Brick Repair in Plano, TX

Brick and Masonry Repair Services in Plano

Our Plano work is brick repair on houses and commercial buildings: replacing cracked and spalled brick, rebuilding sections of veneer that have moved, repairing the brick over garage doors and windows where a steel lintel has rusted, repairing flashing and reopening blocked weep holes, and bricklaying matched as closely as we can to what is already there. Brick veneer is a drainage wall: water that gets through the brick runs down the air space behind it and leaves through weeps and flashing at the base of the wall and above openings, so a repair that seals those paths trades a crack for a leak. We also handle chimney repair and masonry waterproofing.

Tuckpointing in Plano, Texas

Tuckpointing, in everyday use, means repointing: cutting out failed mortar and replacing it. The Brick Industry Association estimates mortar in walls goes 50 years or more before it needs repair, less on chimneys, sills and other exposed spots, so on Plano’s 1980s and 1990s brick we repoint the joints that have cracked, eroded or pulled away rather than a wall that has simply reached a certain age. We rake joints out to at least twice the joint thickness, repoint with a mortar no stronger than the original, and match the color with sample panels before the wall is done. A hard, cement-rich mix is not an upgrade: the mortar is meant to be the part that gives. North Texas heat changes the method too. Above 100 F, or 90 F with wind over 8 mph, the Brick Industry Association’s hot-weather practice keeps the mortar below 120 F and uses each batch within two hours; when the day’s mean temperature passes the same marks, new work is fog-sprayed at least three times a day for three days so it cures instead of drying out. See our tuckpointing service for how we work.

Why Plano Brick Cracks, and How to Read the Crack

Much of Plano sits on Houston Black and Austin clays. In the USDA soil survey for Collin County, Houston Black is the most widespread soil and is rated very limited for houses on slabs because it shrinks and swells so much; dry, it cracks open 0.5 to 4 inches wide. Wet soil heaves and dry soil settles, and the brick on the house moves with the slab. The shape and location of a crack often point to the cause, but a crack is a clue, not a diagnosis. Stepped or diagonal cracks that taper, wider at one end, can point to settlement. Cracks at a corner, often vertical through the first head joint, or diagonal cracks between windows and doors that run from the top or bottom corner of an opening, can be the brick itself: fired brick grows slightly and permanently as it takes on moisture, and a wall without enough movement joints can crack where that growth has nowhere to go. Where the steel lintel over a garage door or window is visibly rusted and the brick above it is cracked or pushed out, the rusting lintel is the likely cause; a crack that is widest at the lintel and tapers away can also mean the lintel is too small and sagging. The Brick Industry Association lists cracks wider than about 2 mm (0.075 inch), cracks through several bricks, stepped or diagonal cracks, rust built up on lintels and brick pushed out of plane as structural conditions that generally warrant a professional engineer’s investigation, not routine maintenance.

Foundation First, Then Brick

If the ground has moved, brick repair comes last. In Texas, diagnosing a foundation is engineering work, so the order is an engineer’s assessment, any foundation repair the engineer calls for, done by a foundation contractor, and then the masonry: repointing, replacing cracked brick, rebuilding displaced sections, and reopening the weeps. We do the masonry, not the foundation. North Texas winters are mild, but freezes still happen: the National Weather Service averages 29.2 nights a year at or below freezing at DFW Airport, and in February 2021 DFW stayed below freezing for 139 straight hours, which is hard on brick and mortar already holding water.

Masonry Contractor Serving Plano from Our Denton Base

North Shore Masonry serves Plano from Denton, with work in Little Elm, Lewisville and across North DFW. Start at our Denton masonry services hub for every service and town we cover in North Texas.

Talk to a Brick Repair Contractor Serving Plano

If you are seeing stair-step cracks, gaps around windows, a sagging brick line over the garage door, blocked weeps or open mortar joints, call us at +1 469-409-3515 or request a free on-site estimate. We will tell you what the brick is showing, whether the cracks show signs of foundation movement that an engineer should assess first, what needs attention now, and what can wait. If your home is a Plano heritage landmark or sits in the Haggard Park or Downtown heritage districts, masonry repair beyond maintenance needs a Certificate of Appropriateness from the City before work starts, in addition to any permit, and review favors repair over replacement, matched materials and the gentlest cleaning.

Brick Repair FAQs for Plano, TX

What do stair-step cracks in brick mean on a Plano house?

A crack that steps up through the mortar joints, or runs diagonally and is wider at one end than the other, often points to foundation movement, and the Brick Industry Association lists stepped and diagonal cracks among the signs that call for a professional engineer’s investigation. Much of Plano sits on Houston Black and Austin clays, which swell when wet and shrink when dry, and the brick veneer on the house moves with the slab. Texas home inspection standards list cracking or deflecting masonry cladding as a sign of foundation movement for inspectors to report. Not every crack is the foundation: cracks at a corner can be the brick itself expanding, and cracks over a garage door where the steel lintel is visibly rusted can come from the lintel rusting and expanding. We tell you what the cracks show, and when they show signs of foundation movement we recommend an engineer’s assessment before anything is repaired.

Should the foundation be repaired before the brick?

Yes, if an engineer finds that it needs repair. In Texas, diagnosing a foundation is engineering work, so the order is an engineer’s assessment, any foundation repair the engineer calls for, done by a foundation contractor, and then the brick: repointing, replacing cracked brick, rebuilding displaced sections and reopening weep holes. Brick repaired on a slab that is still moving can crack again. We do the masonry, not the foundation, and if the cracks point to the ground moving we will tell you to get an engineer’s assessment before you spend money on brick.

Why are there small gaps along the bottom of my brick walls?

If they are small, evenly spaced open joints in the bottom row of brick, those are weep holes. Brick veneer is a drainage wall: some water always gets through the brick, runs down the air space behind it, and leaves through weeps at the base of the wall and above windows and doors, where flashing directs it out. They should never be sealed, and if they are clogged with mortar or debris they should be opened again. A gap or crack between the brick and the slab is something else, and worth having looked at.

Can you match the brick on my house?

We aim for a close match, but not always an exact one. We look for brick that matches in color, texture and size, and the Brick Industry Association warns that locating matching brick may take considerable effort. On a house built in the 1980s or 1990s the brick has also weathered for decades. Acme Brick’s Denton plant began as the Denton Pressed Brick Company in 1901 and has been Acme’s since 1912, and Acme says it can match colors from its own past production. We show you samples before we lay anything, and we never promise a perfect match.

What is tuckpointing, and does my Plano house need it?

In everyday use, tuckpointing means repointing: cutting out mortar that has cracked, eroded or pulled away from the brick and replacing it. The Brick Industry Association estimates mortar in walls goes 50 years or more before it needs repair, less on chimneys, sills and other exposed spots, so on a 1980s or 1990s Plano house we repoint the joints that have cracked, eroded or pulled away rather than assume the whole house is due. Repointing on its own will not fix cracks caused by foundation movement; those need an engineer’s assessment first.

Do I need a permit for brick repair in Plano?

Plano’s permit handout lists foundation repairs, replacing walls, demolition and retaining walls over 4 feet, and says it is not an all-inclusive list; it does not address brick repair or tuckpointing, and Plano’s list of work exempt from permits has no masonry item either. Veneer rebuilds and structural work may need a permit, so we confirm with Plano Building Inspections (972-941-7140) before work starts. The City also requires contractors to be registered before doing any work. If your home is in the Haggard Park or Downtown heritage districts, or is an individual landmark, masonry repair beyond maintenance also needs a Certificate of Appropriateness, in addition to any permit. Most Plano homes are not under heritage review.