Chimney Rebuilds
Full and partial chimney rebuilds: deteriorated stacks torn down to sound masonry and rebuilt with new brick, cast crowns and stainless caps.
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Tuckpointing, grinding out failed mortar joints and repointing them, is some of the highest-value masonry work in Minneapolis, Bloomington, Burnsville and across the Twin Cities metro. Mortar is designed to be the sacrificial part of a wall: it weathers so the brick does not. After enough Minnesota winters the joints go soft, crack and wash out, and once water can sit inside the wall, freeze-thaw starts breaking the brick itself. Repointing done at the right time saves the wall you already have. Chimneys, which take the weather on every face, have their own page: chimney tuckpointing.
We repoint everything from a single chimney to full commercial elevations on apartment buildings, churches and schools. The craft is in the match: mortar color, joint profile and texture tuned to the original so the finished wall looks restored, not striped. Done right, repointing disappears into the wall. The oldest walls we do this on sit in Anoka's river-town brick and along the Minnesota River in downtown Shakopee. For walls where brick has already begun to fail, see our brick repair work.
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Every wall in the Twin Cities lives through a brutal annual cycle: soaked in fall, frozen and thawed dozens of times through winter, baked in summer. Mortar takes that movement so brick does not, and eventually it cracks, powders and washes out. Open joints then hold water against the brick, and the brick begins to break down from the inside.
The signs are easy to spot once you know them: joints recessed deeper than their neighbors, sand collecting below a wall, hairline cracks stepping through the mortar, white efflorescence bloom. Catch it there and repointing is the whole fix. Wait until brick faces pop off and the scope grows into replacement and relay.
Smearing new mortar over old joints leaves the result you see around town: bright gray stripes over hundred-year-old brick. Proper repointing grinds joints to sound depth, clears them, and refills with mortar matched three ways: color, aggregate texture, and joint profile. On older lime-based walls, the mortar mix itself matters — too hard a modern mix and the brick starts sacrificing itself instead of the joint.
We sample and match before repointing the wall. On commercial and institutional buildings, that sample panel becomes the standard the whole elevation is checked against, and it is how a repointed 1920s school still looks like a 1920s school when the scaffold comes down. The same matching rules apply to tuckpointing in Edina's Country Club District, where the street-facing facades are heritage resources.
Residentially, tuckpointing keeps chimneys, walls, porch piers and foundations tight — usually a few days of work that protect the whole house for decades. It pairs naturally with chimney repair while access is set up.
Commercially, repointing is the backbone of masonry restoration: full elevations on apartment buildings, churches, schools and industrial walls, run from scaffolds and lifts with sample-panel quality control and occupied-building logistics.
Free, no-obligation estimates across Minneapolis and the Twin Cities metro.
(320) 465-1161From the first site visit to the final walk-through, here is how it goes.
We look at the masonry in person: what failed, why, and how far it has spread. On commercial buildings that means getting up on the wall, not a drive-by.
You get a written price and timeline. On larger projects the urgent repairs are separated from the work that can wait, so the budget goes where it is needed first.
Matched materials, full joints, proper crowns, solid bases and drainage. Occupied buildings stay open, the site is protected, and cleanup happens every day.
We walk the finished work with you: joints, brick and mortar matches, cleanup, the whole scope. The job is done when you have seen every part of it and signed off.
Common questions about tuckpointing across Minneapolis and the Twin Cities metro. Don't see yours? Give us a call and we will help.
Full and partial chimney rebuilds: deteriorated stacks torn down to sound masonry and rebuilt with new brick, cast crowns and stainless caps.
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Leak tracing, crown repair, joint repointing, spalled brick replacement and stainless caps, the fixes that stop water before it forces a rebuild.
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Spalled brick cut out and replaced, cracks stitched, bowed sections rebuilt, porch piers and steps restored, matched so the repair does not read as one.
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Restoration for factories, apartment buildings, churches, schools and storefronts: wall rebuilds, stone and brick repair, parapets and lintels, run by a crew that works occupied properties.
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Block and stone retaining walls engineered for Minnesota frost, with proper base, drainage and reinforcement, plus rebuilds of walls that have started to lean.
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Garage and shop slabs, patios, sidewalks, aprons and steps, with the base prep, air-entrained mix and joint layout that Minnesota concrete needs.
Learn MoreWhat tuckpointing costs in Minneapolis and the Twin Cities: per square foot ranges, chimney and whole house numbers, what moves the price, and when to do it.
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Brick repair cost in Minnesota for 2026: replacing bricks by the square foot, crack repair, section rebuilds, lintels, brick steps and what moves the price.
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Commercial masonry restoration cost in 2026: tuckpointing per square foot, steel lintel replacement per opening, parapet repair per linear foot, brick replacement, access equipment, and what whole facades run.
Read more →Chimney rebuilds, repairs and liners, tuckpointing, brick repair and full building restoration. Matched brick, matched mortar, proper crowns and full joints, because that is why masonry lasts.
Freeze-thaw is the enemy of every wall in this state. Crowns that shed, joints struck to drain, air-entrained concrete, drainage behind every wall: details chosen for this climate, not a milder one.
Every estimate is written, with the price, timeline and scope spelled out. On larger projects we separate the urgent repairs from the work that can wait, so owners and property managers can plan the budget.
From a single chimney to an occupied apartment building, church or school. Lifts and scaffolds, site protection and daily cleanup on every job, because the standard does not change with the address.
Have a chimney, wall, set of steps or driveway that needs work? Call or send the form and we will look at the site with you and give you a written quote.
Tell us about your project and we’ll get right back to you.