Masonry waterproofing in Midtown Tulsa, OK
Tulsa County · ZIP 74104, 74105, 74114, 74119 · Published pricing · Call (918) 362-4398
Midtown is a different trade from the suburbs. The 1920s Tudors in White City and Swan Lake, the Maple Ridge oil money houses, and the 1930s bungalows in Florence Park are solid brick, not veneer, laid in soft lime rich mortar that was meant to be repointed every few decades and mostly never has been. The brick is harder than the mortar by design, so when the joints go, water goes straight into the wall mass and shows up as bubbling plaster on the inside.
The right work on a pre-1950 Midtown house is slower and gentler than on a 1985 ranch. Haikey Creek Masonry Waterproofing repoints with a lime rich mortar that matches the original in hardness and color, never a hard Portland mix that will crack the old brick at the edges, and we never pressure wash a soft 1920s face. Repointing on these houses runs $1,200 to $5,500 per job, and the chimneys are almost always part of it.
Chimneys are the Midtown money pit. Every one of these houses has one or two, the crowns are cracked, the counterflashing was caulked on decades ago, and water runs down the flue into the firebox and out onto the hearth. Crown repair, flashing and sealing runs $900 to $3,500 per chimney, and rebuilding one above the roofline is $3,500 to $8,000. We do a lot of both between Brookside and Cherry Street.
A warning about sealing old Midtown brick
Do not let anyone seal a 1920s solid brick wall with a film forming product or paint it without asking what is behind the surface. Solid brick has to dry outward. Trap the moisture and the face spalls within two winters. We use breathable silane and siloxane repellents only, and on the softest brick we sometimes recommend repointing alone and no sealer at all.
Midtown districts we work in
Regular stops include Swan Lake, Maple Ridge, White City, Florence Park, Brookside, the Cherry Street blocks, Sunset Terrace, Ranch Acres, the streets along the Gathering Place, Lortondale. If your wall is near those, a crew has probably already worked your street, and the price is the same table as everywhere else: the cost guide.
Get a Midtown quote that respects the house
Address in Midtown Tulsa first, then what you see. The range comes off the published table and we set a time for the hose test.
Questions from Midtown owners
- How much does it cost to repoint a 1920s brick house in Midtown Tulsa?
- Most Midtown repointing jobs land between $1,200 and $5,500, with a full elevation on a two story Tudor at the top of that range. Lime mortar matching and hand tooling take longer than suburban work, which is priced in.
- My chimney leaks into the firebox when it rains. What does that cost?
- Crown repair, new counterflashing let into the mortar, and sealing the stack runs $900 to $3,500. If the brick above the roof is spalled through, a rebuild is $3,500 to $8,000. We photograph the crown from the roof before quoting.
- Is the white powder inside my basement wall serious?
- Efflorescence on the inside of a solid brick wall means water is moving through the wall mass, so it is a sign, not a stain. The fix is outside: repoint the open joints and address the grade, then the powder stops. Cleaning alone does nothing.
- Will you use the right mortar on a historic house?
- Yes. We match the original lime content and color and set a test joint before doing the visible walls. A hard modern mortar on soft old brick shears the brick edges, which is the most common damage we are hired to undo.
- Do you work in the historic districts with preservation rules?
- Yes. Repointing, cleaning and sealing that keep the original appearance do not need review in Tulsa historic preservation districts. A chimney rebuild that changes the look can, and we will tell you if your job crosses that line.