Masonry Contractor in Williamsburg, VA - Brick Repairs That Fit the Old Wall
K&R Newport News Concrete & Masonry is a masonry contractor working in Williamsburg, VA. We repoint and repair older brick, fix tired chimneys and foundations, and build new walls, walkways and paver driveways that suit the house beside them.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- Expect a reply within 1 business day.
Williamsburg homes, from colonial-style brick to newer builds
Most people know Williamsburg for Colonial Williamsburg, the restored Historic Area at the center of the city's tourist trade, and you can see its influence well beyond those streets. Plenty of the houses we're called to are brick, many built in a colonial style to look at home here, mixed in with mid-century ranches, newer neighborhoods and the shops, inns and restaurants that serve visitors. It's an easy run up from our base in Newport News, and the calls look a lot like the ones we get at home, with crumbling joints, tired chimneys and settled walks at the top of the list.
Age is what shapes the work most. Older brick was usually laid in mortar softer than anything sold off the shelf today, so a repair has to give a little with the old wall instead of fighting it, and on newer houses the job is more about matching the brick and the color of the joint so the fix doesn't stand out.
Masonry services we offer in Williamsburg
Foundation repair
Cracks in a brick foundation or a leaning crawlspace wall usually trace back to water and settling, so we fix the cause along with the block.
Chimney repair
Older chimneys here take weather on every side, so loose top bricks and a cracked crown, the cap that sheds rain, are where we look first.
Tuckpointing
When the joints on a brick house have gone sandy, tuckpointing replaces the worn mortar with a new joint shaped to match the old lines.
Brick repair
A few spalled bricks on an older house, where the face has flaked off, can be swapped one at a time with brick matched for color and size.
Driveway pavers
A paver driveway suits the brick and colonial-style houses common here, and if one spot sinks later, we can lift and reset just that patch.
Retaining wall construction
On sloped yards, a retaining wall holds the soil back, and the gravel and drain pipe behind it matter as much as the block you can see.
Masonry restoration
For older brick homes and garden walls, restoration means cleaning, repairing and repointing with materials soft enough to work with the original brick.
Fireplace installation
A new masonry fireplace in a family room or addition is built around the chimney it vents through, so we plan the two together from the start.
Stone veneer installation
Stone veneer dresses up a plain block foundation or an entry wall, and the flashing and drainage behind it keep water from getting trapped against the house.
Concrete block walls
Block walls work well for garden walls, privacy screens and the base under a brick or stucco finish, as long as the footing under them is right.
Foundation block wall installation
For an addition or a new crawlspace, we lay the foundation block on a footing sized for the soil, since everything above sits on it.
Outdoor kitchen masonry
Long, warm seasons here make a brick or stone outdoor kitchen worth building, and we slope the counters and set the grill base so rain runs off.
Walkway construction
Brick walks fit the older houses here, and a packed base under them keeps the bricks level longer on soft ground that stays wet after a storm.
Brick wall installation
A new brick garden or boundary wall should look like it belongs with the house, so we match the brick, the laying pattern and the joint.
Stone masonry
Stone steps, wall caps and garden walls on older properties often just need a few stones reset and the joints refilled rather than a rebuild.
Brick pointing
When only a chimney face or one side of the house has open joints, pointing fills those spots with mortar matched to the rest of the wall.
Get a free masonry estimate for your Williamsburg home
We'll get back to you within one business day to set a time. I'll come out, walk the job with you and write up a free estimate on site, and there's no obligation to go ahead.
(757) 782-8614- Based in
- Newport News, VA 23606
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–10 PM
Working in Williamsburg: permits, licenses and getting to the job
A Williamsburg mailing address can sit in the City of Williamsburg, James City County or York County, and each has its own permit office, so the first thing I check is which one your house falls under. Inside the city, the building official issues permits for building, altering, repairing or tearing down a building or structure, and when a job needs one it has to be in hand before work starts, so on bigger jobs the permit sets the start date more than our calendar does. Before you hire anyone, ask for their state contractor license and their City business license, which the city expects before a contractor begins work there. We're licensed and fully insured, and we handle the permit paperwork when your job calls for it.
What moves the price is mostly what's behind the surface, like how far the damage runs, how high we're working and how closely the repair has to match older brick, and the estimate I write after walking the job gives you the figure for yours. Getting to the job counts too, because Duke of Gloucester Street and the other Historic Area streets close to cars and trucks during the day, so work near them takes more planning for deliveries and parking. We do the same kind of work south of the river in Carrollton and closer to home in Hampton.
Weather and ground that wear on masonry here
Water does most of the damage we see here. Long, humid summers and soaking rains keep brick damp, and on the cold nights that do come, water sitting in a cracked joint or a chimney crown freezes and pushes it a little further apart. That's why the trouble usually shows first at chimney tops, steps, wall caps and the bottom few rows of brick near the ground, and why we fix where the water gets in before we patch what it broke.
The ground plays its part too. Yard soil here stays soft and wet after a storm, so a shallow or poorly drained footing lets walls, walks and foundations settle and crack, and we check the drainage and the footing before deciding whether a crack needs pointing or a rebuild.
How a masonry job runs when you call us from Williamsburg
Here's how it goes from your first call to the final walk-through, so you know who you'll talk to and when you'll see a number.
Call or send the form
Call (757) 782-8614 or send the form with your address and what you're seeing. We get back to you and set a time that suits you.
Walk the job together
I come out myself, look at the wall or chimney with you and point out what I see and why it's happening. Then I write up the estimate and explain what drives the number, so nothing in it catches you off guard.
Permits, then the work
Once you say go, we check with the permit office for your address and take care of the paperwork the job needs, and if your home is in a historic district or near the water, I flag it early so any review happens first. Then the work starts, with me alongside our masons.
Walk the finished work
When we're done, we clean up and I walk the finished job with you. I show you what we did and what to keep an eye on, so you'll know what you're looking at if something changes.
Questions about masonry work in Williamsburg
How do I know if my Williamsburg address is in the City or the county?
The City's Property Information Map shows whether your property lies inside the city. It matters because your permit comes from whichever one you're in, the city, James City County or York County. If you're not sure, give me the address when you call and I'll check before I come out.
Do I need a permit to repair a brick wall or chimney in Williamsburg?
Many repairs do, because the city's permit rule covers repairing a building or structure, not just building a new one. The exceptions it lists are ordinary repairs like cabinets, floor finishes and painting, and those don't cover cutting structural beams. Applications go through the city's Codes Compliance office, and we take care of that paperwork when your job needs it.
What license should a masonry contractor in Williamsburg have?
A contractor should hold the state contractor license their trade and job size call for, plus a City business license if the city requires one of them. Under Virginia law, a Class C contractor is one whose single job runs over $1,000 but under $30,000, or whose work totals under $250,000 in any 12 months. The city wants its business license before anyone based in the city starts business, and an out-of-area contractor may need one before work begins unless they expect less than $25,000 in gross receipts for the year.
How much does masonry repair cost in Williamsburg?
Masonry work here is priced job by job, because the cost comes down to how much of the wall needs work and what it takes to reach and match it. Tear-out, working high on a chimney, brick or mortar that has to match an older wall and any permit or review push the price up, while a small repair you can reach from the ground costs less. I'll walk it with you and put your number in writing.
Do I need a permit for a small brick shed in Williamsburg?
A one-story detached accessory building of 256 square feet or less is one of the exceptions to the city's permit rule, though the Williamsburg Architectural Review Board may still require approval for it. Go bigger than that or attach it to the house and it's no longer on that exception list, so I check the size and placement before we plan the build.
How long does it take to get a permit for masonry work in Williamsburg?
There's no set wait, because the time depends on which reviews your project needs before the permit is issued. The city's Planning Division reviews permits for new work, additions and remodeling against the zoning rules, erosion and sediment control plans and the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act, and some projects need Planning Commission and City Council approval before the permit process even begins. If I see your job heading for that kind of review, I'll tell you at the estimate so you can plan around it.
Newport News, VA
Get your Williamsburg masonry looked at
Loose joints and small cracks cost less to fix before water works its way behind them, so it pays to have someone look while the job is still small.