Masonry Contractor in Cicero, IL

Masonry Services in Cicero, IL

Our Cicero work covers the whole building: tuckpointing and repointing with mortar matched to the original and softer than the brick, brick repair and replacement, chimney repair and rebuilds, replacing rusted steel lintels over windows and doors, and repairing sills and copings. Outside, we rebuild masonry steps and stoops and work as a concrete contractor on stairs, sidewalks, patios and garage aprons. With so many Cicero homes in two-flats and three-flats, the same work often applies to a whole building rather than a single house. For larger jobs we handle full building restoration and masonry waterproofing for flats, apartment buildings and commercial frontages as well as houses.

What Cicero Is Built Of, and What Fails

Cicero was organized in 1857 and incorporated in 1867, and it is the only incorporated town in Cook County. It once covered 36 square miles; annexations and the 1901 split from Oak Park and Berwyn cut it to less than six. The houses came with industry. Western Electric’s Hawthorne Works employed more than 20,000 people, and Cicero grew from 14,557 people in 1910 to 66,602 in 1930, then barely grew for sixty years. Our reading of those numbers is that most of Cicero’s prewar homes date from that 1910 to 1930 boom. The Hawthorne Works went on to employ more than 40,000 in World War II and closed in 1983; its tower at Cermak Road and Cicero Avenue is all that remains. The town’s neighborhoods include Grant Works, Warren Park, Drezel, Clyde, Morton Park, Boulevard Manor, Parkholme and Hawthorne, named for a quarry. Across Cook County, the Chicago Bungalow Association estimates that about 100,000 bungalows, most of them brick, were built between 1910 and 1940, and the Chicago Architecture Center notes that two-flat owners often moved up in the 1920s and 1930s to a bungalow in places like Berwyn or Cicero.

Tuckpointing, Chimneys and Lintels on Prewar Cicero Walls

Walls of that age fail in familiar places. Mortar from the 1870s to 1930 ranges from pure lime to lime and Portland blends, and the National Park Service warns that a later repair in hard Portland mortar can trap moisture until the brick faces pop off, so repointing mortar should be softer and more permeable than the brick and no stronger than the original. Winters drive the damage: NOAA readings at O’Hare average 74 days a winter that cross freezing, in a range of 47 to 91 (winters 2015-16 to 2024-25), and the Brick Industry Association’s guidance is to keep brick from staying saturated in freezing weather, so sound joints, flashing and chimney crowns come first. Steel lintels over windows rust, and rust can take up to ten times the volume of the steel, cracking the brick above. Sills and copings are among the wettest spots on any masonry building. Chimneys need a sloped crown with a drip edge and sound base flashing, and the chimney safety standard calls for a yearly inspection. For an example of mortar matching, see our historic mortar and stone matching work.

Cicero Permits, Licenses and When to Call an Engineer

Masonry permits in Cicero go through the Town of Cicero Building Department, 4949 W. Cermak Road, (708) 656-3600 ext. 452. The Town requires permits for chimney work, demolition, and concrete work including sidewalks, stairs, patios and garage aprons, and it builds to the 2024 International Residential Code with local amendments. The Town also requires every contractor to be licensed and bonded with it before a permit is issued, and its contractor information lists masonry and tuckpointing as licenses separate from general contracting. Whether a tuckpointing job needs a permit depends on its scope, so we confirm permit and license requirements with the Building Department before work starts. On preservation, Cicero is not on the state’s list of Certified Local Governments (Berwyn and Oak Park are), and we found no local landmark ordinance. Some cracks are structural, though. The Brick Industry Association says a professional engineer should investigate cracks wider than about 0.075 inch, cracks through several bricks, stepped or diagonal cracks, widespread spalling, rust on lintels or shelf angles, brick out of plane, and sills sloping flat or back toward the wall. When we find any of those on a Cicero building, we document them and recommend an engineer’s assessment before masonry repair.

Serving Cicero as Part of the Chicago Area

North Shore Masonry serves Cicero from our Chicago operation and also serves nearby Berwyn and Oak Park, both part of the original Town of Cicero until the 1901 split, as well as Elmhurst, Park Ridge and Des Plaines. Start at our Chicago masonry services hub for every service and town we cover.

Talk to a Masonry Contractor About Your Cicero Property

If you are seeing open or crumbling mortar joints, spalled or popped brick faces, a cracked chimney crown, rust staining or cracks above a window, a loose or tipped sill, or crumbling front steps and stoops, call us at +1 847-864-5990 or request a free on-site estimate. Chimney work, concrete stairs and patios need a Town of Cicero permit, and we confirm permit needs with the Town of Cicero Building Department ((708) 656-3600 ext. 452) before work starts.

Masonry FAQs for Cicero, IL

Do I need a permit to tuckpoint in Cicero?

It depends on the scope of the job, and the Town asks owners to check before starting. We confirm permit needs with the Town of Cicero Building Department ((708) 656-3600 ext. 452) before work starts. The Town also requires every contractor to be licensed and bonded with it, and it lists masonry and tuckpointing as licenses separate from general contracting.

Does chimney repair need a permit in Cicero?

Yes. The Town of Cicero lists chimney work among the jobs that need a building permit, along with demolition and concrete work such as sidewalks, stairs, patios and garage aprons. We confirm permit needs with the Building Department before work starts.

What mortar should be used to repoint a 1920s Cicero home?

Mortar matched to the original and softer than the brick. Mortar from the 1870s to 1930 ranges from pure lime to lime and Portland blends, and the National Park Service warns that hard Portland mortar on older brick can trap moisture until the brick faces pop off. The Brick Industry Association says repointing mortar should be no stronger than the original: Type N, O or K depending on what is in the wall, with lab analysis when the original is unknown.

Is my Cicero house under landmark review?

We found no local landmark ordinance in Cicero, and the Town is not on the state’s list of Certified Local Governments, as Berwyn and Oak Park are. Morton East Auditorium, built in 1925, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Whatever the status of a building, we confirm permit needs with the Building Department before work starts.

When is a crack in brick a structural problem?

The Brick Industry Association says a professional engineer should investigate cracks wider than about 0.075 inch, cracks through several bricks, stepped or diagonal cracks, widespread spalling, rust on steel lintels or shelf angles, brick that has moved out of plane, and sills that slope flat or back toward the wall. If we see any of those, we document them and recommend an engineer’s assessment before any masonry repair.

Do you work on two-flats and three-flats?

Yes. In Cicero, 29.0 percent of homes are in two-unit buildings and 13.4 percent in buildings of three or four units, so much of Cicero’s housing is in flats. We tuckpoint their facades, rebuild chimneys, replace rusted lintels and repair front steps and rear stairs. Larger buildings can also call for building restoration or masonry waterproofing.