Masonry Contractors in Shively, KY

Shively's history is written in brick warehouses and distillery buildings, and its homes have a lot of brick too. When residents look for masonry contractors in Shively, the work is usually on houses that have stood for 60 years or more. The city finalized its incorporation on May 23, 1938, and covers 4.58 square miles with 15,636 residents and 6,935 housing units at the 2020 census. We repoint brick, repair chimneys, rebuild block walls and steps and install stone and veneer on homes across the city.

Distillery town roots

Eight distilleries opened near Shively after Prohibition ended. Rising taxes and changing tastes closed most of them by the late 1960s, but Brown-Forman's Early Times distillery still operates in the city, and the former Stitzel-Weller distillery now hosts Bulleit Bourbon and joined the Kentucky Bourbon Trail in 2014. Those industries brought steady jobs, and with them houses for workers and their families on the streets between the plants and Dixie Highway.

What we see on Shively houses

Homes from the mid-1900s here tend to have a few masonry issues in common:

• Chimney crowns that were thin mortar caps and have cracked, letting water down the flue walls
• Mortar loss on the side of the house that takes the weather or sits under an overflowing gutter
• Brick steps with loose caps and treads, or steps that have sunk away from the door
• Block foundations with cracked joints and damp spots
• Old garden walls and planters that have heaved or tipped

None of that is unusual for a house this age, and most of it is repairable in a day or two.

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Fixing water at the source

Masonry rarely fails on its own. It fails because water keeps getting in. Before we repair a stoop or a section of brick, we look at where the water is coming from: a downspout dumping against the foundation, soil sloping toward the house, a missing chimney cap or a cracked sill. Fixing those with you means the repair lasts. Where foundation walls are damp, we avoid coatings that trap moisture in the wall and instead repair joints and manage the water outside.

Permits for bigger projects

Shively is its own city inside Louisville Metro. Metro's residential permit guidance says that property owners in the smaller cities may need extra approvals from their city, and Metro itself requires a building permit for retaining walls over 4 feet tall. For larger walls, porches or rebuilt steps, we check what the city and Metro each need before we schedule.

Planning a visit in Shively

When we come out, we walk the whole house, not just the spot you called about. A cracked stoop is often a sign of a downspout problem that is also wearing out the foundation joints around the corner. We note everything we see, then give you a written estimate that separates what needs doing now from what can wait a few years. That way you can plan repairs around your budget without guessing which ones matter most. On older Shively homes, we also check the chimney from the roof, since crown and flashing damage is easy to miss from the ground.

Masonry services in Shively

• Tuckpointing and brick repair
• Chimney repair, crowns and caps
• Block foundation and wall repair
• Retaining and landscape walls
• Stone and brick veneer
• Masonry steps and stoops

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