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Serving Lafayette, IN and surrounding areas. (765) 588-5579
Lafayette Masonry & Concrete is the masonry contractor Kokomo homeowners call for chimney repair, tuckpointing, and foundation work on the city's older brick homes. We serve all of Kokomo and Howard County, replying within one business day with a written estimate before any work begins.
Kokomo has a large stock of early 1900s brick bungalows and craftsman homes, and most of those homes have original chimneys that have been through a century of Indiana freeze-thaw winters. Our chimney repair work in Kokomo covers crown replacement, mortar joint repointing, and flashing repair on stacks that have softened and cracked from decades of freeze-thaw stress - and we match the original brick color and mortar profile so the repair looks right.
The older brick neighborhoods near downtown Kokomo - many of them built during the city's auto-industry boom years between 1910 and 1940 - have mortar joints that have softened over time. Tuckpointing those joints with a lime-based mortar that matches the hardness of the original brick stops water from entering the wall cavity and prevents the brick face spalling that happens when water freezes inside porous, deteriorated mortar.
Kokomo homes built before 1960 on the Tipton Till Plain's heavy clay soils often show stair-step cracking at block foundation corners and horizontal cracks in older poured foundations - both signs that soil pressure and seasonal moisture cycling have been working on the wall for years. Catching these issues before wall movement becomes significant is far less costly than waiting until the foundation requires full section replacement.
Many Kokomo homeowners on the older in-town lots need new block walls for detached garage foundations, utility enclosures, or property borders where the original masonry has deteriorated beyond repair. Block wall construction in Kokomo requires footings set below the Indiana frost line - at least 36 inches - to prevent frost heave from lifting and cracking the wall during the hard winters typical of north-central Indiana.
Kokomo's older brick homes frequently have individual spalled or cracked face bricks that need to be cut out and replaced before water works behind the wythe. Matching brick size and color matters on these older homes - the brick dimensions used in Howard County's 1910-to-1940 building era do not always correspond to current standard sizes, and using visually mismatched replacement brick makes the repair obvious and reduces curb appeal.
Properties near Wildcat Creek and in Kokomo's lower-lying neighborhoods deal with grade changes and erosion after spring flooding and heavy rain. Retaining walls built in these areas need drainage aggregate and weep holes designed to handle the clay soil's slow drainage - without that drainage relief, hydrostatic pressure from saturated clay behind the wall will push it outward within a few years.
Kokomo grew rapidly during the early 1900s auto-manufacturing boom, and the result is a city where a large share of the housing stock dates from before 1960. Brick bungalows and craftsman-style homes from that era were built with lime-based mortars that are softer and more flexible than modern Portland cement mixes. That is by design - the lime mortar could flex with the seasonal expansion and contraction of brick without cracking. The problem today is that many of those homes have had improper repairs done over the decades using hard modern cement, which is too rigid for the surrounding soft brick and traps moisture against the face. When that moisture freezes, it pops the face off the brick - a condition called spalling that can spread across an entire wall if left unaddressed. Getting the mortar chemistry right on a Kokomo repair job is not optional.
The Tipton Till Plain geology that underlies Kokomo creates two specific masonry challenges. First, the heavy glacial clay soils drain slowly and hold moisture near the surface, which keeps foundation walls under continuous hydrostatic pressure during and after wet periods. Second, that clay expands when saturated and contracts when it dries - a seasonal movement cycle that exerts lateral pressure on foundation walls and can crack concrete flatwork. Wildcat Creek, which runs through the city, has a documented flooding history, and even homes outside the formal flood zones can see elevated groundwater after a wet spring. The Howard County government maintains resources on local drainage and flood zone information that can be useful when planning foundation or below-grade masonry projects.
Our crew works throughout Kokomo regularly, and we understand the local conditions that affect masonry contractor work here. Structural masonry permits in Kokomo - covering new block walls, foundation repairs, and fireplace or chimney installations - are handled through the City of Kokomo building department. We coordinate permit applications and inspections for qualifying structural projects in Kokomo as part of how we manage the job.
Kokomo sits in Howard County in north-central Indiana, about 50 miles south of Lafayette via US-31. The main corridors through the city - US-31, US-35, and Indiana 931 - run through a mix of the older in-town brick neighborhoods and the newer subdivisions that developed on the south and west sides of the city from the 1980s through the 2000s. Landmarks like Kokomo Beach and the Elwood Haynes Museum anchor the older parts of the city, and many of the homes closest to downtown are the ones most likely to need the kind of historic-appropriate masonry work that requires attention to original mortar and brick specifications.
We also serve nearby Frankfort, IN to the west, where similar clay-soil and older-brick-home conditions are common across Clinton County. Whether the job is in one of Kokomo's original neighborhoods or out on the edges of town, our estimates reflect actual site conditions - not guesses from a phone call.
Reach out by phone or through the contact form and describe what you are seeing - cracked mortar, a chimney issue, foundation cracks, or anything else. We reply within one business day to schedule an on-site visit at a time that works for you.
We visit the property in Kokomo, assess the full condition of the affected masonry, and provide a written itemized estimate. You will know exactly what the job involves and what it costs before committing - no obligation.
Once you approve the estimate, we schedule the job and handle any required permit applications through the Kokomo building department. You do not need to be present for the work, though we always walk you through the job before we leave.
When the work is done, we walk through the finished job with you and explain any maintenance considerations specific to your Kokomo property. If you have questions in the weeks after completion, we are available by phone.
We serve all of Kokomo and Howard County. Call or submit a request and we will respond within one business day with a written estimate.
(765) 588-5579Kokomo is the county seat of Howard County and one of the larger cities in north-central Indiana, with a population of around 57,000. The city built its identity on manufacturing - Elwood Haynes is credited with building one of the first gasoline-powered automobiles here in 1894, and Kokomo has been tied to auto-parts production ever since. That manufacturing history shaped the city's residential character: the neighborhoods closest to the old factory corridors and downtown are dense with two-story brick homes, craftsman bungalows, and working-class houses from the 1910s through the 1950s. These homes are well-built and have real character, but a century of Indiana winters has left its mark on mortar joints, chimneys, and foundations throughout the older parts of the city. Learn more about the city's history at the Kokomo, Indiana Wikipedia article.
Kokomo Beach, the city's historic outdoor waterpark along Wildcat Creek, is one of the most recognized local landmarks and sits near some of the lowest-lying residential areas in the city - neighborhoods where the creek's flooding history makes foundation drainage a real and ongoing concern for homeowners. The south and west sides of the city, where newer subdivisions were built from the 1980s through the 2000s, have a different set of masonry needs: concrete driveways and flatwork hitting the 20-to-30-year mark, block retaining walls on sloped yards, and chimneys on newer homes where flashing has begun to separate. We also serve neighboring Logansport, IN to the north, where similar river-adjacent drainage and older brick housing conditions make masonry upkeep a regular part of owning a home.
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Learn MoreHoward County homeowners get written estimates and one business day replies. Do not let open mortar joints or chimney cracks go another Indiana winter.