matching the mortar's strength, color and texture, so we check with the city early on those jobs. If the city has sent you a written notice that your building is on its list of unreinforced masonry, or URM, buildings, show it to us before we plan anything, because that notice spells out your duty to reduce the hazard.

After the 2019 Trona earthquakes, county teams found damaged brick chimneys, with older unreinforced chimneys and worn mortar hit hardest and even newer chimneys taking real damage. We're based in Ontario and see the same older brick chimneys and garden walls on jobs in Upland and Pomona, so I look hard at the chimney mortar on any older house we visit.

Ask Fieldstone about your brick repair

Call (909) 738-1042 or send photos through the form, and the work we do on your brick is backed by our satisfaction guarantee.

Request an estimate(909) 738-1042