Brick Masonry
New brick walls, veneer, columns, porches and piers for homes and small commercial buildings. We look at the job and put the quote in writing.
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About half of Gettysburg's homes were built in 1939 or earlier. Across Adams County, fewer than one home in five is that old. In brick that age, mortar joints wear thin, chimney crowns crack and front steps settle. Winter pushes water into every open joint, and the shale ground under much of the borough holds it there.
Steven Rigg Masonry serves Gettysburg as part of our service area, about 40 miles around Mechanicsburg. We repoint and rebuild chimneys on Gettysburg homes and cut out failed joints on brick and stone walls. We also rebuild front steps and walks. Call or text (717) 608-2175 with the address and a photo. We look at the job first, then the quote goes in writing.
Tell us about the chimney, wall, steps or patio and where it is. We look at the job and put the quote in writing.
Gettysburg is the Adams County seat, and its center is old. The borough's own history page counts about 450 buildings in town by 1860. The Dobbin House Tavern dates to 1776. The railroad station on Carlisle Street opened in 1859 and was restored in 2006. The blocks off the Square along Baltimore, Carlisle, Chambersburg and York Streets are lined with brick from that era.
Census figures put the median home here at a 1942 build, and about one home in six shares a wall with its neighbor. Rowhouses and twins like these carry shared chimneys, party walls and long runs of brick steps along the sidewalk. The brick itself was often fired softer than modern brick, so it depends on a mortar that is softer still.
That is why repointing old Gettysburg brick is a matching job, not a patching job. New mortar has to match the old in strength, color and joint shape, or the brick wears instead of the joint. We cut failed joints out to a sound depth and fill them in lifts. On a facade in the historic district, the joint profile matters as much as the color.
The borough runs one Consolidated Land Use Permit. Its permits page says the permit is required for all proposed projects in the borough. The borough enforces the state Uniform Construction Code through the Pennsylvania Municipal Code Alliance. Projects exempt from that code are handled in house by the Planning Department. Exterior work needs a simple plot plan with distances to the property lines.
The Gettysburg Historic District adds a second step. Exterior work visible from a public street or alley needs Historic Architectural Review Board approval first. That holds even when no permit is required. The board applies the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, there is no fee for the review, and Borough Council makes the final decision.
Stormwater has its own form. New impervious surface of 800 square feet or less takes a minor stormwater permit. The borough counts sidewalks and stone walkways as impervious. Anything larger needs engineered plans. Adams County also asks for a property improvement permit once a project passes a set cost. We point you to the Planning Department at 59 East High Street, and the office answers the questions for your lot.
Most of the borough is mapped as urban land, but the natural soils underneath are shale. The federal soil survey names Lehigh channery silt loam, a moderately well to somewhat poorly drained soil. It also names Klinesville channery silt loam, a shallow red shale with bedrock 10 to 20 inches down. Croton silt loam sits in the low spots and is rated poorly drained, and Bowmansville silt loam lines the stream flats.
The same survey rates frost action as high on about one fifth of the borough's area, the largest share among the towns we serve. Wet ground that freezes and thaws lifts steps, walks and patio bases a little each winter. A patio or walk here needs a compacted stone base that drains. Steps and walls need footings set below the frost line your codes office specifies.
Water runs toward Rock Creek on the eastern edge of town, which drains to the Monocacy and the Potomac rather than the Susquehanna. Stevens Run and Tiber Creek cross the borough itself. A small share of the borough sits in a mapped flood zone. Check any address on FEMA's flood map service before planning a wall or patio near a stream.
Chimneys take the worst of the weather here. We see cracked crowns, open joints near the top and spalled brick where water froze inside it. We repoint sound chimneys, pour a new crown that sheds water, and rebuild from the roofline when the brick is past saving. On a shared chimney between two rowhouses, we plan the staging with both owners in mind.
Front steps along Gettysburg's sidewalks settle and pull away from the house as the ground under them moves. We rebuild loose and broken brick on steps and porches, reset treads, and set new steps on a proper footing. For walls and foundations with wide open joints, our tuckpointing on older brick starts with a mortar match.
We work the same way on the newer homes off the main streets and around Gettysburg College, the National Military Park and the Eisenhower site. If you are not sure which page fits the job, start with our masonry contractor in Mechanicsburg overview, or send a photo by text. We look at every job before the quote goes in writing.
Communities and areas we serve around Gettysburg: Lincoln Square, Baltimore Street, Carlisle Street, Chambersburg Street, York Street, East High Street, Gettysburg College, the Gettysburg Railroad Station, the Dobbin House Tavern, Gettysburg National Military Park, Eisenhower National Historic Site, Rock Creek.
Gettysburg ZIP codes served: 17325.
Gettysburg is part of our service area. We look at the job first, then put the quote in writing.
(717) 608-2175 New brick walls, veneer, columns, porches and piers for homes and small commercial buildings. We look at the job and put the quote in writing.
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Natural stone walls and stone veneer for homes and small commercial buildings. We also face foundations and chimney rebuilds in stone.
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Concrete block foundations and basement walls for additions and garages, plus freestanding garden walls. We also repair block walls with cracked or broken block.
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We grind out failed mortar and repoint brick and stone with new mortar matched to the old. We do this work on walls, foundations, steps and facades around Mechanicsburg.
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We repoint chimneys and repair or replace cracked crowns. When the top is too far gone, we rebuild it from the roofline in brick or stone veneer.
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We repair cracked and spalling brick, loose steps, rusted lintels and damaged block and stone. We find the cause first, then match the repair to the wall.
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We build brick paver and flagstone patios on a compacted stone base with firm edging. Each one is pitched so rain runs away from the house.
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We build brick and stone walkways, front steps, porch steps, stoops and landings around Mechanicsburg. Old steps that have sunk or pulled away from the house get rebuilt on a new footing.
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We build and repair retaining walls in block and natural stone, plus segmental walls, around Mechanicsburg and the Harrisburg area. Each wall sits on a footing or a compacted gravel pad, with drainage behind it.
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We build outdoor kitchens in masonry: grill islands faced in brick or stone, and brick pizza ovens. You pick the grill, and we build each opening to fit it.
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We build outdoor fireplaces and masonry fire pits in brick and stone. Seat walls around the fire give everyone a place to sit.
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Concrete footings and pads poured for the masonry that sits on them. We also pour steps and small patios when you ask, and we repair walk sections.
Learn MoreReal reviews of our masonry work, 3 reviews on Google.
Fastest company to get back to me, as well as educate me on the process behind building up a brick step up to the front door. I found that very beneficial, and added a sense of security and i always stand behind anyone who is that confident in their work, as well as going above and beyond!!!
Efficient, quick, and on time, rain played a factor but these guys didn’t let that affect them, stayed on the timeline they gave me and crushed it, the work speaks for itself
Steven got us scheduled very quickly and gave us a quote! He was very honest about the work we needed done and pointed us in the right direction for how it should be done. The finished project looked great! We would definitely recommend Steven and are very happy with his work. Thank you Steven!
A few of the questions we hear most around Gettysburg. If yours is not here, call or text and ask.
Tell us what needs building or fixing and the town it is in, and text us photos if you like. Call or text (717) 608-2175 or use the form, and we will get back to you.
Tell us about the chimney, wall, steps or patio and where it is. We look at the job and put the quote in writing.