Brick Repair in Clarendon Hills, IL — Spalling & Cracks

You notice it on a Saturday: a patch of brick on the front of your Clarendon Hills home where the smooth face has flaked away, leaving a rough, crumbly surface — or a fine crack stepping diagonally up from the corner of a window. On the older Tudors and Georgians around the depot, that's not a cosmetic blemish. It's water finding its way into a wall that was built to keep it out.

Paul Lally's Masonry provides brick repair in Clarendon Hills, IL — cutting out spalled, cracked, and loose brick, replacing it with matched units, and repointing so the wall sheds water again. We are family-owned and have served Chicagoland since 1988. For a free on-site estimate, call (708) 448-8866.

Why brick fails on older Clarendon Hills homes

The brick homes near downtown Clarendon Hills were largely built in the 1910s through the 1930s from soft, century-fired brick. That brick is porous and, once its protective face is compromised, it soaks up water readily. Here is the chain of failure DuPage County winters set in motion:

1. Water enters the brick — through failed mortar joints, a cracked face, or a porous surface.
2. The water freezes and expands.
3. The pressure pops the hard outer face off the brick. That is spalling.
4. The exposed soft interior absorbs even more water, and the next freeze takes more of it — and starts on the neighboring brick.

One spalled brick is rarely one for long. Left alone, it becomes a spreading patch, which is why we tell Clarendon Hills homeowners to treat the first flaking brick as a warning, not a wait-and-see.

Repair or replace? Knowing the difference

Homeowners often ask whether they need brick repair or replacement. The honest answer depends on what's actually wrong:

• Spalled or cracked brick — the unit is compromised and must be cut out and replaced. You cannot patch a spalled face and expect it to last.
• Loose or displaced brick — often re-set and repointed, if the brick itself is sound.
• Sound brick, failed mortar — that's not brick repair at all, it's tuckpointing.
• Step cracks and movement — the underlying cause (settlement, a failing lintel, foundation shift) has to be addressed first.

We diagnose which of these you're looking at during the free estimate, and we don't sell you replacement when repointing will do.

The challenge that defines the job: matching century brick

The single hardest part of brick repair on an older Clarendon Hills home is the match. The brick used a hundred years ago is no longer manufactured, and the size, color, and texture vary from what's on a hardware-store pallet today. A careless replacement leaves an obvious block of wrong-colored brick on your facade.

Our approach:

• Source salvaged or closely matched brick by size, color, and texture
• Place replacements in the field of the wall where they blend, drawing from a less-visible elevation when we need a perfect front-face match
• Match the mortar as well — softer and lime-rich for soft historic brick
• Tool the new joints to the original profile

Done right, you shouldn't be able to point to the repair.

Step cracks: fixing the cause, not just the symptom

A crack that steps diagonally up through the mortar joints is a movement signal, not a random flaw. On Clarendon Hills homes it usually traces back to:

• A failing lintel — the steel angle over a window or door rusts, swells, and lifts the brick above it
• Foundation settlement — the wall shifts and the brittle wall telegraphs it as a step crack
• Water and freeze-thaw working an existing weak point

We find and address the cause first. Replacing the cracked brick without stopping the movement just guarantees a repeat.

How we do the work

1. Diagnose the true cause — spalling, movement, lintel, or water.
2. Cut out the failed brick cleanly, protecting the sound brick around it.
3. Set matched replacements in fresh, appropriate mortar.
4. Repoint surrounding joints so the whole area sheds water.
5. Clean down so the repair blends into the original wall.

Paul Lally's Masonry is a family-owned, licensed and insured masonry contractor serving Chicago and the Chicagoland suburbs since 1988 — tuckpointing, brick repair and replacement, chimney repair and rebuilds, lintel replacement, masonry restoration, and waterproofing for residential and commercial properties. Built on Craftsmanship. Backed by Experience. Free on-site estimates — call (708) 448-8866.

Related masonry care

Brick repair and mortar work go hand in hand. If the joints around the damage are failing too, you'll want brick repair paired with repointing. Neighboring homeowners rely on the same craftsmanship — see our brick repair in Westmont for how we handle similar older brick a few minutes away.

Why Clarendon Hills homeowners call Paul Lally's Masonry

Since 1988 our family name has been on every job, and on a soft-brick historic home that accountability shows in the details — the match, the mortar softness, the cause we chase down before we set a single new brick. We walk your home with you, show you what failed and why, and give you an honest written estimate. Built on Craftsmanship. Backed by Experience.

If brick on your Clarendon Hills home is spalling or cracking, don't let water keep working at it. Request a free on-site estimate or call (708) 448-8866.