Kiln & Trowel Masonry Co. | Pittsburgh Tuckpointing, Brick, Stone & Chimney Masons

Name: Kiln & Trowel Masonry Co.
Telephone: (412) 555-0187

Mason finishing a fresh concrete surface by hand

Why Kiln & Trowel

Anyone can slap mortar in a gap. Matching it is the trade.

My grandfather started laying brick in Lawrenceville in 1978 with a hand trowel and a coffee can of nails, and the rule he taught my father — who taught me — never changed: you match the mortar before you touch the wall. Wrong color, wrong hardness, wrong joint profile, and you’ve just put a scar on a hundred-year-old building that everyone on the block will notice.

Forty-eight years later we’re still a family crew out of the same Butler Street shop, and most weeks we’re turning down more chimney and tuckpointing work than we take, because we’d rather do six jobs right than twelve jobs fast. If a wall just needs repointing, we’ll tell you that instead of selling you a rebuild.

Mortar mixed and colored to match existing joints, not just filled
Every mason on site trained through a multi-year apprenticeship, not a weekend crew
Lime-based mortar on pre-1930 brick — portland cement mortar cracks old brick from the inside
Free honest assessments — repointing beats rebuilding when the bones are sound

Services

Brick, block, stone, and the flatwork that ties it together.

Tuckpointing & Repointing

We grind out failed mortar joint by joint, match the color and profile of what’s already there, and pack it tight by hand — the difference between a wall that sheds water and one that doesn’t.

Brick & Block Masonry

New walls, additions, and garden walls laid course by course with proper ties and flashing — plus spot repairs for cracked, spalling, or bowed brick before it becomes a bigger job.

Chimney Repair & Rebuild

Crown repair, flashing, liner issues, and full rebuilds above the roofline. We catch the moisture problem that’s actually eating your chimney, not just tuckpoint over it and hope.

Stone Veneer & Retaining Walls

Dry-stacked and mortared fieldstone, cultured stone veneer, and engineered retaining walls with real drainage behind them — not just stone glued to a hillside that’s going to move.

Driveways, Walkways & Patios

Forms set true, base compacted, and concrete screeded and hand-finished — broom, exposed aggregate, or a stamped pattern that sits comfortably next to the brickwork.

Historic & Commercial Restoration

Storefronts, church facades, and pre-1930 rowhouses need lime mortar and a mason who knows why — we work with property managers and preservation boards across the city.

What to expect

Work you can watch happen the right way.

1
Walkthrough & assessment

We look at the actual failure — moisture path, mortar hardness, movement cracks — and leave you a written scope and estimate, usually within a few days.
2
Match the mortar

We test and mix a sample against your existing joints for color, sand, and lime content before a single stone or brick gets touched.
3
Set & tool

Brick, block, or stone set by hand and joints tooled to match the surrounding profile — concave, struck, or raked, whatever’s already on the wall.
4
Clean & walk-through

Excess mortar brushed off before it cures on the face, site cleaned, and we walk the job with you before we call it done.

Customer reviews

Pittsburgh has a lot of old brick, and it shows fast when a mason cuts corners.

“Our Shadyside rowhouse is from 1911 and the front wall was crumbling in spots. Kiln & Trowel matched the mortar so well you can’t tell where the old work stops and the new work starts. Two other companies wanted to just skim-coat it.”

Denise & Frank Kowalski Homeowners · Shadyside

“They rebuilt our chimney above the roofline in Squirrel Hill after our inspector flagged it during a sale. Showed up on the date they promised, cleaned up every afternoon, and the new crown actually sheds water now instead of pooling.”

Marnie T. Homeowner · Squirrel Hill

“I manage three storefronts on Butler Street and one had a bowing parapet wall. Kiln & Trowel pulled permits, coordinated with the city, and rebuilt it without shutting down the tenant below. Paperwork was clean, no surprises.”

Ray Petrosky Property manager · Lawrenceville

FAQ

Straight answers about masonry and flatwork.

What does tuckpointing cost in Pittsburgh?

Most tuckpointing runs $10–$25 per square foot depending on joint condition, mortar match difficulty, and access — a typical rowhouse front wall lands between $2,500 and $6,000. Full repointing of an older home can run higher if scaffolding is needed.

How much does a chimney rebuild cost?

Rebuilding a chimney above the roofline typically runs $3,500–$9,000 depending on height, brick type, and whether the crown and flashing also need replacing. A crown repair alone is usually $600–$1,500.

Can you actually match old mortar color?

In most cases, yes. We test sand and lime ratios against a sample from your wall before we mix a full batch. On very old lime mortar it can take two or three test batches to get right — we won’t start the real work until the sample dries to a match.

Brick veneer vs. real stone veneer — what’s the difference in cost?

Manufactured stone veneer typically runs $12–$18 installed per square foot; natural fieldstone runs $25–$40 per square foot because of weight, labor, and cutting. Both outlast vinyl or wood facing by decades if the drainage behind them is done correctly.

Do you work through the Pittsburgh winter?

We mason roughly March through November. Mortar cures unreliably below about 40°F without cold-weather additives and hot boxes, which add cost and aren’t worth it for most residential jobs. Get on the spring list in January and you’re near the front of the line.

Get your free written estimate.

Send a few photos of the wall, chimney, or driveway, or book a walkthrough — either way you get a written scope that says exactly what we’re doing and why. If it just needs repointing, we’ll say so.

(412) 555-0187 Mon–Fri 7am–5pm · Sat by appointment PA Home Improvement Contractor #PA047231 · Bonded & Insured

Masonry set the way it used to be built.