Masonry Contractors in Clarksville, IN

George Rogers Clark founded Clarksville in 1783, and the town calls itself the oldest American town in the former Northwest Territory. Yet most homes that call masonry contractors in Clarksville today are far younger than that history suggests. The Great Flood of 1937 left much of the town underwater for more than three weeks, and the old town was largely destroyed and rebuilt under a new plan. Then the postwar housing boom took Clarksville from about 2,400 people in 1940 to about 22,000 by 2000. The 2020 census counted 22,333 residents and 10,033 housing units.

A town of postwar houses

That growth curve tells us what most Clarksville houses are: homes from the late 1940s through the 1970s, many of them brick or brick-front ranches, plus newer subdivisions. Masonry from those decades holds up well, but after 50 to 75 years it shows predictable wear. We see cracked chimney crowns and loose top courses, mortar washing out of the joints under gutters, brick steps that have separated from the house, and block foundation walls with horizontal cracks where soil pressure has pushed in.

A horizontal crack in a block foundation wall is the one to take seriously. It usually means the wall is bowing from soil and water pressure. We look at grading, downspouts and drainage first, then recommend repair or partial rebuild of the wall.

Sitting on a famous limestone

Clarksville is home to the Falls of the Ohio State Park, which Wikipedia says holds the world's largest exposed Devonian fossil bed, the remains of a coral reef about 386 million years old. That same limestone ridge created the falls that made the Louisville area a settlement in the first place. For homeowners it is mostly a curiosity, but it is a reminder that the river bottom here is built on layers of rock, sand and gravel, and lots near the river behave very differently from lots on higher ground.

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Flood zones and new masonry

Clark County Planning and Zoning administers floodplain permits for the county, and its rules say floodway sites need an Indiana DNR permit or approval letter. For houses, the lowest floor in a floodplain must be 2 feet above base flood elevation, and accessory buildings over 400 square feet need a variance if they are not elevated. Before we design a large masonry structure or a wall near the river, we check whether the lot is mapped and who reviews it.

Brick chimneys and steps

Many Clarksville ranches have a single brick chimney that was built with the house and has not been touched since. The crown is often a thin mortar wash that cracks within a few winters, letting water into the stack. We replace it with a proper crown that overhangs the brick, add a cap and repoint the top courses. Front steps get a similar look: we check the footing, because a step with no real foundation will keep dropping no matter how many times the cracks are filled.

Services in Clarksville

• Brick repair and tuckpointing
• Chimney crowns, caps and rebuilds
• Stone and veneer for fronts, columns and walls
• Retaining walls and landscape walls
• Block foundation and wall repair
• Masonry steps and porches

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