✓ Fully insured: $2 million liability coverage + WSIB
✓ Fully insured: $2 million liability coverage + WSIB
Cracked brick, crumbling mortar, flaking brick faces, and sagging steps. We repair and repoint brickwork across Mississauga — and tell you straight whether a crack is cosmetic or something worth worrying about.
Call 647-680-7771 — Free QuoteThumbs Up Landscaping provides brick and masonry repair in Mississauga, ON. We repair cracked brickwork, repoint crumbling mortar joints, replace spalled and flaking brick, and rebuild brick steps, porches, planters, and garden walls.
You noticed a crack in the brick. Now you can't stop looking at it.
And the honest answer is that you can't tell from a photo whether it's nothing or something. Most homeowners land in one of two ditches — they ignore a crack that's actually telling them something, or they panic over a hairline that's been there since 1987 and hasn't moved since.
Here's what actually matters: the pattern, the width, and whether it's growing. A fine vertical line in the mortar is a different animal from a stair-step crack marching diagonally across the wall.
We'll come look at it, tell you which one you've got, and only quote work that needs doing. If it's cosmetic, we'll say so.
Mortar is designed to be the weak point — and that's a good thing. Mortar is meant to be softer than the brick so that when the building shifts, the mortar cracks and the brick survives. That's why patching a wall with hard modern cement mortar is such a costly mistake: the next time the wall moves, the brick faces crack instead. Repairing brick well is mostly about using the right mortar.
Not every crack means the same thing. Here's how we triage them on site:
A quick test you can do yourself: put a pencil mark at each end of the crack and date it. If it hasn't moved in six months, it's stable. If it has, call someone.
We don't cosmetically patch a crack we think is structural. Filling a moving crack hides the symptom and the wall keeps moving underneath. If we see stair-step cracking, a widening gap, or brick shearing through the face, we'll tell you it needs a structural opinion first — even though that means we're not the ones invoicing for it that week.
Brick and masonry work on Mississauga homes:
We cut out cracked mortar, rake the joint to proper depth, and repack with mortar matched to your brick and existing joint colour. Cracked brick units are cut out and replaced rather than filled.
Grinding out failed mortar and packing fresh mortar back in. The single highest-value brick repair there is — it stops water at the wall face and typically lasts decades.
Damaged brick cut out individually and replaced with the closest available colour and size match. We place replacements where they're least visible.
Front steps take salt, snow shovels, and constant freeze-thaw. We rebuild loose treads, failing risers, and crumbling porch edges.
Freestanding walls, planters, and low garden walls that have leaned, cracked, or lost their mortar. This is where our landscaping and masonry work overlap most.
When the steel lintel above an opening rusts, it expands and lifts the brick above it. We address the lintel and rebuild the affected coursing — patching the crack alone won't hold.
The brick nearest the ground takes the most water and fails first. We repair and repoint at grade level and address the drainage causing it, since we handle the grading too.
Efflorescence removal and breathable sealer application. Breathable is the key word — a sealer that traps moisture inside the brick accelerates spalling instead of preventing it.
Brick and mortar are porous. They take on water. In Mississauga, that water freezes overnight, expands about 9% as it turns to ice, and pushes the material apart from the inside. Then it thaws, and does it again. We get dozens of these cycles every winter — far more than a steadily cold climate would produce, because our winters keep crossing back and forth over freezing.
Salt spray from the road and salt tracked onto front steps soaks into masonry and crystallizes inside the pores. That's why front steps, porches, and the brick closest to the driveway almost always fail before the rest of the house.
A downspout dumping beside the wall, a garden bed graded toward the house, or a blocked eavestrough overflowing down the brick — these are the quiet causes behind most of the brick damage we see. Fixing the brick without fixing the water means doing it again in five years. We handle the grading and drainage too, so we can fix both.
We see this constantly on older Mississauga homes. Someone repointed with modern high-cement mortar that's harder than the surrounding brick. The wall moves, and because the mortar won't give, the brick cracks instead. The repair caused the damage. Matching mortar hardness to the brick isn't a detail — it's the whole job.
We look at the crack pattern, joint condition, brick face condition, and — importantly — where water is coming from. Photos and measurements so we have a record of the starting point.
Cosmetic, maintenance, or structural. If it's cosmetic we'll tell you it can wait. If it's structural we'll tell you it needs an engineer's opinion before any masonry work is worth doing.
We match the mortar mix to the age and hardness of your brick, and match the colour and joint profile so the repair blends in. A repointing job that looks obviously patched isn't finished work.
Joints raked to proper depth, packed, and tooled. Damaged brick cut out and replaced. Everything done in weather warm enough for the mortar to actually cure.
We flag the drainage issue that caused the damage — downspout, grading, eavestrough — and can fix it in the same visit. Then the site is cleaned and you get after photos.
Cost depends on the size of the area, height and access, whether brick needs replacing or just repointing, and how well the brick can be matched. Typical ranges for Mississauga homes:
All prices are estimates. We'll give you an exact quote after the on-site assessment — free, no obligation.
Plenty of the cracks we get called out to look at are cosmetic and stable. We say so. We'd rather lose one small invoice and be the people you call when something real happens.
Softer than the brick, colour matched, joint profile matched. This is the difference between a repair that disappears and one you notice from the street for the next twenty years.
Most brick damage is a drainage problem wearing a masonry costume. Because we do grading, drainage, and landscaping, we can fix the downspout and the slope that caused the damage — not just the damage.
Brick, chimney, interlocking, walls, steps, and the yard they sit in. One quote, one schedule, one company standing behind all of it.
How much does brick repair cost in Mississauga?
Small crack repairs typically start around $300 to $600. Repointing runs about $12 to $25 per square foot depending on access and joint condition, and individual brick replacement is roughly $25 to $50 per brick. Larger jobs — rebuilding steps, a porch, or a garden wall — are quoted on site. The assessment is free.
Are cracks in brick serious?
It depends on the pattern. Fine vertical cracks in the mortar are usually cosmetic and straightforward to repoint. Stair-step cracks that follow the joints diagonally, cracks wider than about 5 mm, cracks that pass straight through the brick faces, or any crack that's visibly widening can indicate foundation or structural movement. Those need to be assessed before they're patched.
What is repointing and do I need it?
Repointing means grinding out failed mortar between the bricks and packing in fresh mortar. You need it when mortar has receded, gone powdery, or fallen out in places. Simple test: scrape a joint with a key or a screwdriver. If it crumbles away easily, that joint isn't keeping water out anymore and the wall needs repointing.
Why is my brick flaking and crumbling?
That's spalling, and it's caused by water freezing inside the brick. Water soaks in during a mild spell, freezes overnight, expands, and pops the face off. It's usually worst near the ground, under windowsills, and anywhere water sits or splashes. Spalled brick can't be repaired — the affected bricks have to be cut out and replaced.
Can you match my existing brick?
We match as closely as the market allows. Brick colour, size, and texture have changed over the decades, so an exact match on an older Mississauga home isn't always available. We source the nearest match, show it to you before installing, and place replacement brick where it's least visible. Mortar colour is matched too — that makes a bigger visual difference than most people expect.
What time of year can brick repair be done in Mississauga?
April through late October is the reliable window. Mortar needs temperatures consistently above about 5°C to cure properly, so we don't schedule masonry work in freezing conditions. If you find damage in winter, book the assessment right away and schedule the work for spring — that puts you at the front of the queue instead of the back.
How long does brick repair take?
A localized crack repair or small repointing area is usually a single day. A full wall repointing typically takes two to four days depending on size and access. Step and porch rebuilds run two to five days. We give you a realistic timeframe with the quote.
Should I seal my brick after repair?
Only with a breathable sealer, and only if the drainage issue is fixed first. A non-breathable sealer traps moisture inside the brick, and when that trapped water freezes it accelerates spalling — the exact problem you were trying to prevent. If someone offers to waterproof your brick without asking about your downspouts, get a second opinion.
We serve homeowners throughout Mississauga and the surrounding GTA:
Not sure if we cover your area? Call 647-680-7771 — if we can get to you, we will.
Brick repair is part of our masonry work. We also handle:
Send us a photo or book a free on-site look. We'll tell you whether it's cosmetic or worth acting on — and we'll tell you if it's nothing.
Call 647-680-7771Thumbs Up Landscaping · Mississauga, ON · 647-680-7771
Serving Mississauga, Etobicoke, Brampton & the GTA
