Brick Repair in Burnsville
Most of our work in Burnsville is on chimneys. The brick repair this page covers is narrower: the brick front on a 1960s rambler. We have rebuilt a few of those fronts.
10 Years
Workmanship warranty, in writing
Burnsville's Ramblers Are Its Older Houses
Dakota County's property records list 3,537 one-story detached houses in Burnsville. Of those, 2,243 were built before 1970, close to two in three, and the busiest single year for them was 1963, with 297. Across Burnsville, the county lists 11,108 detached houses, and 1,846 of them are one-story houses from the 1960s alone. So, although most of Burnsville is newer, a one-story house here is more likely than not to predate 1970.
River Hills, along Highway 13, shows the timing. In a column for the Burnsville Historical Society, the society's secretary recalled that Pemtom, a company formed by two young businessmen, Clyde Pemble and Bruce Thompson, was building homes there in 1963, and that her family moved into their new house on November 30 of that year. The county's records fit her account. On the River Hills plats, 447 one-story houses were built before 1970; 262 were built in 1963 or 1964, and only 23 were built later. So a one-story house in River Hills is, with few exceptions, a 1960s house.
For the brick, the date sets the odds. Our brick repair page addresses bulging walls in houses built from the 1940s to the 1960s. A 1963 Burnsville rambler sits inside that span, with brick and wall ties more than 60 years old. A rambler from the 1970s sits just outside it.
Brick Partway Up, Siding Above
Asked about 1960s ramblers here, Sam said the brick goes partway up the wall, with siding above it. So the brick on these houses is a band. It starts at the ground and ends where the siding begins.
Short as it is, the band is held to the frame by the same metal wall ties as a full-height veneer of its age, and those ties fail the same way.
A bellied band is a rebuild. Sam's answer on wall ties is plain: "there's no way to replace just the wall ties." The whole band is brought down to the ground and relaid, with fresh ties fixed to the framing as it is brought back up.
Partial height changes the size of the job: there is less wall to take down and lay back than on a house bricked to the eaves, and the work goes on from the ground.
Brick From Around the Lot
Not every brick survives the teardown. On a rambler whose only brick is the front band, there is no side or back wall of the same brick to borrow from, and every replacement shows on the front of the house.
So the first place to look for brick is the lot itself. Sam can replace the broken ones with brick from the property: a few dozen kept under a deck, or a planter or garden edging laid when the house was new. A planter comes apart only if you want it to. The brick that came with the house may well be the same as the band's.
Whatever the lot cannot supply is made up with new brick.
Cracks, 1970s Ramblers and Winter
A few bricks under the picture window are cracked, but the band looks straight. Is that a rebuild?+
No. Cracked or loose faces in a band that has stayed flat are cut out and replaced one at a time, which is the minor repair on the price list below.
Our rambler went up in the 1970s. Does any of this apply?+
If the band has bellied, the rebuild proceeds the same way, regardless of the year the house was built.
Can you look at it in winter?+
Yes. Sam can see the band and price it in winter. Exterior mortar work is scheduled for weather mild enough for it to cure.
Prices for a Rambler Front
Our published brick repair figures are below:
A bellied band, even a short wing beside the front door, is a veneer rebuild on the third line, quoted after the visit: its price is set by how much brick comes down and how many of the old bricks can go back in.
Every figure on this page depends on square footage and on what we find when we look. They are rough guides to help you decide whether to call, not quotes. The exact number comes after the visit, and the visit is free.
Before you call
Every figure on this page depends on square footage and on what we find when we look. They are rough guides to help you decide whether to call, not quotes. The exact number comes after the visit, and the visit is free.
What Customers Say
What appears below is our live Google feed rather than testimonials we picked out, so it shows whatever is genuinely on it.
Before Sam Looks at the Band
A message with these is enough for a first read:
Talk to Sam: (612) 509-0718 · Written estimate, options priced · MN BC807211
- A photo of the whole front, taken from the driveway, with the line where the brick meets the siding in the frame
- Where the band has moved: under a window, beside the door, or along the garage
- Where any brick matching the band is kept: under a deck, in a planter, or in the garage