Full Exterior Masonry
Brick and stone veneer on new homes and additions for York Region builders, and stone re-facing for homeowners.
York Region
Masonry in Newmarket and Aurora
Masonry in Newmarket and Aurora for homeowners, builders and general contractors. Brick and stone exteriors, front porches, flagstone, chimney repairs and tuckpointing, on Victorian brick in the heritage districts and on new homes and additions alike.
5.0
15 Google reviews
20+
Years laying brick and stone
Insured
Liability and WSIB coverage
Free
On-site estimates across Southern Ontario
Newmarket and Aurora masonry
Two towns, one run of work.
Newmarket and Aurora sit side by side on Yonge Street, and for a mason they have a lot in common: historic brick cores protected by heritage conservation districts, established neighbourhoods around them, and steady new construction and infill. We treat them as one area because our crew does, often working in both in the same season.
A good share of our work here is for builders and general contractors, alongside homeowners who want a front porch rebuilt, a house re-faced in stone, or old brick repointed properly. Both towns are under an hour's drive from our shop in Barrie, and they are one of the three areas where we spend most of our year.
Services
Masonry services in Newmarket and Aurora.
Flagstone
Front walkways, porch surfaces and pool surrounds, with the base compacted for the sandy ground of the moraine.
Front Porches
Settled landings and cracked steps on newer homes, and porch work that suits the house on heritage streets.
Chimney Repairs and Rebuilds
Crowns, flashing and rebuilds on older brick chimneys near both main streets.
Tuckpointing
Lime mortar repointing on Victorian and Edwardian brick, matched to the original joint.
Brick and Block Masonry
Block foundations, brick piers, garages and new structural openings for builders and homeowners.
Heritage districts
Heritage brick in Newmarket and Aurora.
Newmarket's Lower Main Street South Heritage Conservation District was designated in 2013 and covers 72 properties along the historic main street. Once the Stickwood brickyard opened in 1867, most new buildings on Main Street went up in brick, much of it from that yard, which ran until 1917. Alterations in the district need a heritage permit, and the town asks owners to speak with its heritage planner before masonry work.
Aurora's Northeast Old Aurora Heritage Conservation District covers about 20 hectares northeast of Yonge Street and Wellington Street East. Its homes were built from the 1860s to the 1930s, in styles from Ontario Victorian vernacular and Queen Anne revival to Edwardian and Craftsman, including some early decorative concrete block. Exterior alterations there need approval from the town, and tree protection rules can apply, which matters when a porch or walkway needs digging.
In practice that means old, soft brick and lime mortar that call for a matching mortar rather than a hard modern mix, and paperwork before the work. We build both into the schedule.
Local conditions
Ground and weather in York Region.
Aurora and the country north of it sit on the Oak Ridges Moraine, a ridge of sand and gravel left by the glaciers. Sandy, gravelly ground drains well under a patio or a wall, but it has to be compacted carefully, and land near streams and wetlands on the moraine can carry conservation setbacks that limit where you can dig.
Winters here bring repeated freezing and thawing and a lot of road and driveway salt. That combination is hardest on porch landings, steps and the bottom few courses of a wall, which is why so much of our work in both towns is porches, steps and repointing low on the wall.
On newer homes the common problems are different: builder porches that have settled, decorative chimneys without a proper crown, and additions that need brick matched to a house built a few decades ago.
Questions
Newmarket and Aurora masonry questions.
Yes. We treat them as one service area and often have jobs in both at once. Estimates in either town are free and on site.
If the property is in Newmarket's Lower Main Street South district or Aurora's Northeast Old Aurora district, or is individually designated, exterior alterations need heritage approval, and some repairs are treated differently from alterations. The rules differ between the two towns, so contact the town's heritage staff with your address first. We can supply the mortar and material details they ask for.
We match mortar colour, sand texture, hardness and joint profile, and source brick as close to the original as supply allows. On older, softer brick we use a lime mortar so the repair does not damage the brick around it.
Repointing is priced by the area of wall, how deep the mortar has failed, the height and access, and how closely a heritage mortar has to be matched. We look at the wall first and give you a fixed written price.
Yes, from new crowns, caps and flashing to full rebuilds from the roof line, with brick and mortar matched to the house.
Newmarket and Aurora are roughly 55 to 60 kilometres from Barrie, an easy drive for us, and they are one of our three main service areas. Nearby we also cover King, Schomberg, Bradford, Bolton and Vaughan.
Nearby
Around Newmarket and Aurora.
Around York Region we also cover King, Schomberg, Bradford, Bolton and Vaughan. All fifteen of our Google reviews are on the home page, word for word.
Free on-site estimates
Tell us what you are building.
Call or send a few details. We come out, measure, and put a fixed price and a start window in writing. Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm.