Masonry Contractor in Edinburg, TX - Brick and Mortar Repair That Blends In

The City of Edinburg's Building Safety Department issues permits for new construction, alterations, repairs and demolition, and it handles the plan review and inspections for that work. Repairs fall under the same office as new building, so a repair job can need a permit too. When yours does, that paperwork is ours to handle.

You apply through Citizen Self-Service, the city's online permit portal, where you can submit a permit, finish issuance, schedule inspections and get results at any hour, any day of the week. Some projects that may need site plan or plat review, the city's look at the lot and how it's laid out, first need a meeting with Planning & Zoning before the application goes in. On our jobs we file it, so you don't have to learn the portal.

The general contractor requests each inspection, giving the city the permit number, company name, phone number, inspection type and project address. On our jobs that's us. Any re-inspection fee has to be paid before the city will schedule a re-inspection, which is one more reason I'd rather check the work twice before we call for one.

The city lists the International Building Code and International Residential Code as its adopted building codes, along with matching plumbing, mechanical, energy and fire codes. For masonry, that matters most on new walls, footings and fireplaces, where plan review checks the drawings and the inspections check the work in place.

Usually age and water, because mortar wears down as it soaks and dries over the years, and it goes faster where a sprinkler hits the wall or a downspout empties beside it. An old patch done with mortar harder than the brick makes it worse, since the brick ends up taking the damage instead of the joint. If the brick is sound, repointing the joints with a matched mix is the fix, and good brick should just be left alone.

The cost comes down to how much brick, block or stone the job takes, how far the damage runs and how closely the new work has to match the old. Access matters too, like a chimney two stories up, and so does whether the city requires a permit and inspections. I give you your own number after I've seen the job, because a crumbling joint can turn out to be a loose course once I'm looking at it up close.