Brick Repair & Masonry Contractor in Wilmette, IL
Tuckpointing and Brick Repair for Wilmette's Brick and Stone Homes
North Shore Masonry provides brick repair, tuckpointing and masonry restoration throughout Wilmette, IL, from the brick revival houses of Indian Hill Estates and the older blocks east of Ridge Road to the streets that filled in west of it after the Edens Expressway opened in 1951. More than a quarter of Wilmette’s homes were built before 1940, and close to four in ten more went up in the 1950s and 60s, so most walls in the village are now old enough for their mortar joints to be near the end of their working life. That is usually when we get the call: open joints, a crumbling chimney, rust bleeding from a lintel, or limestone sills starting to flake. We have been doing this work since 1978, and on a house this age the job is to fix what has actually failed and match what is already there. See our tuckpointing services or everything we do across the Chicago area.
Brick Repair, Tuckpointing & Stone Restoration in Wilmette
Most Wilmette jobs come down to three kinds of work. Tuckpointing: we cut out eroded joints to sound mortar and repoint with a mix matched to the wall in color, sand and tooling, and always softer than the brick it sits in. Brick repair: we replace spalled and cracked brick, rebuild chimneys, crowns and flashing, and replace rusted steel lintels before the corrosion cracks the brickwork above your windows and doors. Stone restoration: on a Wilmette house that means exterior stone, the limestone sills, lintels and banding on the brick revival homes and the Lannon stone on some of the Tudors. Small losses get a color-matched repair mortar, larger ones a Dutchman patch of new stone pinned in place, and we replace a unit only when it cannot be saved. We do not acid-clean limestone, and we will usually talk you out of a waterproof coating on older masonry, because a sealer that traps vapor causes the damage it was sold to prevent. For full facades and larger scopes, see our building restoration services.
What Wilmette Is Built Of, and Why the Wrong Repair Makes It Worse
Wilmette is two building histories joined at Ridge Road. East of it is the original lakefront village, incorporated in 1872, where the Ouilmette North Historic District alone counts more than 900 contributing buildings in Queen Anne, Prairie School and 1920s revival styles. West of it was Gross Point, a separate farming village annexed in the 1920s that filled with subdivisions after the war. Indian Hill Estates, platted in 1926, is a fair cross-section of the older brick: dark red brick Tudor and Norman Revivals, red brick Colonial Revivals, white brick Spanish Revival and Lannon stone. Chicago common brick, the soft, porous brick used across the region for side walls, flues and inner wythes, has not been made since 1981, so matching it means salvage. Add a Chicago-area winter, where NOAA readings at O’Hare average 74 days that cross freezing (winters 2015-16 to 2024-25), and every open joint lets in water that expands inside the wall. Mortar is meant to be the weak point that gives first. When a past repair filled the joints with hard cement mortar, the stress moves into the brick instead and the faces spall off. Reversing that is the core of our historic mortar and stone matching work: remove the incompatible mortar and repoint with a mix softer than the brick, matched so the repair disappears.
Why Choose Us?
✓ 47+ Years Experience
✓ Licensed & Insured
✓ Free Estimates
✓ Local Team
✓ Warranty Backed
✓ MCAA Member
Serving Wilmette as Part of the Chicago Area
North Shore Masonry serves Wilmette from our Chicago operation, with the same crews working in neighboring Evanston, Kenilworth and Skokie. If your property is anywhere on the North Shore, we can get a mason out to look at it. Start at our Chicago masonry services hub for every service and town we cover.
Talk to a Masonry Contractor Who Knows Wilmette Brick
If you are seeing open mortar joints, spalled brick, a cracked chimney crown or rust stains under a window on your Wilmette home, call us at +1 847-864-5990 or request a free on-site estimate. We will tell you what needs attention now and what can wait. If your house is a Local Landmark, we will document the mortar, brick and stone details the Village’s Historic Preservation Commission will ask about, so the application has what it needs. No charge and no pressure.
Brick Repair and Tuckpointing FAQs for Wilmette, IL
What mortar should be used on an older Wilmette brick house?
A mortar that is softer than the brick, matched in color, sand and joint profile. The National Park Service’s guidance on repointing treats mortar as the sacrificial part of the wall, the part meant to give before the brick does. Hard modern cement mortar on soft older brick reverses that and forces the stress into the brick itself, which is how walls start spalling a few winters after a cheap repointing job. We check what is already in the joints before we specify a mix.
Does repointing a Wilmette landmark need a Certificate of Appropriateness?
Yes, if the house is a designated Wilmette Local Landmark, and the village had 38 of them as of 2025. A Certificate of Appropriateness is required before exterior work begins, even when no building permit is needed, and there is no fee. For in-kind repairs and maintenance, such as repointing with a matched mortar, the Village’s preservation planner can issue it at staff level instead of sending it to a full commission hearing. If you are not sure whether your house is a Local Landmark, the Village publishes the list and we can check it with you.
Do I need a permit for tuckpointing in Wilmette?
The Village’s permit list requires one for tuckpointing on commercial and multi-family buildings, for structural repairs to deteriorated walls, and for new chimneys. Tuckpointing on a single-family house is not on that list, but the Village can still require a permit for work that is not listed, so we confirm with Community Development before work starts rather than guessing.
Can you repair the limestone sills and lintels on my house?
Usually, yes, without replacing them. Small chips and losses are filled with a color-matched stone repair mortar. Larger or more visible damage gets a Dutchman repair, where a matching piece of new stone is cut in and pinned with stainless anchors. We replace a whole unit only when it cannot be saved. We never clean limestone with acid, which etches the surface, and we keep brick-cleaning products off the stone.
Why is the brick cracking above my windows?
Often it is a rusting steel lintel. Steel expands as it corrodes, and that growth pushes the brick above it apart, usually showing up as a crack or a bowed course over the opening with rust staining nearby. Repointing will not fix it. The lintel and the few courses above it need to come out, a galvanized lintel with proper flashing goes in, and the brick is rebuilt to match.
Below are masonry inspections and repair projects completed throughout the Chicago area, including Wilmette, Illinois. Hear directly from property owners who trust North Shore Masonry for dependable, high-quality workmanship.
Hear From Some Of Our Customers
Our Services Near Wilmette
Masonry services in the Chicago area
Our Chicago crews handle every one of these services for homes and buildings in Wilmette. Each page covers how we work, what fails and why, and what to expect.
- Tuckpointing in ChicagoFailing mortar joints repointed to match the original
- Chimney Repair in ChicagoCrowns, caps, flashing, and full rebuilds
- Bricklayer Services in ChicagoBrick repair, replacement, and new brickwork
- Building Restoration in ChicagoFacades and structures brought back properly
- Concrete Services in ChicagoSteps, walks, and structural concrete work
- Stucco Services in ChicagoStucco repair, patching, and refinishing
- Waterproofing in ChicagoSealants and coatings that keep water out of the wall
Member of the Mason Contractors Association of America (MCAA)
"Committed to preserving and promoting the masonry industry by providing continuing education, advocating fair codes and standards, fostering a safe work environment." - MCAA