Masonry Contractor in Altoona, WI
Stone veneer, chimney repair, tuckpointing and brick work for Altoona homes, from a mason based next door in Eau Claire. Free written estimates.
Based in Eau Claire. Working in Altoona and across the Chippewa Valley.
Altoona exists because of the railroad. In 1881 the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway picked this flat ground beside the Eau Claire River for a new terminal. The settlement was platted as East Eau Claire, renamed within a year, and incorporated as a city in 1887.
Some of the housing from those decades is still standing, but it is a small part of the city now. Altoona had 1,713 residents at the 1950 census and 8,293 in 2020. The Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey estimates that about 6 percent of Altoona's homes were built before 1940, that the median home dates from 1990, and that roughly one in four has gone up since 2010.
For a mason that means two kinds of work inside one small city: thin stone veneer on houses that are barely broken in, and brick chimneys and foundations from before the war. Eau Claire Masonry & Stucco is a masonry contractor in Eau Claire, just across the city line, and we do both.
Stone Veneer on Altoona's Newer Homes
Plenty of the houses built here since the 1990s carry some stone: a wainscot under the front windows, a pair of porch columns, a gable. Usually it is manufactured stone, a lightweight cast concrete product set over metal lath and a mortar scratch coat.
We install it new and we repair it. On a veneer wall that is ten to thirty years old, the trouble is almost always in one of three places.
- The bottom edge. Veneer run down into soil, mulch or a concrete stoop with no weep screed. It wicks water up, the water freezes, and the lowest courses stain and loosen first.
- Where it meets something else. Window trim, the garage door jamb, the roofline at a gable. Missing flashing at those joints lets water in behind the stone, where nobody sees it until the sheathing is wet.
- The bond to the wall. Stones that sound hollow when you knock on them have let go of the scratch coat. A few can be reset. A whole hollow wall has to come off.
We'll tell you which one you have before you spend anything. How a veneer wall should be built, cultured versus natural stone and typical prices are on our stone veneer installation and repair page.
Chimney Repair and Tuckpointing on Altoona's Older Houses
On the houses from the railroad years through the 1960s, the problems are the familiar ones: a crown that has cracked through, flashing sealed with roof tar, mortar joints you can rake out with a key. Each has its own fix, and none of them is automatically a rebuild.
Our chimney crown, cap and flashing repair page walks through each one. Worn joints in a wall, chimney or foundation are covered under tuckpointing and repointing. Loose or spalled brick on steps and walls is brick repair, and cracked or shifted block is on the masonry foundation repair page. Cracked or hollow-sounding stucco on a wall or chimney has its own page: stucco repair and patching.
| Before about 1960 | 1970s to 1990s | Since 2000 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chimney | Brick stack in soft mortar, often with a cracked crown and no cap | Brick or block chimney with flashing and a crown at the age where they leak | Often a framed chase with a metal flue, sometimes faced in stone |
| Walls and steps | Brick or stone that needs repointing | Brick fronts, planters and stoops worn by de-icing salt | Manufactured stone veneer |
| Foundation | Stone, brick or early block with washed-out joints | Concrete block | More often poured concrete |
Typical patterns for this part of Wisconsin, not a survey of Altoona. Your house may not follow them.
Text a Photo of Your Altoona Stonework or Chimney
Most veneer and chimney problems can be sized up from three photos: one from the street, one up close, and one of where the masonry meets the ground or the roof. We'll tell you whether it is worth a visit or whether it can wait.
Masonry Questions From Altoona Homeowners
Permits, veneer that is coming loose and newer chimneys.
Is Altoona in your service area?
Yes. We are based in Eau Claire and Altoona shares a border with it, so it is some of the closest work we do. Estimates in Altoona are free and written, the same as in Eau Claire.
Do I need a permit for stone veneer or chimney work in Altoona?
It depends on the job, and Altoona has its own building inspection office, separate from Eau Claire's. The city's published list says a permit is needed to add or replace a fireplace, for a roof, and to add, replace or remove siding. It does not name chimney repair, tuckpointing or stone veneer. Veneer may well be treated as siding, so we ask the building inspector before a veneer installation or a chimney rebuild instead of assuming. Outside the city limits, the answer comes from your town.
The stone veneer on my Altoona house is coming loose. Can it be repaired?
Often, yes. A handful of loose stones on an otherwise solid wall can be reset. If the stones sound hollow across a wide area, or the wall behind is wet, the veneer was installed without a way for water to drain and patching will not last. Then the section has to come off and be rebuilt with a drainage layer and a weep screed.
How long should stone veneer last on an Altoona house built in the 1990s or 2000s?
As long as the house, if it was installed over a drainage layer with a weep screed and kept clear of the ground. Manufactured stone does not wear out in twenty or thirty years. When veneer that age is staining, cracking or letting go, the cause is almost always how it was put on, and it shows first at the bottom course and around the windows. That is why we look behind a loose stone before pricing anything.
My newer house has a chimney covered in siding or stone. Do you repair those?
Only the stone. Most chimneys on newer houses are a wood-framed chase with a metal flue inside, not masonry. A leak at the top is a chase-cover or roofing problem, and the flue belongs to a chimney sweep or a fireplace dealer. If the stone veneer on the chase is loose or stained, that part is ours.
Get a Free Masonry Estimate in Altoona
Tell us what you're seeing and roughly how old the house is. That one detail tells us a lot about what is behind the stone or under the crown. We'll set a time to look at it and send the scope and price in writing.
We also work east of here. The railroad first considered Fall Creek for the terminal that became Altoona, and the older houses out that way get their own page: masonry repair in Fall Creek.
- We look at the masonry in person, not from the truck window
- You get the scope and the price in writing
- If it can wait a season or needs a different trade, we say so
Get a Free Estimate
Tell us what's going on with the masonry or stucco. Prefer to talk? Call or text (715) 597-4359.
Thanks, we have your request.
We'll be in touch about your estimate. If it's easier, text photos of the job to (715) 597-4359.
Loose Stone or a Leaking Chimney in Altoona?
Call, or text a photo and the age of the house. You'll get a straight answer about what it needs.