Limestone Sill Repair in Homer Glen, IL — Small Stones Doing a Big Job

Limestone sill repair in Homer Glen, IL restores the stone at the bottom of each window — and the window heads, watertables and stone trim around it — by patching, dutchman repair or replacement, and by resealing the joints where most of the water gets in. Paul Lally's Masonry repairs limestone and cast-stone sills on Homer Glen homes with free on-site estimates — call (708) 448-8866.

A sill looks like trim. It is actually a drainage component. Every time it rains, it collects the water running off the window and has one job: throw it clear of the wall below. When it stops doing that, the brick or stone underneath starts paying for it.

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.

Homer Glen homes and their stone

Homer Glen, in Will County's 60491 zip code, is largely a community of larger custom and semi-custom homes built from the 1980s through the 2000s on generous lots. Most of them use stone generously: limestone or cast-stone sills at every window, stone window heads and keystones, a watertable course running around the base of the house, and large areas of stone veneer alongside the brick.

There is real heritage behind that. The Des Plaines valley just north, around Lemont, has quarried dolomite limestone since the canal era, and that pale stone has been part of local building for a century and a half. Many Homer Glen homes echo it — some with natural limestone, many more with cast stone made to resemble it.

What these houses share is age. Thirty to forty years in, the sealant at the sill ends has reached the end of its life, the first freeze-thaw cracks have appeared, and the details that were rushed at construction are showing.

How sills fail

• Cracked sills — often a single crack near the middle of a long sill, or at a bearing end where the stone was set on an uneven bed
• Open end joints where the sill meets the brick or veneer, letting water straight into the wall
• Failed sealant — hardened, shrunken, split or pulled away from one side
• Missing or bridged drip — the groove under the front edge filled with sealant, paint or dirt, or never cut
• Spalling and delamination, with the face of the stone flaking off in layers
• Staining streaking down the wall below
• Sills sloping back toward the window after settlement, sending water into the frame instead of away from it

The last one is worth checking on every window. Lay a level on the sill. If water would run toward the glass, it is going toward the glass.

Repair, dutchman or replacement

Patch and seal. For hairline cracks and small surface losses on otherwise sound stone. Cracks can be pinned, and losses filled with a mineral repair mortar matched to the stone's colour and texture.

Dutchman. For a damaged corner, end or edge on a sill that is otherwise sound. The bad section is cut out square and a new piece of matching stone is fitted, anchored and set in. On a long natural limestone sill, this preserves most of the original.

Replacement. For a sill cracked through its full section, delaminating, spalled across its face, or set at the wrong slope. The old unit is cut out, the bed is corrected, a new sill is set with proper slope and a clean drip, and the end joints are detailed correctly.

We will tell you which applies to each window, and which windows do not need anything yet.

Why it should not wait

Water from a failed sill goes straight into the wall below it. In brick veneer, that means wet sheathing, wet framing around the window rough opening, and eventually rot you only find when the window comes out. In masonry, it means freeze-thaw damage to the brick and mortar under every bad sill.

Sealant at the sill ends is the cheapest maintenance item on the house and the most neglected. Caught early, it is a resealing visit. Left, it is stone repair, brick repair and interior repair.

How we work

1. Inspect every sill, head and watertable, checking cracks, slope, drips, end joints and the wall below.
2. Separate stone types — natural limestone and cast stone are repaired with different materials.
3. Repair or replace each unit as its condition calls for.
4. Correct the slope so every sill sheds water away from the window.
5. Cut or clear the drip so water drops clear of the wall.
6. Seal the end joints with a flexible sealant over backer rod, and repoint adjacent mortar joints where they have failed.
7. Repair the masonry below where water has already done damage.

Materials

Natural limestone matched for colour and bed, or cast stone matched to the existing units. Mineral repair mortars compatible with the stone, not cementitious patches that trap moisture and fall out. Stainless pins and anchors. A high-quality, flexible sealant at sill ends — see our caulking service — and mortar matched to the surrounding brick.

What drives the cost

The number of sills, heads and watertable runs involved. Patch versus dutchman versus replacement on each. Natural limestone versus cast stone. Sill length and profile. Height and access on two-storey elevations. Repairs to the brick or veneer below. The estimate is free, on-site and in writing, with each window listed — call (708) 448-8866.

Serving Homer Glen and the surrounding area

We work throughout Homer Glen and the nearby towns, including Lemont limestone and sill repair and Orland Park limestone and sill repair. In Homer Glen we also handle caulking, lintel replacement and tuckpointing. Related reading: our limestone sill repair guide and terra cotta, cast stone and sandstone. Service hub: limestone and sill repair.

Keep the stone shedding water

Family-owned since 1988, insured, and our name is on every job.

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