Chimneys · Tuckpointing · Brick
Masonry Repair In Philadelphia
A lot of roof leaks don’t start with the roof — they start with the chimney. We do the masonry work that keeps water out, on a city full of century-old brick.
Rowhome Experts
Roof + Masonry
20+ Years
Free Estimates
Get Your Free Masonry Estimate
Chimney, flashing, or roof? We’ll tell you which.
Free, no-obligation, itemized. We’ll tell you straight what it needs.
The Leak Usually Starts Here
A Lot of Roof Leaks
Don’t Start with the Roof
Cracked mortar, a failing crown, or bad flashing where brick meets shingle lets water in — and it runs down inside the wall where you never see it until the ceiling stains.
We’ve been working on Philadelphia homes for over 20 years, a lot of them older brick rowhomes where the masonry and the roof are tied together and can’t really be treated as separate jobs. When you fix one and ignore the other, you end up calling someone back. We handle both.
Where Brick Meets Roof
Masonry Work We Do
Most of the masonry we get called for lives at the top of the house.
01
Chimney Repair
Rebuilding, resealing, and structural fixes on chimneys that have started to lean, crack, or shed brick.
02
Tuckpointing (Repointing)
Grinding out old crumbling mortar joints and packing in fresh mortar so the wall sheds water again instead of soaking it up.
03
Chimney Crown Repair
Patching or rebuilding the concrete cap on top — the first thing to crack and the first place water gets in.
04
Chimney Flashing Repair
Sealing the metal flashing where the chimney passes through the roof — the single most common spot a chimney leak actually starts.
05
Brick & Stone Repair
Replacing spalled, loose, or damaged brick and stone so the wall stays sound.
Chimney & Roof Together
More Than One Way In
Why a Cracked Chimney
Becomes a Roof Leak
Your chimney doesn’t leak because the brick is ugly. It leaks because water has more than one way in, and every one of them ends up on your roof deck.
The mortar between the bricks wears out. Once those joints open up, brick soaks up water like a sponge and pushes it inward. The crown up top cracks and lets rain straight down the flue. And the flashing — the metal that seals the gap where the chimney comes through the roof — lifts or corrodes and hands water a direct path under your shingles.
Fix the flashing but leave the crumbling mortar, and you’ve solved half the problem. That’s why we look at the chimney and the surrounding roof together. If the leak is really coming from the roof repair side, we’ll tell you that too — instead of selling you masonry you don’t need.
Philadelphia Is A Brick City
Built for Historic
Philadelphia Rowhomes
A huge share of the housing stock is older rowhomes, and the masonry on those homes doesn’t behave like a new build. The brick is softer, the original mortar was mixed differently, and packing a modern high-strength mortar into a century-old joint can actually crack the brick around it over time.
We know that, because we’ve worked on these homes for two decades. On an older rowhome we match the repair to how the wall was actually built, and we take the time to assess the structure before anyone starts grinding out joints.
That kind of careful assessment is the difference between a repair that lasts and one that looks fine for a year and then fails. If it were our own rowhome, that’s exactly how we’d want it handled.
Easy To Oversell
Straight Answers,
No Upsell
Masonry is easy to oversell. It’s up high where you can’t see it, and it’s easy for a contractor to point at a chimney and say the whole thing needs to come down.
We don’t work that way. After we get up there and look, we’ll tell you honestly whether you’re looking at a spot repointing, a crown patch, a flashing reseal, or a genuine rebuild — and we’ll show you photos so you can see what we saw.
If a smaller fix will hold, that’s what we’ll recommend. A straight answer, whether or not it’s the one that pays us more, is the whole idea behind Garrison.
Why Homeowners Call Us
Why Garrison
For Masonry
In-house crews, no subcontractors — the people who show up work for us, and we stand behind the work
20+ years on Philadelphia homes, including the older brick rowhomes that need a contractor who knows how they’re built
Roof and masonry under one roofer — the chimney, the flashing, and the shingles get handled by one crew that talks to each other
Certified Spanish-speaking team — so every homeowner gets a clear explanation
Documented assessments — photos and a written report, which matters if you manage a portfolio
Honest, no-obligation estimates — free, itemized, every time
Masonry is one piece of what we do outside the roof. See all of our exterior services, or if your roofline trim needs protecting, look at capping.
No One-Size Price
What Masonry Work Costs
Every masonry job is different, so an honest number means someone actually getting up there and looking first. Repointing a few feet of joint and rebuilding a whole chimney are not the same job, and we’re not going to pretend they are with a one-size price online.
What we can promise: the estimate is free, it’s itemized, and there’s no obligation. You’ll know what the work costs and why before we start.
Straight Answers
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does a chimney need tuckpointing?
Over time the mortar between the bricks cracks, crumbles, and washes out. Once those joints open up, the wall starts soaking in water instead of shedding it, which leads to leaks, spalling brick, and eventually structural problems. Tuckpointing grinds out the failed mortar and packs in fresh, so the chimney sheds water again. On an older Philadelphia rowhome it also needs to be done with the right mortar mix, since modern high-strength mortar can damage soft historic brick.
Can a leaking chimney damage the roof around it?
Yes, and it’s one of the most common leak sources we find. Water gets in through cracked mortar, a failed crown, or bad flashing, then runs down inside the wall and across the roof deck around the chimney. Left alone it rots the decking and framing near the chimney and stains the ceilings below. That’s why we look at the chimney and the surrounding roof together instead of treating them as separate problems.
How much does chimney repair cost in Philadelphia?
It depends entirely on what’s actually wrong — whether it’s a flashing reseal, a crown patch, spot repointing, or a full rebuild. Rather than guess, we give you a free, itemized estimate after inspecting the chimney, so the number reflects your actual repair and not an average.
Do historic rowhomes need special masonry techniques?
They do. Older Philadelphia rowhomes were built with softer brick and lime-based mortar that flexes differently than modern materials. Packing a hard modern mortar into those joints can crack the surrounding brick over time. We match the repair to how the wall was originally built and assess the structure carefully before starting, which is what makes the repair actually last.
Free & No-Obligation
Get Your Free
Masonry Estimate
Chimney shedding brick, a stain on the ceiling near the flue, or mortar crumbling out of the joints? Get a free inspection from a contractor who works on both the masonry and the roof.