Foundation masonry in Philadelphia and Delaware County

Under most older houses in this region the foundation is rubble stone laid in lime mortar, and what fails is the mortar, washed out by water moving through the wall. That is a repointing job done from inside the cellar, sometimes with new parging over it. A wall that is cracked, bowing or moving is a different and larger problem, and the honest first step is working out which of the two you have. Parging that is falling off in sheets is usually a symptom of water behind it, not a finish that wore out.

• Mortar washing out of a stone or block cellar wall, with sand on the floor
• Cracks in a foundation wall, especially horizontal ones
• A cellar wall bowing inward
• Water or persistent damp in the cellar
• Parging or coating falling off the base of the wall outside
• A musty cellar that never dries out

Any number given over the phone without seeing the wall is a guess. These are the things that change the price, and the questions Mortarook asks you so that the masons who see your project can quote it properly.

• Photographs of the wall inside and of the ground outside against it
• What the foundation is made of: stone, brick, block or poured concrete
• Whether the crack is horizontal, vertical or stepped
• How much of the wall can actually be reached from inside
• Where the downspouts and the grade send water

Foundation work attracts the heaviest sales pressure in home services, and the fix that gets sold is often larger than the fault. A mason who works on rubble stone will tell you when repointing and drainage is the whole answer. Fixing the gutters and the grade first is free advice a specialist gives and a salesman does not.

You describe the job once: the service, your ZIP code, a few words about what you are seeing, and photographs if you have them. Mortarook writes your description back in trade language so you can check it, then matches you with a maximum of three local masonry contractors whose registered services, service area and project size fit.

Every contractor listed as a Verified Pro has had their Pennsylvania home improvement contractor registration checked against the Attorney General’s public registry, and has a certificate of insurance on file with us. Your phone number and street address are seen only by the pros who accept your project. We do not sell your information and there is never a fourth contractor.

These are the towns and neighborhoods in our service area whose housing stock generates this work most often.

• Springfield→
• Wallingford→
• Manayunk→