Masonry Contractors to Masonry Repair
Alamo Masonry Repair (AMR) began as a local masonry contractor performing new construction and specializing in custom stone works building
patios, waterfalls, archways, retaining walls, fireplaces, and other new masonry structures including brick and stone homes and commercial
block buildings with brick and stone veneer. Around '97 or '98 Alamo Masonry Repair started to lean away from the new construction and specialize
in repair of masonry cracks and damage as we saw the need for masonry repair services that focused on the details and made a true effort to do
masonry repair right, and not just a patch over the cracks. When we specialized in masonry repair, we changed our name to this focus. As with any
major transition, it was not easy focusing on masonry repair. We had a lot to learn.
Matching Mortar for Masonry Repair
We quickly realized that there was far more to
matching mortar for masonry repair than just adding some pigment to color the mortar.
What we found is that most mortars had faded or darkened from their base tone of grey or white. This seemed easy enough to compensate and perform
the masonry repairs, but we quickly found problems with the masonry repair industry standard of mixing some from a bag of grey mortar and some
from a bag of white mortar to adjust this tone. While the blending of grey and white is the only way to match this tone, Alamo Masonry Repair
learned that we could not do this with the pre-mixed bags of mortar without changing the ratio of binding materials and mortar type. This was
evident in changes of color and hardness in one batch to the next on the same masonry repair project where we knew that we had measured the
exact same amounts from each container.
When we found this, we began research into how this could happen, and the answer was simple. The binding
materials have dramatically different weights, and when placed into a bucket and vibrated in transport, these materials separated into layers
inside the bucket that we could not see. These studies led us into other research to better improve the industry of masonry repair, but
we identified that to blend the grey and white tones you must mix the binding materials in proper proportions for the mortar type ratio on your
own and not use pre-mixed bags to blend.
As Alamo Masonry Repair (AMR) continued to research, I was reminded of my formal studies in chemistry and lab works. I had finally found a way
to apply the things learned in school to the career I grew up in.
Masonry Repair Services
Alamo Masonry Repair began offering
mortar analysis and matching services
to our customers to accurately identify the mortar type and compressive strength of their mortar in addition to the color matching services.
Over the next ten years, we became not only the first to specialize in nothing but masonry repair, but as we gained competition, we became the
most trusted name in masonry repair due to the practice of matching mortars completely and the professional masonry repair services we provided.
While the goal of Alamo Masonry Repair was to provide quality masonry repair, we also wanted to improve the industry and provide all customers
the highest level of quality for masonry repair, and realized this was not
possible on our own. We could only train so many crews to do masonry
repair the right way. So in an effort to reach more customers and provide them the best in masonry repair, we opened our lab services to our
competitors and homeowners. This quickly took hold, but it began to create a conflict to compete in the local masonry repair industry.
Masonry Repair in Dallas Fort Worth
This led Alamo Masonry Repair to change our name to AMR Labs, release our masonry repair training
manual and bags of custom made premixed pointing
mortar to the public, and step back and out of onsite masonry repair services allowing us to provide AMR products and services nationally. We
have leased our website for local masonry repair in the Dallas Fort Worth area to a young promising business that seems to put forth the effort
to providing high quality masonry repair services and competitive pricing.
For masonry repair services in the Dallas Fort Worth area, visit:
http://dfwbrickrepair.com and request an estimate.
We provide testing and matching masonry repair services across the U.S.
call:
(817) 366-8376
*AMR Labs*
1525 Corona Dr.
Granbury, TX 76048
Or email us:
mortarlab@gmail.com
When Should I Get A Service Professional?
There are a few basic reasons for using the traditional methods as opposed to the new
methods of repair. All of them are focused around your safety. The biggest
differences between the traditional methods and the new ones are the use of
saws. Through the use of power saws to remove the damaged mortar, we found
better techniques for performing the repairs. They are much more dangerous to
use than the traditional tools. With the saws, there are many new concerns.
The first concern is the risk of electrical shock or electrocution. These saws
cannot be used if there is water in the area. The next issue is their ability
to cause a large amount of damage quickly to the brick or to your person. These
saws can get out of control quickly if you are unfamiliar with their operation.
For these reasons, we will guide you through the traditional methods of repair,
but we are going to add in the new techniques that have been learned along the
way to current practices.
There are times that you may need to use a Brick Repair service professional, or you may simply desire to use one. If you have a large amount of work to be done, this could take a considerable amount of time. In this circumstance, you may wish to have a service professional perform these repairs because they will have the power tools required to complete all of the repairs in a much smaller amount of time than it would take to chisel them out. Other times that you will need a service professional to complete your repair needs are for specialized projects that can become very dangerous such as archway repairs, shifting or stabilizing walls, or stabilizing and repairing wing-walls and columns. You should also use a service professional to perform any acid washing procedures that you may need.
There are several benefits to having the brick repairs performed by a service professional. The first is simply that you don’t have to get your hands dirty. The second is much more important. The reduced risks to yourself by using a service professional. You will not have the risk of being injured while completing your repairs. In addition, the liabilities of any accidents such as a falling brick arch, falling brick wall, or other forms of damage and injuries are passed over to the contractor whom is working on the project. For this reason, quality contractors maintain a reasonable level of liability insurance, which protects their customers. Due to the various expenses that contractors must pay, and tools that are used, they generally cost a minimum of $900-$1200 per day for these repairs. These prices may vary some, but can’t go much lower and still provide the benefits to you. For this reason, I have included a link to help you to find a quality service professional near you.
AMR Provides Brick Repair services in Dallas and Ft Worth.
Copyright © 2007 James R. Nech/Alamo Masonry. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED