Who installs iron stars for brick walls? Masonry contractor recommendations. (Baltimore: houses, contractors)

[jagec]

Hi,

I have a rowhouse with a bulging side wall. The inspector said that it wasn't a big deal before I bought the house, but it still makes me nervous. I'm trying to find a masonry contractor to put a few of the iron stars that I see on so many other Baltimore houses on mine, but I'm having a terrible time. I can find contractors in the yellow pages, but there are no reviews. The internet seems to be completely silent on the subject. Many of the masons that I called specialized in decorative work like garden walls, and weren't comfortable on anything structural.

Does no one in Baltimore work on brick anymore? Who put all those stars in in the first place?

I'd love a recommendation from someone...anyone!

Thanks.

[oltown]

Get a membership to Angie's list and you will find reviews on anything you want. Well worth the money you spend for peace of mind in finding people to work on your dwelling.

[dogpark]

Stars are used to hold masonry in place - they cannot move it! A small footprint relatively speaking cannot draw a crumbly masonry wall back into position - it will have to be pushed by a larger surface area force and held/reinforced by a proper load bearing/crossbraced system.

The old salmon colored native Baltimore clay brick is soft; mortar has a ~100 year life. many of these rowhomes etc were not built on proper load bearing foundations, but instead on clay soil subject to water running thru it and oyster shell backfill.

You should consult with an architect, builder or engineer with experience in Baltimore rowhomes, someone who has been here, been in buildings, done the work with examples to prove it and a working knowledge of current local code (basement face/underpinning etc). What you spend for a consulting fee is cheap compared to making a mistake. I've seen owners and "builders/contractors" do all kinds of stuff with major consequences in the boom/flip years.

Best of luck. I went thru all this 10 years ago as things were changing, but since I was making a place for my family to live, didn't do what some investor/developer/flippers did. PM me is you want a recommendation.