How to choose a masonry contractor in Pennsylvania

Updated November 11, 2026 · KeystoneProGuide editorial team

What should you look for first?

Three things: a valid Pennsylvania home improvement registration, insurance you have seen in writing, and experience with the material your house is built of. For an old brick or stone house the third matters most, because the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) says more damage is done to historic brick buildings by improper pointing than by almost any other treatment.

Is the contractor registered with the state?

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry says the state has no licensing requirement for most construction contractors, and masonry is not among the exceptions it lists. What the state does require is registration. Under the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, anyone who offers or performs home improvements must register with the Office of Attorney General unless they do less than $5,000 of such work a year. The Attorney General's questions and answers define home improvement, for jobs over $500 at a private residence, to include repair, replacement, installation, rehabilitation and sandblasting, and the construction or replacement of driveways. Most masonry and concrete jobs at a house fall inside that.

To check:

• Ask for the registration number. Registered contractors must print it, as PA followed by digits, on ads, estimates and contracts.
• Look it up on the Attorney General's contractor search. Its list of work types includes Masonry - Brick or Stone, Concrete, Stucco and Waterproofing, though the office notes the work-type field is new and incomplete.
• Or call 1-888-520-6680.

Registration is not a seal of quality. The office says it is not an endorsement of a contractor's competency or skill, and tells homeowners to check references, get more than one bid and look for complaints with the Better Business Bureau.

In Philadelphia, work on an existing one- or two-family house is done under that state registration; a business that also works on larger buildings needs a city Contractor License. The city's lookup tool lists licensed contractors and their violations. The Pennsylvania rules guide sets out the permits that go with the work.

What insurance should they carry?

Registration requires at least $50,000 of personal injury liability and $50,000 of property damage coverage. The Attorney General notes that this says nothing about the quality of work. Ask for the certificate itself, and check that it is current on the day the job starts.

Do they know old mortar?

If your house was built before the Second World War, ask this before anything else. The NPS explains that historic mortar was lime, sand and water, softer than the brick it holds, so that water and salts move through the joints rather than the bricks. After the war portland cement all but replaced lime, and the NPS calls soft historic masonry with hard modern mortar "a catastrophic mix".

A contractor who works on old houses should be able to tell you, without being prompted:

• How they will find out what the existing mortar is (some send a sample for analysis).
• That the new mortar will be no harder than the old and no harder than the brick.
• That joints will be matched in width, color and tooling.
• How they remove old mortar without chipping brick edges.

The General Services Administration (GSA), which repairs historic federal buildings, asks its repointing contractors for at least five years of masonry restoration experience and three similar projects in the last five years, and for proof of familiarity with historic mortar formulations. That is a federal standard, not a legal requirement for your house, but it is a fair yardstick for questions about experience. The NPS adds that pre-packaged mortar kits sold in hardware stores contain a high degree of portland cement and are "disastrous for older masonry buildings", so a contractor who reaches for one on soft brick has answered your question.

How do they handle digging and dust?

• Digging. Any job with a footing, a retaining wall or new paving involves digging. Pennsylvania 811 says the excavator must call before work starts, and that a homeowner should ask the contractor for its PA One Call serial number, an eleven-digit number that proves the call was made.
• Silica dust. Cutting, grinding and drilling brick, block, stone, concrete and mortar release crystalline silica. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires construction employers to have a written exposure control plan and to use controls such as water at the blade. Ask how they will cut and how they will clean up. Details are in the OSHA rule the construction page summarizes.
• Paint. If any surface to be disturbed is painted and the house was built before 1978, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requires a paid contractor to be lead-safe certified, with small exceptions.

How many estimates, and what should they say?

Get several. The Federal Trade Commission advises multiple written estimates that describe the work, materials, completion date and price, and warns against automatically choosing the lowest bidder. Ask about large differences between them; with masonry, the answer is often mortar choice, hand work or the repair of an underlying cause.

What must the contract include?

For a home improvement over $500, Pennsylvania requires a written contract signed by both sides with a description of the work, approximate start and finish dates, the total price and notice of your right to cancel within three business days. Check that the contract also names the mortar or concrete to be used, who obtains any permit, and what happens to debris.

Prices for comparison are in the masonry cost guide. Contractors who serve your area are listed on the masonry contractors page.

Sources

1. Frequently Asked Questions: Home Improvement Contractor Registration, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
2. Home Improvement Contractor Registration, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
3. Home Improvement Contractor Verification, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
4. Home Improvement Contractor Search, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
5. Find a licensed contractor and contractor information, City of Philadelphia
6. Common Problems with Brick Masonry, U.S. National Park Service
7. This Masonry is for the Bees!, U.S. National Park Service
8. Repointing historic masonry, U.S. General Services Administration
9. Silica, Crystalline - Construction, U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration
10. FAQs Homeowners, Pennsylvania One Call System (Pennsylvania 811)
11. How To Avoid a Home Improvement Scam, Federal Trade Commission
12. Renovation, Repair and Painting Program: Contractors, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
13. Contractor Licensing, Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry