Brick Replacement in New Lenox, IL — Matching the Brick on a 1990s–2000s Home When the Blend Is Discontinued

Emerald Masonry LLC provides brick replacement in New Lenox, IL for the brick veneer homes that fill the village's 1990s and 2000s subdivisions, as well as older homes near the village centre. Replacing a damaged brick is straightforward. Making the new brick disappear into the wall is the hard part, because most New Lenox homes were built with brick blends that are no longer made. We cut out spalled, cracked and impact-damaged brick, match the brick and mortar as closely as the market allows, and check what is behind the wall before we close it up. Family-owned, licensed, bonded and insured, with free on-site assessments: (708) 288-1696.

On a New Lenox home, a good brick replacement starts with matching, not mortar. The brick on most subdivisions here is a discontinued blend, so the match has to be found, not ordered.

Why brick replacement in New Lenox is mostly a matching job

When we searched for brick replacement in New Lenox, the results were brick supply yards. That tells you what homeowners are really trying to do: find brick that matches. The yards can help, but on a 20- to 30-year-old house, the exact blend usually is not available any more. Manufacturers change clay sources, kilns and colour ranges, and blends built for one subdivision are often retired within a few years.

Here are the matching routes we use, and when each one makes sense:

| Matching route | Best for | Watch out for | |---|---|---| | Closest current blend from a local brick yard | Larger areas, whole sections | Colour range, size and texture can differ slightly | | Leftover brick from the builder (garage, attic, shed) | Small to medium repairs | Often only a few dozen units | | Salvaged brick of the same blend | Medium repairs where current brick is off | Takes time to source | | Borrowed brick from a hidden wall | Small, highly visible repairs | The hidden spot is then patched with the closest current brick | | Blending several units together | Multi-colour blends | Must follow the original mix ratio |

Signs you need brick replacement

• Spalled bricks with faces flaking or popping off, often low on the wall or near downspouts.
• Cracked bricks at garage door piers, corners and around windows.
• Impact damage from cars, snow blowers, lawn equipment or a fallen limb.
• Bricks damaged by other work: window or door replacement, new vents or a removed fixture.
• Rust-stained or broken bricks above a window or garage door, a sign of a corroding steel lintel.

Risks of waiting

A spalled or cracked brick takes in water. On veneer, that water should drain to the weep holes, but each freeze-thaw cycle breaks the damaged brick further and can spread to its neighbours. Broken brick at garage piers and corners can loosen and fall. Replacing a handful of bricks now is far cheaper than rebuilding a pier or a section of wall later.

How we replace brick in New Lenox

1. Diagnose the cause. Salt, splash, impact, a rusting lintel or blocked weeps. We fix the cause so the new brick lasts.
2. Find the match. We pull a sample, compare current blends, look for leftover or salvaged brick and show you the options against the wall.
3. Cut out damaged units carefully, removing mortar around each brick without disturbing neighbouring brick, ties or flashing.
4. Check behind the brick for wall ties, flashing and weep holes, and correct what we can while the wall is open.
5. Set the new brick fully bedded in mortar matched in colour, then tool the joints to the existing profile.
6. Clean and review the area with you once the mortar has set.

Materials we use

Matched face brick from current, leftover or salvaged stock; Type N mortar coloured to match the existing joints; corrosion-resistant wall ties where old ties have failed; and new flashing and weep vents where we find them missing. We do not use grey bagged mortar for coloured joints.

What drives the cost of brick replacement in New Lenox

• Number of bricks and whether they are scattered or in one area.
• Matching difficulty: a current blend, salvaged brick or borrowing original brick.
• Height and access, from ground level to second-storey or chimney brick.
• Hidden work found behind the brick, such as a rusted lintel, missing flashing or failed ties.
• Related repairs like tuckpointing nearby joints or resealing windows.

We give a written, itemized estimate after a free on-site assessment.

New Lenox local context

New Lenox grew fast in the 1990s and 2000s, and much of the village is brick veneer homes from that period, along Route 30, Cedar Road and Laraway Road, with older homes near the village centre. Those houses are now old enough for spalled brick at garage piers, cracked brick around windows and the first rusting lintels. If your mortar or chimney is the bigger issue, see our New Lenox tuckpointing, New Lenox brick repair and New Lenox chimney repair pages. Nearby, we also serve Mokena and Frankfort.

Why New Lenox homeowners call Emerald

Emerald Masonry LLC is a family-owned masonry contractor serving Chicago and the Chicagoland suburbs, led by career masons with decades of hands-on Chicagoland experience, in brick replacement and repair, tuckpointing and repointing, chimney repair, lintel and limestone sill repair, foundation masonry, caulking, sealing, and residential, commercial and historic masonry restoration. Free on-site assessments — call (708) 288-1696.

• Established 2024, led by career masons who do the work themselves.
• Licensed, bonded and insured; certificate of insurance on request.
• You see the match first. Sample bricks go against the wall before any are set.
• We fix the cause, not just the broken brick.

For more detail, read why new brick looks different at first, salvaged brick sourcing and matching and what causes brick to spall. Related services: brick replacement, brick repair and lintel repair.

Damaged brick in New Lenox? Call (708) 288-1696 or book a free on-site assessment.