In case your home or commercial property is built with masonry, you need to keep it in a good shape and look for any signs of deterioration, so that you can solve any problems easily and cost-efficiently.

Depending on the degree of damage, deteriorating masonry can have a disastrous impact on the structure of the entire building. As a homeowner or an entrepreneur, you may have to deal with water infiltration, foundation problems or extreme heat losses. Therefore, knowing the early signs of damaged masonry is highly important.

One good sign is that the bricks in the outer walls either jot out, or they bulge in, even if it is on a small area of your masonry structure. This is generally caused by moisture. The solution is to remove the deteriorated bricks and solve any issues behind them, replace the bricks and re-build the part of the wall which was affected.

As a result of natural expansion of buildings, vertical cracks often may occur. The only problem is that they can let water inside the building, so they need to be fixed immediately.

Compacted bricks can be some other good signs of deteriorated masonry. The affected bricks need replacement and perhaps you may need to work on some extra support for your foundation. For masonry inspection and work look at http://www.nemasonry.com.

Knowing whether the masonry on your building needs restoration is very important, because taking the necessary steps in due time is essential for preserving its structure and avoiding even more problems in the future.

The frequent lack of expansion joints can cause masonry to expand continually, putting an enormous pressure on the corners of the walls. In case the problem is not solved in due time, the corners may eventually crack. If the problem gets aggravated, then re-building the masonry becomes the recommended solution.

Masonry restoration requires a high level of precision, which can be attained only by years of working in this field. Because of this, it is always best to ask for help from the part of Connecticut masonry professionals.

In case you have commercial building, a good indicator that its masonry needs restoration is when your business seems to be less successful, in the sense that customers tend to avoid you. In that case, it may be the shabby-looking appearance of the masonry on your building that may cause people to stay away. Restoration or renovation may help improve your business, by attracting new customers. In other words, it may a worthy investment with many positive effects for the future of your business.

Masonry structures are used inside the house as well as on the exterior of the building and in the landscape. If you need construction or repair services for exterior masonry surfaces, you should be looking for a contractor who specializes exactly in the type of projects that you have. Here is where you should look for an exterior masonry expert:

• Online – most masonry contractors have websites that you should check. Just enter a search query into your browser, then your search results one by one to find the right specialists;
• Word of mouth – ask your friends, family and coworkers whether they have previously hired a contractor for an exterior masonry project and ask about their experiences with the contractor they have worked with;
• Local newspapers – many masonry contractors continue to use printed advertising, so you might find their ads in local papers.

Whatever contractor you are looking for, exterior masonry experts included, it is a good idea to collect at least three or four names that seem suitable, then to contact them for a personal meeting and to request written cost estimates from each candidate – a step of special importance in the case of large projects. Evaluate the contractors on your list based on your personal impressions as well as on the quality and the contents of the estimates. Start with http://www.nemasonry.com.

Tuck-pointing is a process that serves functional as well as ornamental roles. The method involved is used for refreshing the appearance of old and worn brick and mortar walls, for making cement walls look as if they were traditional brick and mortar walls as well as for restoring the strength of old brick walls by replacing the old, crumbling mortar in the joints. Here is what the masonry restoration Connecticut process involves:

• Removing the old mortar – if used for repairing an old wall or for refreshing its looks, the process starts with the removal of the old mortar that joins the bricks and the creation of grooves of uniform depth;
• Filling with red mortar – the next step is the application of brick-colored mortar in place of the old mortar;
• Creating grooves – while the red mortar is still soft, thin grooves are created to make space for the white mortar;
• Adding white mortar – the white mortar is added into the grooves to restore the traditional red and white appearance of the wall.

If the process is used for giving a cement wall an appearance that resembles traditional, brick and mortar walls, the process of tuck-pointing is essentially the same, with the difference that the wall will need to be painted into the desired shade of red or terracotta.

Masonry restoration is the term used for any type of work performed on already existing masonry structures. The purpose of masonry restoration is to restore the appearance and the functionality of the masonry structure – here are some of the most common procedures involved:

• Tuck-pointing – masonry structures being made from brick or stone, they are very strong, their weakest point being the mortar, the material used for joining the pieces of the construction. Tuck-pointing is the process of removing the old, crumbling mortar and replacing it with new mortar to enhance both the look and the functionality of the structure;
• Repairing gaps and cracks – another very common type of masonry restoration task is the filling of any gaps, cracks and chips that affect masonry structures. The mason handling the task will make sure that the color and the texture of the repaired part matches the rest of the structure, so the process is informed by operational as well as by aesthetic considerations;
• The application of sealants – there are many products available for improving the water-resistance of Connecticut masonry structures, all of them easy to apply and very strong. Many sealants will also enhance the appearance of the masonry structure that they are applied on.