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 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. Six months later the sill plate behind the brick is wet and nobody connects the two.
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 is the fastest way to spall a brick face off.
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 brick that has lost its face cannot be repaired. What matters is stopping the cause before the wall follows.
Read itSeptember 1, 2026
What Goes Wrong With a Brick Chimney
A chimney has no shelter from any direction, which is why it is usually the first masonry on a house to need work.
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
Brick is far softer than it looks. High pressure erodes the fired face permanently, and it cannot be put back.
Read itSeptember 1, 2026
Stone Veneer and Where It Goes Wrong
Veneer failures are nearly always water management failures behind the stone, and they show up years later as rot.
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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