Parapet Wall Repair in Mokena, IL

Paul Lally's Masonry provides parapet wall repair in Mokena, IL — repairing and rebuilding concrete block and brick parapets, resetting and replacing metal and stone coping, installing through-wall flashing and repointing roof-edge masonry on office-warehouse, industrial, retail and downtown commercial buildings. Family-owned since 1988 and insured, with free on-site estimates. Call (708) 448-8866.

Most parapet articles describe an old city building: solid brick, a stone cap, a two-flat roofline. That's not what most of Mokena looks like. The office-warehouses and industrial buildings near I-80 and LaGrange Road, the retail centers along the main corridors and many of the newer commercial buildings have something else at the roof edge: a concrete block parapet hidden under a metal coping cap. Only the older Front Street buildings tend to have the classic brick-and-stone version.

On a block parapet with a metal cap, the leak usually starts where nobody looks — under the coping. By the time it shows up inside, the block has been soaking up water for years.

What a parapet is, and why block parapets fail differently

A parapet is the part of the exterior wall that continues above the roof line. It hides the roof, gives the roofing membrane something to turn up against, and protects the roof edge. Because it's exposed to weather on both faces and the top, it's the hardest-working masonry on a flat-roof building.

On block parapets, three things make them fail in their own way:

| Detail | Why it matters on a block parapet | |---|---| | Hollow cores | Water that gets in at the top runs down the open cores like a chimney and comes out wherever it finds a path — often far below. | | Metal coping | Caps leak at laps, seams and through fasteners; a flat or back-sloped cap holds water instead of shedding it. | | Missing or failed flashing | Without through-wall flashing under the cap, nothing stops water from entering the wall below the roof line. | | Shrinkage cracking | Concrete block shrinks as it ages; long parapets without control joints crack vertically. | | Brick veneer below | On many buildings the parapet is block behind a brick face — water in the block shows up as staining and efflorescence on the brick. |

Signs your Mokena building needs parapet wall repair

• Leaks along exterior walls that return after the roofer has "fixed" them.
• Open laps, loose sections or rust on the metal coping, or fasteners driven straight down through the top.
• Cracked, wet or crumbling block on the roof side of the parapet.
• Vertical cracks running through the parapet, often at regular intervals.
• White efflorescence or dark staining on the brick just below the roofline.
• Loose brick or stone at the roof edge over sidewalks and entrances.
• Membrane pulling away from the parapet or failed counterflashing.

Risks of putting parapet repair off

A leaking parapet rarely stays a parapet problem. Water in the block saturates the wall, rusts lintels and anchors, damages interior finishes and inventory, and makes freeze-thaw damage worse every winter. On buildings where people walk below the roof edge, loose units and caps are a falling-hazard problem — the most expensive kind of masonry problem to have.

Our parapet wall repair process in Mokena

1. Inspect from the roof, not just the parking lot — both faces of the parapet, the coping, the flashing and the roof-to-wall connection — and photograph what we find.
2. Separate the masonry from the roofing. We tell you what's coping and masonry, and what belongs to your roofer, so the right fix goes in the right place.
3. Remove the coping where it's leaking, inspect the wall underneath, and repair or rebuild the top courses as needed.
4. Install through-wall flashing under the cap and at the roof line where it's missing or failed.
5. Repair the wall — repoint failed joints, replace cracked block or brick, add control joints where long runs have cracked.
6. Reset or replace the coping, sloped to shed water, with sealed laps and no exposed fasteners on top.
7. Walk it with you when it's done. Our name is on every job.

Materials we use

Concrete block and face brick matched to the existing wall; Type S or Type N mortar as the wall requires; through-wall flashing with end dams and drip edges; prefinished metal coping or stone coping matched to the building; and commercial-grade sealant at control joints and coping joints. We don't patch a leaking parapet with a bead of caulk across the top and call it done.

What drives the cost of parapet wall repair

We don't publish prices, because no two parapets are the same. What drives the cost:

• Linear footage of parapet involved.
• Coping — reset existing caps or replace them, and what material.
• How much of the wall needs rebuilding versus repointing.
• Roof access and working around rooftop units, signage and drains.
• Height and protection where the work is over sidewalks or entrances.

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

Parapet wall repair across Mokena and nearby

Mokena's commercial buildings sit in the office-warehouse and industrial parks near I-80 and along the LaGrange Road and Route 30 corridors, with older storefronts on Front Street near the Metra station. Open land around the village leaves many parapets fully exposed to wind-driven rain and drifting snow from the west. We also repair parapets in neighbouring New Lenox and Tinley Park, and handle full commercial masonry restoration in Mokena. For a deeper look at repair-versus-rebuild decisions, read our guide to parapet wall repair for commercial buildings.

Why Mokena owners 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 masonry, commercial and residential.
• Insured, with a certificate of insurance on request.
• Straight answers about what's masonry and what's roofing.
• Family-owned — we stand behind our work.

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

Get your parapet looked at

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