Masonry and parging that keeps water out
Good masonry does more than look tidy. Solid mortar joints, sound block and a well-bonded parge coat shed water off your walls, and weak masonry lets water back in behind a foundation. Our crew repairs foundation and exterior masonry across Windsor and Essex County, using a step-by-step procedure from prep to curing.
Masonry services
Parging (standard and ICF)
Parging is the cement coating on the exposed part of your foundation. When it cracks, flakes or sounds hollow, water gets behind it. We remove loose parging down to sound material, dampen the wall, apply a scratch coat, then a finish coat floated to an even surface, with clean edges at the footing, grade line, windows and corners. We also parge ICF (insulated concrete form) foundations.
Pointing and tuckpointing
Crumbling mortar joints let water into brick and block walls. We rake failed joints back to sound mortar, to a depth of about 2 to 2½ times the joint width. We pack new mortar in layers and tool it to match your existing joints so water runs off the face of the wall.
Block, brick and stone repair and replacement
Cracked, spalled or crumbling units are cut out cleanly without disturbing the good ones around them. Replacements are set level and plumb with full, tight joints, matching the existing pattern. We also re-lay loose or shifted masonry.
Masonry crack repair
Cracks in block, brick or parging are cleaned out, filled completely and finished flush using the repair method on your estimate. For water-leaking foundation cracks, see Foundation Crack Repair.
Chimney repairs and rebuilds
From repointing and brick replacement to rebuilding a chimney that's past saving.
Concrete steps, pads, patching and walkways
Concrete patching and resurfacing, small pads and steps, and walkway or interlock re-laying and levelling.
Grading around the foundation
Re-sloping soil so rain runs away from your house, not toward it.
How we do masonry right
- We check the weather. Below about 4 °C, or with frost coming, fresh mortar needs cold-weather protection. In heat and wind we shade and mist.
- We sound the wall first. Hollow or "drummy" parging comes off, so the new coat bonds to solid material.
- We prepare properly. Joints are raked to depth and squared, dust is cleared, and the surface is dampened before mortar goes on.
- We use the right mortar, mixed right. Measured water, consistent batches, and no re-tempering mortar that has started to set.
- We build in coats, not one heavy layer. One thick parge coat is what cracks and peels.
- We cure and protect. Fresh work is covered or misted as needed, usually for the first few days.
- We control dust. Cutting block or concrete makes silica dust, so we wet-cut or use dust collection.
- We photograph before and after and walk the finished job with you.
Warranty
Parging and foundation crack repairs come with a 5-year warranty on labour and material. It's void if later landscaping changes water flow, if the work is damaged by the homeowner or someone else, or if structures settle or shift due to soil conditions. Warranty details →
Found something bigger?
If we find structural cracks, a bowing wall or much more damage than expected, we'll stop and talk to you before going further. If it needs one, we bring in a structural engineer who works with our company.
Tell us what you're seeing. Photos help us come prepared.
Project photos
Real Bedal's job photos go here once available.
