Masonry Contractors in Butchertown, KY

Butchertown is one of Louisville's oldest neighborhoods. Its first homes were laid out in the 1820s along the Louisville-to-Lexington turnpike, here called Story Avenue, and Bourbon Stockyards opened in 1836. When Beargrass Creek was rerouted through the area in the 1850s, it drew butchers and stockyards, and the neighborhood got its name. Masonry contractors in Butchertown today mostly work on the houses that grew up around that trade: shotgun houses, small vernacular cottages and the brick and stone buildings of the old industries.

A local preservation district since 2003

Butchertown was designated a local preservation district in 2003, and it is one of eight in Louisville Metro. The city's page says most homes are simple vernacular buildings, often with Eastlake details, with Queen Anne and Greek Revival houses mixed in. In the Residential Character Area, nearly all exterior alterations generally need a Certificate of Appropriateness; in the Industrial Character Area, only some projects do. Office of Planning staff or the Butchertown Architectural Review Committee approves them, using guidelines based on the Secretary of the Interior's Standards. The Butchertown Historic District is also on the National Register, listed in 1976 and expanded in 2019.

The 1937 flood and old foundations

Wikipedia says the Ohio River flood of 1937 destroyed many Butchertown homes and contributed to the neighborhood's decline. The houses that survived often still show water damage in their foundations and lower walls: soft and eroded mortar near grade, salt bloom, crumbling brick at the bottom courses and stone foundations with missing joints. We repair these with mortar softer than the brick, so the wall can dry out, and avoid hard coatings that trap moisture.

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Shotgun houses and their masonry

Shotgun houses, like the Thomas Edison House on Washington Street, are narrow and deep, often set close to the sidewalk and to their neighbors. That means tight access, shared or nearly shared walls and front steps right at the public walk. Typical work includes:

• Repointing front and side walls with matched soft mortar
• Rebuilding small chimneys that have lost their tops
• Resetting stone or brick steps at the sidewalk
• Repairing brick or stone foundations and piers
• Fixing lintels and sills where water has gotten in

We plan staging carefully on narrow lots so neighbors and the sidewalk stay clear.

Industrial brick

The 1914 Beaux Arts Stockyard Exchange Building and other industrial buildings show how much heavy brick and stone was built here. Industrial masonry has its own issues, such as large wall areas, parapets and old openings that were bricked in. We handle repointing and brick repair on these as well, following the Industrial Character Area guidelines where they apply.

Why soft mortar matters here

Old Butchertown brick is softer than modern brick, and so was the mortar it was laid in. When an old wall is repointed with hard portland cement mortar, the joints stop moving and the brick takes the stress, so faces crack off. Metro's masonry guidelines call for mortar equal to or softer than the original. We test and match the mortar, and repoint only the joints that need it.

What we do in Butchertown

• Historic repointing with soft mortar
• Foundation and pier repair
• Chimney repair and rebuilding
• Steps and stoops
• Brick replacement with matched brick
• Industrial brick repair

Call (502) 443-8557 to set up a visit in Butchertown.