Brick masonry covers new brick construction, veneer installation, brick walkways and patios, and the repair side of the trade: repointing mortar joints, resetting or replacing spalled brick, rebuilding chimneys and chimney crowns, and fixing bowing or cracked brick walls. In a coastal New England city like New London, freeze-thaw cycles and salt air both take a toll on mortar joints faster than in drier inland climates, so a lot of the work here is maintenance and repair rather than ground-up construction.
What to look for before you hire
Brick work is easy to do badly and hard to fix twice, so a few things separate a solid contractor from one that will leave you with a repeat problem:
- Mortar matching: repointing with the wrong mortar mix (too hard, like modern Portland-heavy mixes on old lime-based brick) can crack the brick faces instead of the joints. Ask what mix they plan to use on older buildings.
- Licensing and insurance: Connecticut doesn't require a separate state masonry license, but a contractor should carry general liability and workers' comp, especially for chimney or multi-story work.
- Local references: New London has a lot of older housing stock (colonial, Victorian, early 1900s triple-deckers), so ask for examples of similar-age brick work, not just new construction.
- Written scope and cleanup terms: mortar staining and dust are common complaints; a clear contract should cover site protection and cleanup.
How our scoring works
We rank the 6 brick masonry contractors serving New London using a consistent set of factors: review volume and rating trends, response time, licensing/insurance verification where available, and consistency of service over time. The full breakdown of how each factor is weighted is on our methodology page. For a side-by-side comparison of every contractor with scores and notes, see the ranked guide to New London's best masonry contractors.