Masonry contractor in Okemos, MI - repairs that fix the cause, not just the crack

The state's building permit guidance says ordinary repairs don't need a permit, but that exemption doesn't cover cutting away walls, partitions or structural beams, or changing the required exits from the house. Pointing joints is a different job from opening up a wall, and whether yours counts as ordinary is the township's call. That's why I check with the township before we start, as covered above.

Usually not for a house, because state guidance requires an architect's or engineer's seal on construction documents but exempts one- and two-family homes under 3,500 square feet of calculated floor area. If your house is bigger than that, the seal comes back into play. On a cracked or bowed foundation wall, I'll tell you if I think an engineer should look at it regardless.

Your price comes from the estimate, and the biggest thing that moves it is whether a wall, chimney or step can be repaired or has to come down and be rebuilt. Repointing a few sections or swapping damaged brick costs far less than a rebuild, so I look for the cause first and tell you plainly which one you need. If part of the job can wait, I'll say so and keep it separate. Call (517) 237-5922 or send photos through the form to get started.

Plan for it up front, because Meridian Township has no curbside garbage, recycling or yard waste pickup, so broken brick and concrete won't go out with the trash. Residents here use Granger Waste Services or Waste Management for garbage service. We clean up the site when we finish, and we'll settle at the estimate how the old material gets hauled off.

Usually it's taking the wall down and rebuilding it on a solid, packed base with drainage behind it, because a wall leans when water and soil push on it harder than it was built to hold. Bracing it or patching the face rarely holds for long. If only one end is moving, sometimes just that section can be reset, and I'll show you which it is when I come out.

Usually close enough that the repair doesn't stand out from the street, though new brick beside brick that's weathered for decades won't look identical on day one. We match size, color and texture as closely as we can, then tint the mortar and shape the joint to the old ones, which matters as much as the brick. Salvaged brick from a hidden spot on the house is sometimes the best match there is.