Restoration Register

Heritage masonry contractors in Toronto and the GTA

Repointing a Victorian brick house with the wrong mortar is the most common and most expensive mistake made on heritage property in Ontario. Hard Portland cement mortar does not fail; the brick does, spalling its face off over a decade of freeze-thaw. Every contractor below was listed by at least one independent heritage authority.

Heritage masonry in the GTA is largely soft red and buff brick from the local clay belt, laid in lime mortar, plus rubble stone and Credit Valley sandstone on older and grander buildings. The work that matters: matching mortar by analysis rather than by eye, raking joints by hand instead of with an angle grinder that widens them permanently, sourcing salvaged brick that matches in size and colour, cutting stone dutchman repairs into eroded sills, and rebuilding chimneys above the roofline where the damage usually starts. A mason who quotes repointing by the square foot without asking what the existing mortar is made of is quoting a different job than the one your building needs.

What to ask before you hire

  1. What mortar mix will you use, and how did you arrive at it? A heritage mason will talk about a lime-based mix softer than the brick, not a standard bagged Type N or S.
  2. How will you rake out the old joints? Hand tools, or a small blade with hand finishing. Never a wide angle grinder, which cuts the brick arrises and cannot be undone.
  3. Can you show me a wall you repointed five or more years ago? Bad repointing looks fine on day one. The tell is what it looks like after five winters.
Grant funding

Toronto's Heritage Grant Program covers 50% to $10,000 on residential designated property, with no cap on other property types. Oakville funds to $15,000, Markham to $5,000 and Caledon to $4,000. Mississauga and Vaughan both run programs but do not publish an amount.

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