Commercial Masonry Restoration in New Lenox, IL

Paul Lally's Masonry provides commercial masonry restoration in New Lenox, IL — sealant joint replacement, cast stone and stone veneer repair, steel lintel replacement, tuckpointing and parapet work on retail, medical, office and bank buildings along the Route 30 corridor and throughout the village. Family-owned since 1988, insured, with free on-site estimates. Call (708) 448-8866.

New Lenox grew fast. Most of its commercial buildings — the retail centers, outlot restaurants and banks, medical and dental offices, office condos and church and school additions — went up in roughly the last twenty-five years. That matters, because newer commercial buildings do not fail the way a century-old brick storefront does.

On a newer commercial building, the brick is rarely the first thing to go. The details are: the sealant joints, the cast stone, the stone veneer, the flashing and the steel over the openings. In New Lenox, a lot of those details are reaching the end of their service life at the same time.

What commercial masonry restoration means on a newer building

On older buildings, restoration usually means tuckpointing worn mortar and replacing spalled brick. On New Lenox's commercial stock, it more often means fixing the components with shorter lives than the masonry around them:

| Component | Typical service life issue | What we see in New Lenox | |---|---|---| | Sealant joints (control/expansion joints, window and door perimeters, brick-to-EIFS transitions) | Sealant hardens, cracks and loses bond in the second decade | Open joints letting water straight into the wall cavity | | Cast stone (bands, sills, caps, column bases) | Cracking, chipping, rust staining from embedded steel, failed joints | Cracked sills under storefront windows; open joints on caps | | Manufactured stone veneer (wainscots, columns, monument signs) | Water trapped behind the stone at the base and at roof intersections | Efflorescence, staining and loose stone at the bottom courses | | Steel lintels over storefronts, drive-thru windows and doors | Rust where flashing or sealant has failed | Rust streaks and horizontal cracks at window heads | | Mortar joints on brick veneer | Cracking at corners, piers and long runs without enough movement joints | Step cracks and vertical cracks on long elevations | | Parapets and caps | Open cap joints and tired flashing | Water showing up at the top-floor ceiling |

Signs your New Lenox building needs commercial masonry repair

• Cracked, shrunken or missing caulk at windows, doors and vertical joints in the brick.
• Cracked or chipped cast stone sills, bands and caps, or rust stains bleeding out of them.
• White salt staining or loose pieces on stone veneer columns and wainscots, especially near grade.
• Rust streaks and cracks over storefront and drive-thru openings.
• Vertical or step cracks in long brick walls, corners and piers.
• Interior water stains on suites below windows or along exterior walls after wind-driven rain.
• Impact damage at drive-thru lanes, dumpster corners and loading doors.

Risks of putting it off

A failed sealant joint costs little to fix while it is a sealant joint. Left through a few winters, the water it lets in rusts lintels and wall ties, saturates the stone veneer backing, stains interiors and starts mold complaints from tenants. Loose cast stone or veneer over an entrance is a falling-masonry hazard over people walking into your building — the most expensive kind of problem to have.

Our commercial masonry restoration process in New Lenox

1. Walk the whole building — every elevation, the roof edge and the site walls — and photograph what we find.
2. Separate the causes. Sealant, masonry, flashing, roofing and drainage issues are identified separately, so the right repair goes in the right place.
3. Give you a written scope by elevation and item, so owners, managers and associations can approve and budget it.
4. Phase the work around tenants, drive-thru lanes, deliveries and business hours, with entrances protected.
5. Repair: cut out and replace sealant joints with backer rod and new sealant; patch or replace cast stone; reset or replace loose stone veneer and correct the base and flashing details; replace rusted lintels with flashing and end dams; tuckpoint and replace damaged brick; repair caps and parapets.
6. Clean up and walk it with you before we call it done. Our name is on every job.

Materials we use

Commercial-grade urethane or hybrid sealants with closed-cell backer rod; cast stone repair mortars matched to color and texture, or new cast stone units; mortar matched to the existing brick (Type N or Type S as the wall requires); galvanized or primed steel lintels with new through-wall flashing; and breathable masonry water repellents only where the wall needs one. We don't seal over a wall that needs repair.

What drives the cost of commercial masonry restoration

We don't publish prices — every building is different, and a number without a look at the wall isn't worth much. What drives the cost:

• Linear footage of sealant joints to replace.
• Number of cast stone or stone veneer pieces to repair or replace, and matching them.
• Lintel replacement, including shoring and storefront protection.
• Height and access — lifts, scaffolding, work over sidewalks and drive-thru lanes.
• Phasing around open businesses.

Call (708) 448-8866 for a free on-site estimate and a written scope.

New Lenox commercial buildings, specifically

New Lenox's commercial stock sits largely along Route 30 (Lincoln Highway), around the Laraway and Cedar Road intersections and near the I-80 and I-355 interchanges, plus churches, schools and park district buildings throughout the village. Open land to the west and south leaves many elevations exposed to wind-driven rain and drifting snow. We also restore commercial buildings in neighbouring Mokena and Frankfort. For the joint work on its own, see our page on caulking and joint sealant in New Lenox, and for rusted steel, lintel replacement in New Lenox.

Why New Lenox owners and managers call Paul Lally's Masonry

Paul Lally's Masonry Inc. is a family-owned, 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.

• Since 1988 — decades of Chicagoland commercial and residential masonry.
• Insured, with a certificate of insurance on request.
• Written scopes that make bids comparable and approvals easier.
• Family-owned — our name is on every job, and we stand behind our work.

Related services: commercial masonry restoration, caulking and joint sealant, lintel replacement, tuckpointing, parapet wall repair and masonry waterproofing.

Get your building looked at

Get a free on-site estimate — or call (708) 448-8866. Built on Craftsmanship. Backed by Experience.