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Legendary Masonry Allentown delivers commercial brick masonry in Allentown, PA for storefronts, offices, and multi unit buildings. We coordinate with your GC, follow plans, and maintain consistent brickwork and joint finishes so your project meets schedule, specs, and visual standards.
Legendary Masonry Allentown provides professional commercial brick masonry throughout Allentown, PA, Pennsylvania and the surrounding area. Our licensed, insured crew delivers safe, clean, on-time work with a free estimate before anything begins. Call 484-284-5120 or request your free quote.
Commercial Brick Masonry for Allentown Businesses
Commercial brick masonry in Allentown is very different from small residential projects. Buildings are larger, codes are stricter, and the work has to hold up to constant public use. Legendary Masonry Allentown focuses specifically on commercial brick work for storefronts, office buildings, schools, industrial properties, churches, municipal facilities, and mixed‑use buildings along corridors like Hamilton Street and Tilghman Street.
When you call us about a commercial brick masonry project, we start with a site visit, not a guess. We walk the building, look at existing materials, check for movement or cracking, and talk through how the property is used every day. For a retail frontage in Center City, we focus on curb appeal and pedestrian impact. For a warehouse or light industrial building near Airport Road, durability, loading dock edges, and fork truck traffic become the priority.
We also review local zoning and building code requirements specific to the City of Allentown and Lehigh County. That includes fire‑rating needs for demising walls, structural requirements for multi‑story facades, and details like control joints and weep systems that inspectors in this area tend to look for. Before we price anything, we clarify whether your project is a repair, a façade modernization, a new build, or an addition that needs to tie into existing brick, because each path uses different methods and materials.
How Our Commercial Brick Masonry Process Works
Legendary Masonry Allentown follows a step‑by‑step process tailored to commercial timelines and tenant needs.
1. Assessment and documentation: We measure wall areas, note brick patterns (running bond, Flemish bond, stacked bond accents), and photograph existing conditions. For older Allentown buildings from the early 1900s, we often find multi‑wythe solid brick, which affects how we handle repairs and anchors.
2. Design and detailing: Working with you, your architect, or directly with a GC, we finalize joint profiles (concave, weathered, or flush), brick style (modular, utility, or Norman sizes), and layout of control joints. For retail facades, we often add details like soldier‑course banding above windows or brick pilasters at entries to give visual interest without heavily increasing cost.
3. Structural coordination: For new walls or major façade changes, we coordinate with engineers on shelf angles, lintels over wide storefronts, and anchor spacing into steel or CMU backup walls. On multi‑story projects we plan for movement joints around floor lines so the brick skin can move independently without cracking.
4. Site preparation and staging: On busy Allentown streets we plan access carefully. That can include sidewalk protection, overhead canopies, and phasing so businesses stay open. We set up scaffolding or mast climbers, keep clear pedestrian paths, and schedule noisy work early or outside of restaurant rush hours.
5. Brick installation: Our masons set bricks in Type N or Type S mortar depending on exposure. Joints are tooled at the correct cure time to shed water instead of holding it. We pay close attention to bond lines so coursing matches around corners and at window heads, which is where sloppy work usually shows.
6. Flashing, weeps, and final protection: At shelf angles, window heads, and base of walls we install flashing and weep systems so water that gets behind the brick can exit. This is critical in Pennsylvania freeze and thaw cycles. Finally, we clean the brick with appropriate cleaners so color is even, but we avoid harsh acids that can burn newer brick faces.
Material Choices and Design Options for Commercial Brick Work
Commercial properties in Allentown use a wide range of brick types, from smooth face brick on new office buildings to textured or tumbled brick on renovated lofts. Legendary Masonry Allentown helps you choose materials that match both appearance and performance needs.
For downtown storefronts, we often use modular clay brick in standard or thin veneer format. Thin brick veneer can be mounted on metal panels or CMU, which reduces weight on older structures while still giving a full brick appearance. In contrast, industrial and institutional buildings may benefit from larger utility brick that speeds installation and keeps costs in line on big wall areas.
Color and texture choices matter for branding and maintenance. Darker bricks may hide street dirt better along high traffic corridors, while lighter blends can brighten shaded alleys or courtyard entries. We show clients real sample boards in outdoor light, not just catalog images, so you can see how a certain red or brown will look against your existing roof, windows, and neighboring structures.
Joint style plays a bigger role than many property owners realize. Concave joints are common in this climate because they compress mortar and resist water penetration. Raked joints give a shadow line that some owners prefer for modern designs, but we use them only where the wall is protected from heavy wind‑driven rain. We also discuss whether you want accent bands, corbeling, or brick signage (raised or recessed letters built into the wall) which can replace separate sign cabinets.
In historic parts of Allentown, such as older commercial blocks with brick from the early 1900s, matching existing brick is critical. We source from regional yards that stock reclaimed or custom blends, then adjust mortar color and sand to avoid patches that stand out. For partial repairs, we might harvest brick from less visible areas (for example, behind mechanical units) to use on the primary façade so the match is seamless.
Costs, Estimates, and What Affects Pricing
Commercial brick masonry pricing in Allentown is driven by more than just square footage. Legendary Masonry Allentown explains line items clearly so you know where your budget is going.
Factors that raise or lower cost include:
• Access and height: One‑story storefront repairs are simpler than sixth‑floor façade work that needs extensive scaffolding, swing stages, or a manlift. Tight alleys behind older commercial rows can add setup time.
• Structural complexity: New openings for larger windows, infilling old doorways, or building high parapet walls often require steel lintels, new flashing, and sometimes engineered details. That steel and labor affects the budget.
• Brick and mortar choices: Standard modular brick in common colors typically cost less and are faster to lay than custom color blends or special shapes for arches, radius walls, or detailed corners. Specialty mortars for historic restoration, such as lime‑rich mixes, take more time to install correctly.
• Existing conditions: If previous repairs used hard mortar on soft historic brick, or if there is hidden water damage or steel corrosion behind the veneer, we must address those issues before installing new brick. Unstable substrates or deteriorated sheathing add work but prevent larger failures later.
We usually provide an itemized estimate that separates access equipment, demolition, structural support, brick installation, and cleaning. For larger projects, we can price alternates, such as a simplified brick pattern, switching certain elevations to CMU with a brick veneer only where visibility is highest, or adjusting parapet height to reduce structural costs.
On occupied buildings, we also help you calculate the cost of downtime. Sometimes scheduling work in phases or off‑hours is slightly more expensive in labor, but it allows tenants to stay open and avoid lost revenue, which can be worth far more than any savings from a quicker full shutdown.
Common Commercial Brick Problems in Allentown and How We Fix Them
Allentown’s climate, with cold winters, hot summers, and regular freeze and thaw cycles, is tough on commercial brick. Legendary Masonry Allentown focuses on solving the recurring issues we see in local buildings so they do not return a few years later.
Water intrusion at window heads and shelf angles is a leading problem. We often find missing or failed flashing on buildings from the 1960s through the early 2000s. Our fix generally involves selective demolition of brick above the opening, installing new through‑wall flashing, adding end dams and weeps, and then rebuilding the brick with careful tooth‑in so the repair looks original.
Cracking around corners, above large openings, or near structural transitions is another common issue. Instead of simply filling visible cracks, we investigate the cause, which might be building movement, missing control joints, or rusting steel pushing outward. Repairs typically include grinding out damaged joints, installing new control joints where needed, replacing corroded lintels, and tying the veneer back to the structure with stainless anchors.
Efflorescence (white salt deposits) often appears on newer brick work when moisture moves through the wall. We clean it using cleaners matched to the specific brick type and then address the moisture source. That may require better sealant at window perimeters, improved site drainage, or modifications to cap flashing at parapets.
Spalling brick faces and loose parapets are especially common on older flat‑roof commercial buildings. Thermal movement and ponding water at the roof edge break down brick and mortar. Our solution can include rebuilding the parapet with new brick, installing proper cap flashing, and sometimes adding a movement joint between the roof structure and the veneer so they do not fight each other as temperatures change.
For property managers, we can set up a periodic inspection plan that prioritizes areas at highest risk, including south and west elevations that take more sun, and windward corners that see the most driving rain.
What Local Commercial Clients Can Expect From Legendary Masonry Allentown
Commercial brick masonry projects must fit within real‑world business operations. Legendary Masonry Allentown structures our work around your tenants, customers, and compliance requirements.
Before work begins, we help you coordinate with the City of Allentown for any permits and, when needed, sidewalk occupancy or lane closures. We can provide site‑specific safety plans and insurance documentation to satisfy building owners, corporate risk managers, or condo associations.
Scheduling is planned with your operations team. For restaurants, we typically avoid heavy dust work during lunch and dinner service. For offices or medical facilities, we schedule noisy drilling and demolition before or after business hours whenever possible. If your building is near schools or public facilities, we secure work zones to keep pedestrians safe and maintain clear egress paths.
Communication is handled through a dedicated point of contact, so you are not guessing who to call. On multi‑week projects, we provide updates on progress, upcoming noisy activities, and any unforeseen issues we discover behind the brick. If we encounter hidden structural concerns, we stop, document with photos, and discuss solutions with you and your engineer before moving forward.
When the brick work is complete, we perform a walkthrough with you, checking joint lines, color consistency, flashing terminations, and sealant transitions around windows and doors. We explain what maintenance is recommended, such as periodic sealant replacement or simple visual checks after major storms. Our goal is not just to finish the job, but to leave you confident that your commercial brick masonry will perform reliably in Allentown’s conditions for many years.
