Cost guide

What masonry work costs in Philadelphia and Delco

Every figure on this page comes from a published source, and every source is named. Where the numbers are Philadelphia-specific we say so. Where they are national averages standing in for a local figure we could not find, we say that too.

How to read this page

Nobody can price masonry from a web page, including us. What a cost guide is good for is telling you whether the number a contractor gives you is inside the range other people pay, or a long way outside it. That is the only job this page is trying to do.

Three things move a masonry price more than anything on this page: how high the work is, how much of the original mortar is actually gone, and what a previous repair left behind. A wall someone pointed in hard grey cement twenty years ago is a bigger job than a wall nobody ever touched, because the cement has to come out first.

We have marked each figure high, medium or low confidence based on how many independent sources agreed. Two of them, lintel replacement and stone pointing, we would not publish at all if the alternative were not homeowners guessing with nothing.

Brick repointing

Repointing is raking the failed mortar out of the joints between bricks and replacing it with fresh mortar.

What brick repointing costs

Philadelphia-area published figures. Local sources and national averages agree, so we publish this one with confidence.

$8–$25 per square foot

A spot repair under 50 square feet: $500–$1,500
One wall or a partial elevation: $2,000–$6,000
A full rowhome front elevation: $6,000–$15,000

Most Philadelphia rowhome repointing lands between $12 and $18 per square foot. National averages sit in the same band. That is why we publish this range with more confidence than the others on this site.

Sources: Natalini & Sons, brick repointing cost in Philadelphia; Angi, how much repointing brick costs. Published cost guides, not audited data. Mortarook does not set prices.

Stone pointing

Stone pointing is raking out and replacing the mortar joints in a stone wall.

What stone pointing costs

National published figures. No Philadelphia-specific figure was found. Published sources disagree widely on this one. Read it as a rough band, not a price.

$5–$40 per square foot

Repointing a stone foundation wall: $5–$28 per square foot
Stone masonry repair, regional guide: $15–$40 per square foot

No Philadelphia or Delaware County figure for stone pointing could be found in published sources. The national and regional numbers also disagree by a wide margin. Skilled lime-mortar work on fieldstone is discussed by masons at well above $40 per square foot. Treat this as a rough band and get a real quote.

Sources: HomeGuide, repointing and tuckpointing cost; Rose Restoration, masonry cost guide. Published cost guides, not audited data. Mortarook does not set prices.

Chimney masonry

Chimney masonry covers repointing, rebuilding, crowns, caps and the flashing where the chimney meets the roof.

What chimney masonry costs

Philadelphia-area published figures. Fewer sources agree on this one. Read it as directional.

Repointing a small section of a chimney: $200–$600
Repointing the full chimney face: $800–$2,500
Sealing a cracked crown: $150–$400
Replacing the crown: $800–$1,500
Rebuilding the chimney above the roofline: $1,500–$5,000
A full chimney rebuild: $5,000–$15,000

These come from one Philadelphia chimney company’s published pricing. A regional guide covering the Washington area quotes $2,000–$6,000 for chimney repointing, which is above the Philadelphia low end. Treat the bottom of these ranges as optimistic for a full-face job.

Sources: Franklin Chimney, chimney repair cost in Philadelphia; Rose Restoration, masonry cost guide. Published cost guides, not audited data. Mortarook does not set prices.

Lintel replacement

A lintel is the beam over a window or door that carries the brick above it, and replacing one means supporting that brick while the beam comes out.

What lintel replacement costs

National published figures. No Philadelphia-specific figure was found. Published sources disagree widely on this one. Read it as a rough band, not a price.

Repairing a steel lintel: $500–$1,000
Replacing a steel lintel: $1,500–$2,500
Smaller lintel jobs, national average: $280–$640

National sources for lintel work disagree by nearly ten times, and no Philadelphia figure could be found. The spread is real: replacing rusted steel over a second-floor rowhome window means needling and supporting the brick above it. That is a different job from a garage-door lintel at ground level.

Sources: AO Handy, lintel repair cost; Angi, sagging lintel repair cost. Published cost guides, not audited data. Mortarook does not set prices.

Foundation masonry

Foundation masonry is repointing, parging and repairing the wall at and below ground level.

What foundation masonry costs

National published figures. No Philadelphia-specific figure was found. Fewer sources agree on this one. Read it as directional.

Injecting a single crack: $500–$1,200
A bowing wall, per linear foot: $75–$400
A typical bowing wall, whole job: $2,000–$7,500
Carbon fiber straps on one wall: $2,000–$3,500

These are national figures for block and poured walls. The rubble stone foundations under most older Delaware County and Philadelphia houses are not covered by them, and repointing a stone cellar wall is priced as masonry by the square foot, not as structural repair by the linear foot.

Sources: Today's Homeowner, bowing basement wall repair cost; Adam Basement, basement foundation repair cost. Published cost guides, not audited data. Mortarook does not set prices.

Stucco and exterior masonry

Stucco work is repairing, patching or recoating the rendered surface on an exterior masonry wall.

What stucco and exterior masonry costs

National published figures. No Philadelphia-specific figure was found. Fewer sources agree on this one. Read it as directional.

$8–$50 per square foot

Stucco repair, published range: $8–$50 per square foot

Two independent national sources agree on this range and no Philadelphia figure could be found. The spread is mostly about what is behind the stucco: patching a cracked traditional coat on solid masonry is at the bottom of it, and opening up a wall with trapped water in it is at the top.

Sources: This Old House, stucco repair cost; Thumbtack, stucco repair cost. Published cost guides, not audited data. Mortarook does not set prices.

Masonry waterproofing

Masonry waterproofing is keeping water out of a brick or stone wall, by sealing it, coating it, or changing where the water goes.

What masonry waterproofing costs

National published figures. No Philadelphia-specific figure was found. Fewer sources agree on this one. Read it as directional.

Sealing brick or stone above grade: $1–$4 per square foot
Sealing a basement wall from inside: $1–$3 per square foot
Excavated waterproofing below grade: $20 per square foot and up

Waterproofing means two unrelated jobs at two unrelated prices. A breathable sealer on a repointed brick face is cheap. Digging out and membraning a foundation wall from outside is not. Anyone quoting one number for "waterproofing" has not told you which one they mean.

Sources: Angi, repointing and sealing cost; Thumbtack, basement waterproofing cost. Published cost guides, not audited data. Mortarook does not set prices.

The ones we will not price

For these we found no published range we trust enough to print. They are quoted by the piece and by the access, and the honest answer is that a mason has to see it.

Brick repair — Brick repair is cutting out brick that has broken, spalled, gone missing or moved, and rebuilding that section.
Stone repair — Stone repair is resetting or replacing stone that has come loose, fallen out, or moved.
Other masonry restoration — Steps, stoops, patios, walkways, garden walls, piers, columns and sills, in brick or stone.

What a fair quote looks like

A quote worth trusting names the scope in units you can check: how many square feet, which elevations, how deep the joints are being cut, what mortar mix, and how the wall is being reached. A quote that reads “repoint front of house” followed by a number gives you nothing to compare and nothing to hold anyone to.

On pre-war brick and on stone, ask what mortar they are using and why. If the answer is a bag number with no mention of the brick being softer than the mortar, keep looking. That single question separates a mason from a contractor with a grinder.

Ask for the Pennsylvania home improvement contractor registration number and check it yourself at hicsearch.attorneygeneral.gov. It is free and public. Every contractor Mortarook lists as a Verified Pro has been through that check and has a certificate of insurance on file with us.

Why we are not paid to send you here

Mortarook is free for homeowners and free for masons to join. There is no membership and nothing charged per project. The company earns a success fee of 5% of the final project value, capped at $750, and only from a contractor who actually wins the work.

That is the whole reason this page is honest about which numbers are shaky. A site paid per contact wants you to submit a form. A site paid on completed work wants you to hire someone and be glad you did.

Get a real price on your own wall

Describe the job once and up to three verified local masons look at your photographs. No account, no payment, and your details never reach a fourth contractor.

Find My Contractors

Free for homeowners. No account and no password. Your phone number and address reach only the pros who accept your project, and never more than three. Contractors pay nothing to join and nothing to read your project.

Mortarook is free for homeowners. Masons pay no membership and nothing per project. When a contractor wins work through Mortarook they pay a success fee of 5% of the final project value, capped at $750, once. We never touch the money between you and your mason.

Last reviewed September 11, 2026. Figures are drawn from published cost guides and contractor marketing pages, which are directional rather than audited. Mortarook does not set prices and takes no part in what you agree with your mason.