Brick repair from Mobile, the Mobile County seat

Mobile County is the southwest corner of Alabama. Mississippi is on the west side and Mobile Bay is on the east, with Dauphin Island down at the south end where the bay meets the Gulf. The Mobile River and the delta run along the east side, north of the city, and empty into the head of the bay.

Near the water the land is low and flat. Going north and west it turns to pine woods and sandy ground. Mobile sits on the west shore of the bay where the river comes in, and the rest of the county spreads out around it.

Inside Mobile you find nearly every kind of brick house, from old soft brick in the districts by downtown to veneer on slab houses out west. In the towns around it, a lot of what you see is brick veneer over frame walls, along with older houses that have brick chimneys and brick foundation walls. What wears them down depends a good deal on where they sit.

• Close to the bay, salt air and wind driven rain hit the brick hardest
• On clay ground, walls and foundations settle as the soil soaks up rain and dries out
• Under big oaks and pines, shade keeps the walls damp and roots work near the foundation
• Everywhere in the county, heavy rain, humid air and hurricane season

Brick Repair and Renovations is based in Mobile, and Mobile is the only town this site confirms. That covers downtown, the historic districts, Midtown, Spring Hill and West Mobile.

Prichard, Saraland, Semmes, Theodore and Tillmans Corner are in the county and close to the city. They are named here so you know to ask, and none of them is confirmed. Call or text Donald with your town and a photo, and ask him.

Donald can talk you through the repair itself. Permits are another matter. If the house is inside Mobile, permit questions go to the City of Mobile. If it is inside another town, ask that town, and if it sits outside any city limits, ask Mobile County.

• Fort GainesOld brick fort on the east end of Dauphin Island
• Bienville SquarePark in downtown Mobile on Dauphin Street
• History Museum of MobileThe city history museum, on South Royal Street
• Bellingrath Gardens & HomeGardens and a historic home south of Theodore
• Semmes Heritage ParkHeritage park on Wulff Road in Semmes