Restoration Register

Heritage masonry contractors in Ontario

Masonry is the largest heritage trade in Ontario and the one where the wrong contractor does the most permanent damage. Hard Portland cement mortar in a soft brick or limestone wall does not fail on its own. It moves the failure into the masonry, where it cannot be reversed.

Heritage masonry covers repointing in lime-based mortar matched to the original, replacing failed brick with salvaged units matched by size and colour, dutchman repairs cut into eroded stone, rebuilding rubble and fieldstone walls that have lost their bond, chimney rebuilds above the roofline, and removing earlier cement parging and coatings that are trapping water in the wall. Ontario's stock divides roughly by geology: soft red and buff clay brick through the GTA, Waterloo Region and the southwest, limestone through Kingston and the Rideau corridor, dressed limestone and fieldstone around Elora and Fergus. Coverage is uneven. Twenty of the province's heritage masons work in the GTA and York Region, while all of Southwestern Ontario is served by four.

What to ask before you hire

  1. What mortar mix will you use, and how did you arrive at it? Lime-based, softer than the masonry, ideally informed by analysis of the original rather than by eye.
  2. How will you rake out the old joints? Hand tools, or a narrow blade with hand finishing. A wide angle grinder widens the joint into the brick permanently.
  3. Can you show me work you finished five or more years ago? Repointing looks fine on day one. Five winters is the honest test.
Grant funding

Masonry conservation is eligible under every active municipal heritage grant program in Ontario. The largest published amounts are Hamilton at $150,000, Ottawa at $35,000 for large projects, Brantford at $20,000 and Oakville and Kitchener at $15,000.

Across Ontario

Region pages

Related heritage trades

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All heritage service pages · Grants by municipality