Brick Veneer Repair, Repointing and Chimney Masonry in Aubrey, TX

Brick Repair, Repointing and Chimney Services in Aubrey

Brick on a wood-framed house is brick veneer, and with a median build year of 2013 (Census survey data, 2020 to 2024), much of Aubrey’s brick is still young. The Brick Industry Association (BIA Technical Note 28) describes it as a drainage wall: a 3 or 4 inch layer of brick tied with metal anchors across an air space at least 1 inch deep, weep holes at least 3/16 inch wide spaced no more than 33 inches apart, and steel lintels bearing at least 4 inches on each side of an opening. The note warns that the failure of any part of the system can undermine the whole wall. On a brick veneer house that is 10 or 15 years old, that is where we look: weeps clogged with mortar, flashing that no longer drains, a lintel over a garage door starting to rust, and cracks at corners where a wall needed an expansion joint, since fired brick grows slightly with moisture over its life (BIA Technical Note 18). In Aubrey we offer crack repair and brick replacement, reopening clogged weeps and drilling new ones with a depth stop, replacing flashing in the alternate 2 to 5 foot sections BIA Technical Note 46 describes, adding remedial anchors where ties are missing, and tuckpointing with mortar matched to the original and softer than the brick, no stronger than the original (National Park Service Preservation Brief 2; BIA Technical Note 46 says typically Type N, O or K). We also do bricklaying for rebuilt veneer, chimney repair on crowns, joints and rebuilds (we do not sweep flues), masonry waterproofing and concrete flatwork.

Sand in One Yard, Clay in the Next: Aubrey Ground and Brick Cracks

Aubrey sits where sandy Cross Timbers ground meets clay, so conditions change across town. In USDA soil survey data for a block around the old town, the ground is mostly Cross Timbers sandy loams, Gasil, Callisburg, Birome, Silstid and Konsil, and about 48 percent is rated not limited for houses, 44 percent somewhat limited and 8 percent very limited. South toward US 380 the very limited share rises to about 36 percent, with Wilson, Heiden, Burleson and Kaufman clays. There is even a soil series named Aubrey, described in 1975 from a site 3 miles east of town: a red clay subsoil, 40 to 60 percent clay, formed on Woodbine shales. Those are sampled blocks, not city limits, so houses in different parts of the area can sit on very different ground. BIA Technical Note 18 says expansive or unstable soil may cause diagonal or stepped cracking just above the foundation, and that settlement cracks taper. BIA Technical Note 46 says cracks wider than about 0.075 inch, cracks through several bricks, stepped or diagonal cracks, widespread spalling, rust on lintels or shelf angles and brick pushed out of plane call for a professional engineer. Texas home inspection standards (22 TAC 535.228) list rotating, buckling, cracking or deflecting masonry cladding among the foundation indicators an inspector must report, and in Texas, analyzing the cause of a foundation condition or recommending foundation repair is engineering (TBPELS Engineering Advisory Opinion 43). So we check for signs of foundation movement, document them, refer them to a structural engineer, and repair the masonry once an engineer has cleared it. We do not do foundation repair.

Denton Station Weather, Hail Near Aubrey and How the Town Grew

At the National Weather Service Denton station, about 10 miles southwest of Aubrey, the 1991 to 2020 normals are 38.44 inches of rain a year, wettest in May (4.86 inches) and October (4.64 inches), and a July normal high of 95.9 F. NWS Fort Worth also logged a report of 2.75 inch hail just south of Aubrey on 3 April 2014. Heat governs how new mortar cures: BIA Technical Note 1 treats 100 F, or 90 F with wind over 8 mph, as hot weather, and calls for keeping mortar under 120 F, using it within 2 hours and fogging new work three times a day for three days. The town itself is older than its houses. Lemual Noah Edwards, credited as its founder, built the second house here in 1867, of lumber hauled from Jefferson; the Texas and Pacific set up a section house called Onega in 1881, the year the name Aubrey was drawn from a hat; and after the first businesses east of the tracks burned in 1887, the town rebuilt west of them. A 1908 photograph shows the Aubrey School as a two-story brick building with a tower (Portal to Texas History), and nearby Pilot Point had Denton County’s first brick building in 1872. By the 1980s peanuts had replaced cotton and horse ranchers had arrived (TSHA).

Serving Aubrey as Part of the Denton Area

Aubrey is about 12 miles northeast of Denton (TSHA), and North Shore Masonry serves it from our Denton operation, with town pages for other Denton County communities Sanger, Little Elm, Lake Dallas, Corinth and the wider North DFW area. Start at our Denton masonry services hub for every service and town we cover in North Texas.

Talk to a Masonry Contractor About Your Aubrey Brick

If you are seeing stair-step cracks, cracked brick at a garage door corner, rust on a lintel, weeps filled with mortar, a cracked chimney crown or open mortar joints, call us at +1 469-409-3515 or request a free on-site estimate. We check for signs of foundation movement and refer them to a structural engineer, and on the masonry we tell you what needs attention now and what can wait. Chimney rebuilds, retaining walls and structural masonry may need a City of Aubrey permit, and Aubrey’s published zoning caps residential fences and screening elements at 8 feet above adjacent grade; we confirm permit needs with the City of Aubrey at City Hall, 107 S Main St, (940) 440-9343, before work starts.

Masonry FAQs for Aubrey, TX

Is a stair-step crack in my brick a foundation problem?

It can be a sign, not a diagnosis. BIA Technical Note 18 says expansive or unstable soil may cause diagonal or stepped cracking above the foundation, and USDA soil data show more clay in a sampled block south toward US 380, while a sampled block around the old town is mostly sandy loam, so conditions change across town. Stepped or diagonal cracks, cracks wider than about 0.075 inch and brick out of plane call for a professional engineer (BIA Technical Note 46), and in Texas determining the cause of a foundation condition is engineering. We check for signs of foundation movement, refer them to a structural engineer, and repair the masonry once an engineer has cleared it.

Why do the weep holes at the bottom of my brick matter?

Most Aubrey homes were built after 2000 (Census survey data, 2020 to 2024), so much of their brick is young, and in a young wall weeps and flashing can need attention before mortar does. Brick veneer is a drainage wall. Water that gets through the brick runs down the air space behind it and leaves through flashing and weep holes, which BIA Technical Note 28 spaces no more than 33 inches apart. Never seal them. If they are clogged with mortar we open them, and where they are missing we can drill new ones.

Do I need a permit for masonry work in Aubrey?

It depends on the job. Chimney rebuilds, retaining walls and structural masonry may need a City of Aubrey permit, and residential fences and screening elements are capped at 8 feet in Aubrey’s published zoning. We confirm permit needs with the City of Aubrey at City Hall, 107 S Main St, (940) 440-9343, before work starts.

Can you match the builder brick on my house?

We aim for a close match, not an exact one. BIA Technical Note 46 warns that locating matching brick may take considerable effort, so we compare color, size and texture and check a sample panel against your wall before the repair is laid. We never promise a perfect match.

Is summer too hot to lay brick in Aubrey?

Work goes ahead with hot-weather practice. The National Weather Service Denton station’s 1991 to 2020 July normal high is 95.9 F, and BIA Technical Note 1 treats 100 F, or 90 F with wind over 8 mph, as hot weather: keep mortar under 120 F, use it within 2 hours and fog new work three times a day for three days.

Does Aubrey require brick on houses?

Aubrey’s published zoning sets no masonry percentage for single-family districts, and Texas Government Code chapter 3000 (HB 2439, 2019) preempts most city rules that mandate masonry on buildings, with exceptions for historic areas. Aubrey’s downtown design standards ask that original brick be kept and not painted or covered. If you live in a homeowners association, check its rules too.