Brick Masonry
We lay brick veneer on new houses, additions, garages and commercial buildings. We also build brick steps, stoops, patios, columns and mailboxes.
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Maybe the front stoop on your Sturtevant house lifts a little more each winter. Or there is a crack running up the block wall in the basement. The village sits on silt and clay soils that heave with frost. About half its homes were built before 1980, and frost and age both wear on mortar joints and front steps.
M.O.E Masonry is a masonry contractor based next door in Mount Pleasant, on the south side of Racine. We come over on Highway 11 or Highway 20 to work in Sturtevant. We lay brick, block and stone, and we handle tuckpointing, chimney repair and block foundations. Call or text (262) 744-4688, and we will look at the job and put the quote in writing.
Tell us about the wall, chimney, foundation or steps and where the job is. We look at it and put the quote in writing.
Sturtevant is a small village in Racine County, with about 2,200 homes and apartments on about 4 square miles. Those are 2020 Census counts. Its 53177 ZIP code reaches well past the village, and about half of the ZIP's land lies in Mount Pleasant.
The village began at a railroad junction and was called Corliss until 1923. That year it took the name of the B.F. Sturtevant Company, and Corliss Avenue shares the old name. Most of its homes came much later.
Census survey estimates for 2020 to 2024 date about half of the village's homes before 1980. About a third went up between 1940 and 1969, and about 7 percent before 1940. About a quarter were built from 2000 to 2009, and fewer than 1 in 10 in 2010 or later. About 7 in 10 homes are detached single-family houses.
Brick Industry Association guidance gives mortar in walls 50 years or more before repair, in normal weather. About 4 in 10 Sturtevant homes were built before 1970. When open joints let too much water in, repeated freeze-thaw can crack and spall the brick. Spalling is the face of the brick flaking off.
The USDA soil survey maps most of the village as four soils: Varna, Markham, Ashkum and Elliott. All four sit on silty clay loam or clay loam till left by the glaciers. Ashkum covers about a fifth of the village and is poorly drained.
The survey also rates frost action, the heave that ice lenses cause in freezing soil. Frost action is moderate on about 62 percent of the village's land and high on about 36 percent. Soil that heaves can lift steps and garden walls that sit above the frost line.
For houses, Wisconsin's Uniform Dwelling Code sets how deep footings go (SPS 321.16). They go below the frost line or at least 48 inches below grade, whichever is deeper. The rule covers landings and stoops too. A masonry retaining wall gets gravel backfill and weep openings so water drains out from behind it.
The village's building inspector issues building permits in Sturtevant. The village code requires one before a structure, or any part of one, is built, enlarged, altered or demolished. Under the zoning code, a garden wall can count as a fence, and fences need their own village permit. Whatever the job, the permit is sorted out before work starts.
Foundation repair has its own section in the village code. The permit application needs a statement of the defects and an analysis of their cause. Loose or cracked joints are cleaned half an inch deep or more, then tuckpointed with Type M mortar or equal. The village inspects the work before the wall is backfilled.
A wall that is out of plumb needs engineering data before it is reinforced. That calls for a structural engineer first. The dampproofing and drain tile the section calls for belong to a waterproofing company. Our block foundation repair covers the masonry side: new block, tuckpointed joints, parging and rebuilt sections of wall.
The village reaches from around Braun Road up to Washington Avenue (Highway 20). Durand Avenue (Highway 11) runs through the middle. The Renaissance Business Park sits along Renaissance Boulevard, and the Amtrak station opened there in 2006.
New commercial buildings go through the village plan commission's site plan and architectural review. Its review criteria cover street-facing walls. At least 30 percent of that facade needs a listed finish, such as brick or fieldstone. Plain concrete block and metal-faced buildings are ruled out unless they carry one of those finishes.
Our commercial masonry covers concrete block walls and brick veneer on new buildings. On older commercial buildings, we tuckpoint and repair the brick.
Communities and areas we serve around Sturtevant: Durand Avenue (Highway 11), Washington Avenue (Highway 20), 90th Street, Wisconsin Street, Corliss Avenue, Braun Road, Majestic Hills Drive, Renaissance Boulevard, Renaissance Business Park, Sturtevant Amtrak station, Fireman's Park, Mount Pleasant.
Sturtevant ZIP codes served: 53177.
We come over from Mount Pleasant, look at the job and put the quote in writing.
(262) 744-4688 We lay brick veneer on new houses, additions, garages and commercial buildings. We also build brick steps, stoops, patios, columns and mailboxes.
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Concrete block foundations and frost walls for new houses, additions, garages and outbuildings. Block foundation repair on the masonry side: tuckpointing, new block, parging and rebuilt sections.
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We lay natural stone and manufactured stone veneer on houses, chimneys, columns and fireplace faces. We also build stone steps and garden walls and repoint old stone.
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We grind out crumbling mortar joints and pack in new mortar matched to the old. We tuckpoint brick, block and stone walls, chimneys, foundations and steps around Racine.
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We repair and rebuild brick chimneys around Racine, with brick and mortar matched to the old. New crowns and rain caps are part of the work too.
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Spalled brick, rusted lintels, loose steps and failed wall sections repaired and matched to the wall. Historic brick buildings and churches restored with matching brick and mortar.
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Concrete block and mortared stone retaining walls around Racine, plus segmental block garden walls. Gravel backfill and a drain pipe go in as part of the wall.
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We lay concrete block walls and brick veneer for new commercial buildings like car washes and warehouses. We also repair and tuckpoint older storefronts and churches.
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We pour concrete steps and stoops, sidewalks, small slabs and footings for masonry. Outdoor work gets air-entrained concrete, which gives freezing water room to expand.
Learn MoreA few of the questions we hear most around Sturtevant. If yours is not here, call or text and ask.
Tell us about the job and where it is, and send photos if you have them. Call or text (262) 744-4688, or use the form, and we will get back to you.
Tell us about the wall, chimney, foundation or steps and where the job is. We look at it and put the quote in writing.