______________________________________ Contractors for Masonry and Repairs on Brick: Replacing Existing Units Masonry Stucco Contractors Submit a masonry or stucco project to find a contractor. Consider the shortage of bricks across America over the course of the past few years, and growing. It's understandable how contractors aren't always eager to work on brick that is uncommon or out of production. For repairs that involve matching existing brick members that are surrounding [if they are spalling brick, flaking or otherwise failing] you may want to ponder the option of sealing the surfaces yourself, which when done properly can help as an effective means for prolonging brick life, delaying any potential brick replacement. [whoever finds him or herself matching most of the modern product lines can realistically travel from depleting brickyard to depleting brickyard while faced with having to match not only plant but manufacture of where this originally came from. This isn't a question of 'can' but rather of 'how close' and what the owner is willing to live with. Will the finished product resemble a 'plug replace'?] Brick Sealing Brick sealing is recommended by most experts in the field, especially when one considers the idea of painting [though not always]. Painting often times traps unwanted amounts of moisture, even causing the brick faces to pop free due to excess trapped moisture that it was the cause of, speaking here of improper moisture containment With the cost of sealing your exterior brick by a masonry contractor running at a cost of up to $2 per square foot, and in cases even mightier, this route can easily amount to a twelve, fifteen, or couple thousand dollar expenditure. With sealers out on the market costing about $14 to $20 per gallon, there are indeed savings to be had. (And coverages known to be verified, clear products leaving not mush evidence in their wake). For the most part all you'll need is a ladder for needed access, a pump-style garden sprayer and lets not forget the sealer. It does usually pay to go with a commercial grade sealer which may be at an initially higher cost per/gal. but can very likely yield potential benefits of significantly increased performance of the brick over an extended time period Sealers of late are engineered for the prescribed moisture exchange rate between outer environment and actual brick. For general application, use low pressure while spraying, down-up patterns, to achieve a rundown effect. Some masons apply a light coat first just before another for reasons of material penetration, applying finally to saturation. *Be sure as always to follow manufacturers data, recommendations, suggestions and instructions for your specific application as products do vary. And apply a test swatch before completing the whole surface.