Brick and masonry repair, based in Mobile, Alabama

Donald W Carpenter runs Brick Repair and Renovations out of Mobile. When this site says Mobile, it means the whole city, from the old streets by the river out to the newer subdivisions west of town. Brick repair, tuckpointing, chimney repair and work on masonry foundations are all on the table anywhere inside it.

Mobile is a port city at the head of Mobile Bay, with the Mobile River and the delta to the north and east. Brick here takes a lot of water. The city is one of the rainiest in the country, it stays hot and humid most of the year, and hurricane season runs through summer and fall.

A house off Government Street and a house off Airport Boulevard can be a long way apart in age and in how the brick went up. So the city gets three pages instead of one.

• Mobile, the whole city: downtown, the port, and brick houses from every era
• The historic districts: Oakleigh, Old Dauphin Way, Church Street East, the De Tonti Square area and Midtown, where the brick is old and soft and the mortar is lime
• West Mobile and Spring Hill: brick veneer on slab houses in the subdivisions, and older houses around Spring Hill College

Up north, masons fight frost. Around Mobile, a hard freeze is rare and does not last long. The trouble here is water that never quite leaves. Rain gets driven sideways off the Gulf in a storm, humid air keeps a shaded wall damp for days, and the salts that water carries out of the brick dry on the face as white stains.

Then there is the ground. Much of the soil around Mobile is wet clay or sand, and it moves as it soaks and dries out. Big live oaks grow close to houses, walks and garden walls, and their roots go where the water is. A crack that climbs a brick wall in steps often starts down there.

Near the bay there is salt in the air as well. And on walls that never see much sun, mildew and green growth take hold. A lot of people reach for the pressure washer, and on soft brick that can cut the mortar out of the joints and blow the faces off the brick. Ask Donald before you clean old brick hard.

Brick Repair and Renovations does brick and the mortar that holds it together. In any part of Mobile, that means:

• Brick repair: cracked and loose brick, and brick with the face popping off, taken out and replaced with brick matched as close as Donald can get it
• Tuckpointing and repointing: worn mortar joints cut out and packed with new mortar
• Chimney repair: loose brick, open joints, cracked crowns and leaks
• Foundation repair: cracks, loose brick and soft mortar in brick and block foundation walls, brick skirting, and the brick ledge on slab houses
• Masonry repair and upkeep on brick houses in general

Plenty of Mobile properties have masonry that is not on the list above: brick piers under raised cottages, brick steps and porches, retaining walls, and concrete. Those are not listed as Donald's work on this site. If your job is one of them, say so when you call or text, and ask him straight.

Prichard, Saraland, Semmes, Theodore and Tillmans Corner are all in Mobile County, close to the city. Daphne is across the bay in Baldwin County. None of them is a confirmed town on this site. Donald is based in Mobile, and a job outside the city is something to ask him about before you count on it.

So if you live in one of those towns, or anywhere else near Mobile, call or text (251) 305-5966. Give your town and a photo of the work, and ask.

Mobile County runs from the Mississippi line on the west to Mobile Bay on the east, and south to Dauphin Island. Mobile is the county seat and the biggest place in it. The county page covers the land, the brick you find across the county, and which towns to ask about.

Baldwin County sits on the other side of the bay. If your house is over there, the same goes: call or text Donald and ask before planning around it.

Text three things: your part of town or your town, a wide photo of the wall or chimney, and a close photo of the worst spot. If it is a crack, hold a coin or a tape measure next to it so the size shows in the picture.

Donald looks at what you send and tells you what he sees and what he thinks it needs. Then you decide what to do.