06
Residential
Brick work, concrete foundations, chimney repair and new construction, paver and concrete patios, walkways, steps, retaining walls, outdoor fireplaces, and paver, asphalt or concrete driveways.
Chapter 01
Work at a house is judged from the street and from the doorstep
Residential masonry has a harder brief than commercial work in one specific way: it is looked at closely, every day, by the people who paid for it. A parking lot is judged on whether it drains and lasts. A front entry is judged on whether the cap overhangs evenly, whether the coursing lines up across the two sides of the steps, and whether the stone matches what is already on the house.
That is why the failures that annoy homeowners most are rarely structural. They are a step riser that is a half inch taller than the others and catches your foot, a pillar cap that overhangs more on one side, a new section of brick that does not match the existing colour, or a patio flag that rocks. All of them are avoidable and all of them come down to setting out and patience rather than materials.
The structural ones still matter, of course. Chimneys, retaining walls and anything carrying load are held to the same standard as our commercial work, because the frost and the water do not care that it is a house.
Stone and timber framed entry portico with bluestone steps and a stacked stone face on a Bergen County home
How we work around a lived-in home
Setting out comes before anything is laid. Step risers are made equal, coursing is planned so the joints line through, and caps are cut to a consistent overhang on every exposed face. Where we are matching existing brick or stone we work to what is already there rather than to what is easiest to source, because a repair that does not match reads as a repair forever.
Foundations, footings and drainage follow the same rules as any other job: below the frost line, compacted base, drainage behind anything retaining soil. On patios and walkways we set the fall so water leaves the house before we lay a single flag, which is the difference between a patio that stays flat and one that moves in its second winter.
Practically, we work with the fact that people are living there. Access, where materials are stacked, keeping a route to the front door open, and clearing up at the end of each day are part of the job rather than an afterthought. Our crews have been with the company over twenty years and are used to working at occupied houses.
Chapter 03
Looking after it, and knowing when to call
Expect some efflorescence on new masonry in the first season. It is normal and weathers off. Do not use acid on it. Beyond that, the two things worth keeping an eye on are joints and water: mortar that starts to crumble to finger pressure, and any drainage that stops running after heavy rain.
Chimneys deserve particular attention because they are exposed on every face and their flashing does as much work as their mortar. Staining on a ceiling near the chimney breast is usually flashing rather than brickwork. Catching it early is a repair; leaving it is a rebuild.
Because we also run the excavation, concrete and paving sides of the business, a residential job does not have to stop at the masonry. A driveway, the drainage, the patio and the front steps can all be handled by one contractor from the same yard on Alexander Avenue. Call (201) 945-0064 to arrange a time for us to come and look at it.
Adamo Brothers. Fully licensed, bonded and insured. NJ Home Improvement Contractor Lic. #13VH00015800. Call (201) 945-0064.