Pittsburgh and the North Hills
Five kinds of work, one crew for all of them.
Chimneys, foundations, block and stone retaining walls, and brick and mortar restoration make up most of what we are called for. Mike Zokaites still gets up on the scaffold, so the person pricing the job is usually the person doing it.
Repair, rebuilding, liners and inspections
Chimney Services
A failing crown or an open joint lets water into a chimney for years before it shows anywhere obvious. We look at what is actually happening above the roofline before we say whether it needs a repoint or a full rebuild.
- Annual inspections covering crown, cap, flashing, mortar joints, flue liner, damper and firebox
- Flue liner work in clay tile, metal and stainless, and cast in place
- Colour and mortar matching on a chimney that has weathered decades of western PA winters
Underpinning, block work and drainage
Foundation Repair
The crack pattern on a foundation tells us most of what we need to know before anything comes out of the ground. Jack posts carry the load while we open and rebuild the footings underneath.
- Underpinning with jack posts to hold the structure during the repair
- Block work and parging once the footings are rebuilt
- Drainage worked into the repair, not added as an afterthought
Block and stone, dry stacked or mortared
Retaining Walls
Reinforced concrete masonry unit systems, including Versa-Lok, and natural or manufactured stone laid dry stacked or mortared depending on where the wall sits and what it is holding back.
- Precision block laying and reinforced wall systems
- Dry stacked or mortared stone, chosen for the site rather than defaulted to
- Drainage and moisture resistant finishes, the half of a wall nobody sees
Brick pointing, tuck pointing and lintel repair
Pointing and Restoration
Grinding out failed mortar without damaging the brick, then matching colour and joint profile so the repair does not stand out on an older structure. Lintels get assessed, reinforced, replaced or sealed before the face is restored.
- Brick pointing and tuck pointing on older brick and stone
- Lintel assessment, reinforcement, replacement and waterproofing
- Colour and joint profile matching for historic restoration work
When the mortar stops
Commercial Snow Removal
Masonry slows down once the ground freezes, so the same crew clears commercial properties through the winter. A site walk before the first storm sets the clearing sequence and the access priorities, so nobody is working out the order of a lot at four in the morning.
This is commercial only. We do not plow residential driveways, and we would rather say so here than take the call and disappoint you in January.
Not sure which one this is
(412) 386-0569Call and describe it, or send a photo through the contact form. Estimates are free and done on site, usually within about two weeks.