Masonry is the slowest trade on any house and the one that lasts longest. Done properly it outlives everything around it. Done badly it is very hard to hide.
What we build
- Brick steps and landings — new builds and replacements for steps that have settled or come apart.
- Skirting and underpinning — closing in a crawl space or the base of a manufactured home so it reads as a permanent structure.
- Piers and foundation work — support piers, block work and repairs.
- Repointing — cutting out failed mortar and replacing it, which is what most old brickwork actually needs.
- Repairs — cracked or bulging brick, failed lintels, and damage from settlement or water.
Mortar, and why the wrong one destroys old brick
This is the thing most often got wrong on older houses.
Mortar is meant to be softer than the brick around it. It is the sacrificial part — it takes the movement and the moisture so the brick does not have to. Repoint a soft old brick with a hard modern mortar and the movement has nowhere to go except through the brick faces, which spall and crumble. You end up replacing brick that would have lasted another century.
So mortar gets matched to the brick it is going against, not to whatever is on the truck.
Water is what kills brickwork
Brick and block do not fail on their own. They fail where water gets in and does not get out.
Failed flashing above an opening, a downspout emptying against a wall, ground built up above the damp course, or blocked weep holes — those are the causes, and rebuilding the brick without fixing them just resets the clock. We work across roofing, gutters and masonry, which means when the cause is a gutter we can say so and deal with it rather than pointing you at somebody else.
We live here
Precision Palmetto is based in Columbia. Our license is South Carolina, our number is an 803 number, and when you call it in three years somebody will answer. If we get something wrong, we are still here to put it right — which is a stronger guarantee than anything we could print on this page.
Our masonry work in the Midlands
See work from all six trades →
Common questions
How much does brickwork cost?
Masonry is priced by the work rather than by the foot — a set of steps, a run of skirting and a repointing job are not comparable. We look at it and quote in writing.
Can you match my existing brick?
Usually close, sometimes exactly. Brick color and size have changed over the decades and an exact match on an older house is not always available. We will show you what we can get before starting so there are no surprises.
My mortar is crumbling — does the whole wall need rebuilding?
Almost never. Crumbling mortar with sound brick is a repointing job: the failed mortar is cut out and replaced with mortar matched to the brick. Rebuilding is for brick that has actually failed or moved.
Do you do foundation and crawl space work?
Piers, block work and skirting, yes. Structural engineering and underpinning a settling foundation is a different discipline and we will tell you when you need an engineer rather than a mason.
Are you licensed for masonry in South Carolina?
Yes — South Carolina Residential Specialty Contractor Registration RBS 67429 covers masonry. That number is public and verifiable on the SC Labor, Licensing and Regulation site.
Want a straight number?
We will come out, look at the job properly, and put a price in writing — including if the answer is that it does not need doing yet.
Call (803) 258-0842Also from us: Roofing · Siding · Gutters · Concrete · Fencing
Based in Columbia, working across South Carolina. The Midlands is
home — Columbia, Lexington, Irmo, Cayce, West Columbia, Forest Acres, Blythewood, Chapin, Elgin, Gaston and Hopkins — and we take work throughout the Lowcountry and Upstate as
well. If you are not sure whether we come out your way, call and ask.