Arlington Heights is one of the largest suburbs in our service area, with housing spanning 1960s ranches through 1990s colonials. Brick repair here divides across two generations: hard machine-pressed brick units on the older ranches and bi-levels where chimney and lintel failures are driving unit damage, and brick that has been displaced or cracked on 1980s-1990s colonials where stone veneer tie corrosion has stressed adjacent masonry. Arlington Heights has open suburban exposure without lake moderation, meaning full Northern Illinois freeze-thaw cycling on all elevations. Delta Tuckpointing serves Arlington Heights from our Libertyville office, 22 miles away.
Brick repair in Arlington Heights: three failure modes across four decades of construction
Arlington Heights grew steadily from the 1960s through the 1990s, producing one of the largest residential housing stocks in the northwest suburbs. Ranches and bi-levels from the 1960s and early 1970s used machine-pressed brick with Portland-based mortar. Colonials from the 1980s and 1990s introduced stone veneer as a facade accent, bringing different attachment systems and different failure modes that can displace adjacent brick as they deteriorate.
For the brick-clad homes from the 1960s through the mid-1980s, the median home dates to around 1972. The brick itself is hard and structurally sound. Individual unit failure concentrates at chimneys and above window and door lintels - the same patterns visible on Northbrook and Deerfield homes of the same vintage. For the 1980s-1990s colonial generation, an additional failure mode involves stone veneer tie corrosion affecting adjacent brick courses.
Arlington Heights has no lake buffer. The open suburban position means the full weight of Northern Illinois freeze-thaw cycling falls on every exposed face without the temperature moderation that lakefront communities receive. North and west facades deteriorate ahead of protected elevations, and chimneys - the most exposed masonry element on any home - take the most weather load of any structure on the property.
How Arlington Heights brick fails
Three failure modes account for most of the brick repair calls in Arlington Heights.
The first is chimney unit spalling from crown failure. Crowns poured without adequate reinforcement on homes from the 1960s and 1980s crack at predictable intervals. A failed crown admits water directly into the chimney flue, saturating the upper-course bricks from inside. Freeze-thaw cycling on those saturated units produces spalling on the interior face. By the time the crown failure is noticed from the ground, upper-course bricks may already have lost their interior face and be allowing water to migrate into the chimney structure below the crown.
The second failure mode is brick displacement from lintel rust. Steel lintels above windows and doors rust after decades of moisture exposure. Expanding corrosion steel pushes the masonry above it outward. On Arlington Heights bi-levels and ranches where this pattern is advancing, the brick above the opening visibly projects beyond the wall plane. The displaced and cracked units above the failed lintel need replacement - after the lintel itself is replaced.
The third pattern applies to 1980s-1990s colonials near Arlington Heights Road. Stone veneer on these homes attaches through metal ties embedded in a mortar bed over the wall sheathing. When moisture gets behind the veneer, the ties corrode. As the tie system loses integrity, the weight of the veneer transfers to the veneer-to-brick interface at the edges of the veneer field. This lateral load can crack or displace brick units at the boundary between the veneer section and the adjacent brick section - failure that is initially invisible from the street until a section separates or a crack appears.
Matching Arlington Heights brick
For machine-pressed brick on 1960s-1980s Arlington Heights ranches, bi-levels, and colonials, the first sourcing path is manufacturer records. Post-war production brick was manufactured to tighter dimensional and color tolerances than pre-war common brick, and documented product comparisons can often identify a matching or closely equivalent current or discontinued product. Where manufacturer records do not produce a usable match, post-war Chicago-area salvage brick provides the alternative.
For the brick on 1990s colonials, the product is newer and sometimes still within the range of current production, making manufacturer matching more likely than for mid-century homes.
Arlington Heights brick repair: cost by scope and what to expect
Single brick replacement runs $50 to $150 per brick in the Chicagoland market. Section repair for 10 to 30 bricks runs $500 to $2,000. Lintel replacement with brick reset runs $2,000 to $5,000 depending on the number of openings and extent of displacement. Stone veneer removal with adjacent brick reset is quoted per project after inspection of the tie system condition. Every project gets a free written estimate before work begins.
An illustrative Arlington Heights project: a 1989 colonial near Arlington Heights Road had two sections of separating stone veneer with cracked brick at the boundary between the veneer field and adjacent brick courses. The repair included veneer reattachment with new substrate and tie system, and replacement of 9 cracked boundary bricks with manufacturer-matched units set in Type S mortar. Delta is 22 miles from Arlington Heights, approximately 30 minutes from our Libertyville office.
Permits and Building Requirements in Arlington Heights
Masonry permit requirements vary by municipality. Here is what currently applies in Arlington Heights:
Arlington Heights requires permits for structural masonry work, chimney repairs, and concrete work in the right-of-way. The village has a well-staffed building department.
Delta confirms all applicable requirements with the Arlington Heights building department and handles the permit process as part of every project where permits are required.