The things homeowners ask us.

We come to the property, look at the masonry in person, and talk through what you have been noticing. You hear what the wall, chimney, or walkway appears to need, what the realistic options are, and what each would involve. You then receive a written scope and quote. Nothing is scheduled until you decide, and there is no charge for the visit.

No. A phone photo of the problem is helpful if you want to send one with the request, but the evaluation is where the measuring and the close look happen. Up to three images can be attached to the project request form.

Our masonry service area includes St. Louis City, St. Louis County, and surrounding Missouri communities. Check your ZIP code on our service-area map, or tell us the property location when you get in touch and we will confirm coverage.

Schedule depends on the season and the size of the job, so ask when we are on site and we will tell you where things stand. If a repair is urgent — a leaning stack, loose brick above a walkway — say so on the call rather than waiting on a form.

Not always. A section with open or crumbling joints can often be addressed on its own. The honest answer depends on how far the failure actually runs, whether the mortar behind the visible face is still sound, and what caused it — a repair that stops at the obvious edge can leave the real problem in place, which is why the joints get looked at before a scope is written.

Matching is about color, sand and aggregate, and the joint profile — the shape pressed into the line. Older St. Louis brick was often laid with a softer, lime-forward mortar, and a hard modern mix can trap moisture and end up damaging the very brick it sits beside. Where the original mortar is worth preserving, we work toward something compatible rather than simply the strongest mix available.

The goal is a consistent line across the wall. Fresh mortar can read slightly different on day one and blends as it weathers, and a small spot repair in an unusual brick color may remain faintly distinguishable up close. That trade-off gets discussed before the work, not after.

Usually water. Freeze and thaw cycles work moisture into joints year after year; gutters and flashing that spill water concentrate the damage; and an earlier repoint with a mix that is too hard for the wall can push the stress into the brick face instead. Fixing the source matters, or the new joints fail on the same schedule as the old ones.

The crown is the slab across the top. When damage is confined to that slab or a few loose bricks near the summit, a targeted repair is often the sensible answer. When the stack is leaning, loose through its height, or open along the joints rather than in one spot, rebuilding the affected section is usually the sound route. We tell you which one we are looking at once we have seen it, and we would rather talk you out of a rebuild than talk you into one.

Interior masonry is part of the conversation — firebox brick, the smoke chamber, and the flue lining area all show symptoms from inside the fireplace. Describe what you are seeing in there when you request the evaluation so it is on the list when we visit.

Keep people clear of the fall line below it and call. A lean is a structural signal, not a cosmetic one, and weather will not improve it. If brick is loose above a walkway or entry, rope or cone the area off until it has been looked at.

Height, what the wall is holding back, drainage behind it, soil and grade on site, access for equipment, and the material you want. Two walls of the same length can differ considerably once those are on the table, which is why wall work is quoted after the visit rather than from a photograph.

Custom-built mailboxes start at $3,900, and the catalog runs from a classic brick column up through an estate design from $7,500. Those are starting points for a typical St. Louis-area installation; the written quote after your evaluation is what you go on.

Most of it. Work is planned around sustained freezing weather and standing water, both of which limit what can be done properly. Late summer and early fall is the busiest stretch for most homeowners, so putting a project on the calendar a season ahead usually buys flexibility on timing.

Masonry is a dusty trade and we plan for it: work areas get protected, materials staged where they belong, and the site cleared down at the end of the day. You are dealing with a family company that has worked the St. Louis area since 1994, and the people on your property are ours.

The written scope and price is what you approve. If something hidden turns up during the work — deteriorated lintel behind a face course, damage that was never visible — you hear about it before it is fixed, with the cost and the options laid out, not after the invoice.

Financing options are available through HFS Financial. The financing is provided by HFS, not by ECI Masonry, and their page carries the terms and disclosures. Select your interest on the project request form and we will point you to it.

Bring the paperwork and the adjuster’s scope to the evaluation. We can document the masonry condition and write the work up so you have something clear to hand in — the claim decision itself is between you and your carrier.

Call us. If a detail needs attention after we are off site, we want to know and we will come look at it. That is the same reason a homeowner in 1996 could still reach this company.