Masonry · Nashville, TN
Brick by Brick
Mortar, brick, stone and chimneys in Middle Tennessee: why masonry fails here, how it should be repaired, and what to ask before anyone picks up a trowel.
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Brick and stone advice for Middle Tennessee
Written by Michael Blair, owner of Nashville's Masonry, from the trade’s own practice.
October 19, 2026
Cracked Chimney Crown: Coat It or Recast It?
A crack in the slab on top of a chimney is where most of the damage further down starts. Whether a coating will hold or the crown has to be recast depends on what is under the crack.
Read itOctober 12, 2026
Building an Outdoor Masonry Fireplace in Nashville
An outdoor fireplace is not a fire pit with a tall back. It has a footing, a firebox, a hearth and a chimney, and the residential code puts numbers on every one of them.
Read itOctober 8, 2026
Building a Brick Fire Pit That Lasts in Nashville
Most brick fire pits that crack and crumble were built like a garden wall with a fire in it. The inside, the base and where it sits decide how long one lasts.
Read itSeptember 28, 2026
Masonry Work as the Weather Turns Cold
September and early October are some of the best weeks of the year for masonry here. By November, the forecast decides what can be built and what should wait for spring.
Read itSeptember 21, 2026
The White Stains on Your Brick and What They Mean
Efflorescence is a symptom, not a disease. It tells you water is passing through the masonry, and where it keeps appearing it tells you where the water is getting in.
Read itSeptember 14, 2026
Weep Holes and Why You Should Not Fill Them
Homeowners fill weep holes with caulk to stop drafts and bugs. The water those holes were left to let out still comes through the brick, and now it has no way out.
Read itSeptember 7, 2026
Sealing Brick and Why It Often Backfires
Sealing brick sounds like protection. Applied to the wrong wall with the wrong product, it can hold in enough water to spall the face off a brick.
Read itSeptember 1, 2026
Why Mortar Fails Before the Brick Does
Mortar is designed to fail before the brick. Repointing with modern cement mix on a soft old brick reverses that, and the brick pays.
Read itSeptember 1, 2026
When Brick Faces Start Popping Off
A badly spalled brick is usually cut out and replaced. What matters more is stopping the cause before the rest of the wall follows.
Read itSeptember 1, 2026
What Goes Wrong With a Brick Chimney
A chimney has no shelter from any direction. The crown, the flashing at the roof, the open flue and the mortar up top are the places to watch.
Read itSeptember 1, 2026
Block or Natural Stone for a Retaining Wall
The visible material is the smaller part of the decision. How the wall is drained and reinforced matters far more.
Read itSeptember 1, 2026
Cleaning Brick Without Damaging It
Too much water pressure can etch some brick and wear out lime mortar joints, and a fired face that has been blasted off does not come back.
Read itSeptember 1, 2026
Stone Veneer and Where It Goes Wrong
What a veneered wall needs behind the stone, where the manufacturer puts the base, and the signs we look for when a wall is in trouble.
Read itService area
Masons working throughout Middle Tennessee
Our masons work in Nashville plus 64 more towns spanning 12 counties, and they reach the whole of Middle Tennessee out to about an hour from the city.
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