Masonry contractor in Navasota, TX - repairs that match older brick
J&M College Station Concrete & Masonry is a masonry contractor working in Navasota, TX, repointing worn mortar joints, repairing cracked brick and chimneys, and building walls, walkways and paver drives for homes in town and out in Grimes County.
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Services in Navasota, TX
Tuckpointing
Older brick houses here often have joints worn past the brick face, where water sits. Our tuckpointing replaces only the failed joints with mortar matched to the old.
Brick repair
Cracked or flaking brick here shows up near downspouts, steps and corners, where a wall takes the most water. We cut out damaged bricks and set matching replacements.
Chimney repair
Chimneys on older houses here usually lose mortar at the top first, and loose brick up there can come down. We rebuild what's loose and repoint the rest.
Retaining wall construction
Lots that slope toward a creek or low ground lose soil when water runs across them. We build walls with drainage behind them so they hold the slope.
Walkway construction
Older concrete walks here often heave or sink, leaving trip edges at the joints. We dig out, pack a firm base and lay brick, stone or concrete walks.
Foundation repair
Stair-step cracks in brick walls here usually point to movement underneath, not bad brick. We find what's moving before touching the cracks, so the fix isn't a patch.
Navasota, TX properties and local conditions
Navasota has a good share of older brick houses, and on most of them the first thing I look at is the mortar. Over the years the joints wear back, and earlier patch jobs show up as gray cement smeared over red brick, which is harder than the old mortar and pushes the damage into the brick itself, so you'll often see brick faces flaking off right beside a patch. We cut those patches out where they're doing harm, match the new mortar to the old in color and hardness, and leave the joints that are still sound alone.
The city sits just east of the Navasota River, and on the lower lots toward the river, water moving across the yard is what undermines walls and walks. That's why we build drainage behind retaining walls and pack a firm base under walkways before the first block or brick goes down.
What to know before masonry work starts in Navasota
Inside city limits, the City of Navasota issues building permits, and whatever it asks for has to be settled before our crew starts, so the permit side sits at the front of your schedule. Before any job, we find out what the city wants for yours, and when a building permit is ours to pull, we pull it and set up the inspections. If you'd rather pull it yourself on your own home, I'll tell you what the city will want to see. We're licensed and insured, and if you want to ask about a contractor's local licensing, the city's business license contact at 936-825-2961 or gdiosdado@navasotatx.gov is where to start. On the job itself, the price follows how many joints or bricks need work, how hard your brick and mortar are to match and how high we have to reach, and your written estimate spells out the work and materials.
We're a masonry contractor based in College Station, TX, and Navasota is one of the cities around it we work in, so we load what your job needs before we drive down and the crew isn't running back for mortar. Homes past city limits sit in unincorporated Grimes County, which has its own floodplain permit, so the first thing I ask on a call out there is which side of the line you're on.
Get a free on-site masonry estimate in Navasota
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time, then I'll come out to your Navasota home myself to look the job over. The estimate is free and comes with no obligation.
(979) 393-7020How it goes when you call us about a job in Navasota
Call or send the form
Tell us what you're seeing, whether it's worn joints, a loose chimney top or a wall that's starting to lean. We'll set a time to come out to your place in Navasota.
I look the job over
I come out myself, look it over with you and talk through what I'd fix and what I'd leave alone, so it helps if you're home to ask questions. You get a written estimate that spells out the work and the materials.
Our crew does the work
We sort out the city side, or the county side outside city limits, before anyone starts, and then our own masons do the work while I check it as it goes. That way a joint that doesn't match gets caught the same day, not after the scaffold comes down.
We walk the finished job
At the end we walk the job together, and I'll show you what we did and why. We clean up before we leave, so what you notice is the wall, not the mess.
Frequently asked questions
Who handles building permits in Navasota, TX?
The City of Navasota handles building permits inside city limits, and its building permits contact is 936-825-2961 or hwells@navasotatx.gov. If your home sits outside city limits, the county's floodplain rules in the next question come into play.
When is a floodplain permit required outside Navasota city limits?
In unincorporated Grimes County, a floodplain development permit is required for all development, wherever the lot sits. Only the property owner or their legal representative can apply to Grimes County, and the county approves it after all other permits are issued, so it's the last approval before work starts. If you're not sure which side of the city line you're on, that's one of the first things I'll ask.
How much does masonry work cost in Navasota, TX?
Your cost is the masonry itself plus whatever the permits call for, and for a home in the Grimes County floodplain outside city limits, that can mean paying an engineer and a surveyor too. The county asks for plans signed and sealed by a licensed Professional Engineer for development in the floodplain, and an Elevation Certificate from a Registered Professional Land Surveyor for structures there. On the masonry side, your written estimate spells out the work and materials once I've seen the job.
How do I check a contractor's license for work in Navasota?
For trades the state licenses, such as electricians, the state's online license search shows whether a person or business holds a current license. That matters on masonry jobs with power or gas run to them, like an outdoor kitchen, because the electrical work falls to a licensed electrical contractor and plumbers are licensed by the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners. For local business licensing, start with the city contact named above.
What causes mortar to crumble on older brick houses in Navasota?
Mostly water and time, because mortar is meant to be the softer part of the wall and wear away before the brick does. Water running down the face sits in the joints and slowly breaks them down until they go sandy and sink back. When only some joints are gone, we replace those and leave the sound ones, which keeps the job smaller and the wall looking like itself.
How long does tuckpointing take on a brick house in Navasota?
The time goes by how many joints have failed and how high they run, because each one is cut out and packed by hand. A few bad sections go a lot faster than a whole wall, which is one more reason we only redo the joints that need it. Any permit the city or county asks for comes first, so that wait sits ahead of ours.
About Navasota, TX
Navasota is a small city in southwestern Grimes County with a historic downtown, and the houses spread out from there, older ones closer in and homes on more open lots past city limits. It's a quieter place than Bryan, and a lot of the brick houses we see here have a few decades of repairs behind them, some good and some we end up undoing.
That history shapes the job. Before we match anything, we figure out which mortar is original and which came from a later fix, and on the lots out past town we look at where the water goes before we set a single block.
Explore the services
College Station, TX
Get your Navasota brick looked at
A crumbling joint is usually a small fix while it's only the mortar and a bigger one once water gets behind the brick, so call (979) 393-7020 or send our estimate form.