Masonry & Tuckpointing in Schaumburg, Illinois
Six in ten Schaumburg homes went up between 1970 and 1989, and almost half share a building with someone else. The masonry questions here are about aging veneer, an association that may own the wall, and a chimney whose appliance may have changed since the house was built.
Schaumburg is a 1970s and 1980s town
Schaumburg was incorporated on March 7, 1956, and the village's history page says its earliest settlers were largely German-speaking immigrants who farmed. The Census Bureau's American Community Survey (2020–2024, read through Census Reporter) counts 33,346 housing units. 12,589 of them, 37.8 percent, were built in the 1970s and 7,413, 22.2 percent, in the 1980s: together 60.0 percent in twenty years. The median year built is 1979. Only 294 units (0.9 percent, with a margin of about 110) date from 1939 or earlier.
A house built in 1979 is about 47 years old this year. The Brick Industry Association (BIA) says a mortar joint typically lasts more than 25 years, so the median Schaumburg home is close to double that age.
The American Community Survey does not ask what walls are made of, so no Census table can tell you how many Schaumburg homes are brick. If your house has brick on any elevation, a chimney, a stoop or a garden wall, its age is reason enough for a walk-around.
What a 1979 wall needs from a mortar
For brick laid in the 1970s and 1980s, BIA recommends Type N mortar for normal use, including most veneer, and requires repointing mortar to be equal to or lower in compressive strength than the original. A stronger mix concentrates stress along the thin edge of the old joint and can spall the brick face, damage BIA calls irreparable.
BIA also says what justifies the work: mortar eroded deeper than a quarter inch, crumbling, voids, hairline cracks, or cracks between brick and mortar. Only defective joints need repair. Old mortar should come out to at least twice the joint width, generally about three quarters of an inch; a grinder cannot clear head joints to that depth without scarring brick, so a chisel has to finish them.
Who owns the wall? Nearly half of homes share a building
The same Census table sorts units by building type: 11,630 (34.9 percent) are detached houses, 6,204 (18.6 percent) are single-family attached homes such as townhouses, and 15,325, or 46.0 percent, are in buildings of two or more units. About 63 percent of occupied homes are owner-occupied.
That changes who hires the mason. The Illinois Condominium Property Act defines common elements as all portions of the property except the units, and charges the board of managers with their operation, care, upkeep, maintenance and replacement. Wherever your declaration draws the unit boundary, what lies outside it is common, so in a condominium the brick, chimney and roof edge are usually the association's job to scope and bid.
The village adds a layer. When a residence is governed by a homeowner's association, the village's Homeowner's Association Form must be signed and approved, on association letterhead, for any exterior project, and the zoning code (section 154.109) requires residential planned developments to have association documents covering the maintenance of shared open space and facilities. Report problems to the board in writing with photographs, ask for a masonry survey that separates routine repointing from possible structural items, and get the form signed before a contractor files anything.
The one place the village can say no
Schaumburg has a binding local historic rule, and it is narrow. The Olde Schaumburg Centre (OSC) overlay district covers the area around Schaumburg and Roselle Roads, once a farm settlement called Sarah's Grove, and the village lists eleven designated landmarks, among them the Fenz House, the St. Peter Lutheran Church complex and the Schweikher House & Studio.
Under sections 154.195 and 154.71 of the zoning code, altering the exterior of a building in the centre, or of a designated landmark anywhere in the village, is unlawful without the village's prior authorization, except ordinary repair and maintenance that causes no exterior change in appearance (for landmarks, also in materials). Non-structural repair is approved by the director of community development, who must decide in writing within 14 days or the plans are deemed approved; structural change, additions and demolition go to the Village Board. The tests are the OSC design manual and the Secretary of the Interior's standards, and bright or high-gloss colors are prohibited.
A National Register listing does none of this. The National Park Service states that listing places no restrictions on what a non-federal owner may do with their property, within the framework of local laws. The Schweikher House is National Register reference 87000098 and on the village's landmark list; the local designation is what brings village review.
That house is also a reminder that a famous house is rarely one material. Chicago House Museums calls it built entirely of brick, wood and glass, with redwood siding, Douglas fir trim and a massive brick fireplace along the east side of the living room.
Outside the centre and off the list, none of this applies. Inside, call Community Development at 847-923-4430 before work starts, with photographs and a scope stating that joint profile, mortar color and brick will match what is there. Whether a job counts as ordinary maintenance is for village staff to decide, not a contractor and not this page.
Registration, permits and the guides that stay silent on tuckpointing
Registration. The village requires contractor registration for everyone working in Schaumburg except roofers and plumbers, who hold State of Illinois licenses, and its own page states no bond or insurance is required. Registration is therefore not proof of coverage. The Illinois Home Repair and Remodeling Act separately requires home repair businesses to carry liability and property damage insurance unless they meet a net-worth exemption, and requires a signed written contract above a statutory threshold. The consumer pamphlet the contractor must give you tells you to ask for a sworn statement naming everyone hired before you pay.
Permits. The village's guides say a permit is required to install a fireplace or wood-burning stove (hearth, firebox and final inspections), to install or replace sidewalks and stoops, and to install or repair retaining walls, where a wall over three feet needs an engineer's sealed design; commercial facade renovation needs a permit with plan review. Those guides say nothing about tuckpointing or repairing an existing chimney. We will not tell you either way: Permit Services, at 847-923-4420 or permits@schaumburg.com, answers for your exact scope. Plan review aims for ten business days with a spring-through-summer peak, and furnaces and water heaters can get an Express Permit with no plan review.
Maintenance code. The village's adopted codes include the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code. Its model text requires masonry joints to be weather resistant and water tight (304.2) and chimneys to be structurally safe and sound (304.11); how that applies to a given house is a question for Code Enforcement at 847-923-3700. And since 2015 a vacant single-family home is inspected by the village, inside and out, before the transfer tax stamp is released.
Chimneys in a gas-heated town
The Census heating-fuel table shows 80.1 percent of occupied homes on utility gas, 16.5 percent on electricity, and an estimate of zero for wood. A flue in a Schaumburg home may serve a furnace or water-heater vent, a gas fireplace, or a wood fireplace that sees little use. Light use does not protect a chimney: weather works on the masonry whether or not anyone lights a fire.
If your chimney is masonry
- Crown or cap. The 2021 International Residential Code, which the village adopts, calls for a concrete, metal or stone cap with a drip edge and a caulked bond break around the flue liner, sloped to shed water. The Mason Contractors Association of America (MCAA) warns that thin parge-coat caps tend to crack and debond. Hairline cracks are maintenance; a crumbling, flat or solidly bonded crown is how water reaches the brick below.
- Flashing. MCAA calls for step flashing under the roofing with counterflashing turned down over it, and calls sealant no substitute. The code requires a cricket where a chimney is wider than 30 inches parallel to the ridge and does not intersect it.
- Joints and brick. BIA says chimneys in severe exposure may need repair at shorter intervals. MCAA treats cracks, bug holes and spalled brick as water-entry points and allows only concave, vee or compacted grapevine joints on a chimney, because raked joints hold water.
- Liner. Masonry chimneys must be lined, with a lining suited to the appliance. Cracks or gaps in it are found with a camera: the Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) Level 2 procedure requires a video scan of the flue and a report on the liner.
If your fireplace is a factory-built unit
This is a different product with a different failure list. The code requires the unit to be listed and labeled and tested under UL 127, and where masonry veneers a frame chimney it requires through-flashing and weep holes. Ask about those, the cap and the sealant.
When to inspect
The village fire department advises annual professional inspection of chimneys and fuel-burning equipment. CSIA calls a Level 1 the recommended level for routine annual inspection and recommends a Level 2 when an appliance is replaced by a dissimilar one in fuel, efficiency or type, before a sale or relining, or after a chimney fire or weather event. In a gas-heated town the trigger to remember is the furnace or water-heater swap, because the flue may have been sized for the old machine. Ask the installer in writing what was checked about the chimney.
What a sound scope contains
Written and itemized: crown (repaired or rebuilt, with drip edge and bond break), flashing and cricket (replaced, not caulked), joints (which ones, with which mortar and profile), brick replaced, liner (camera result before any relining), and the permit position. BIA recommends before-and-after photographs, says no repellent replaces flashing, and says only breathable repellents belong on exterior brick.
What forty-two inches of frost does to a wall
The village's residential-code amendment lists weathering severe, frost line 42 inches, winter design temperature minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit and air freezing index 2000, and O'Hare, about eleven miles east, averages 121.8 days a year below 32 degrees (1981–2010 normals). BIA notes that brick exposed to excess water can crack, craze and spall under repeated freeze-thaw cycling. Flooding is in the record (two FEMA-identified repetitive-loss properties; federal declarations in 2013 and 2023), but where runoff collects at a wall base, drainage deserves as much thought as mortar.
Reading a 1970s or 1980s brick wall
If your wall is brick veneer over a frame, BIA calls it a drainage wall: water behind the brick runs down the cavity, lands on flashing and leaves through weeps.
- Weeps. BIA prefers open head-joint weeps at least two inches high and no more than 24 inches apart, does not recommend weep tubes, and flags the risk of weeps being sealed during later maintenance. A repointing crew should leave every one open.
- Lintels. BIA lists rust on lintels or shelf angles among conditions that may be structural and call for an engineer, along with cracks wider than 0.075 inch, stair-step or diagonal cracks, widespread spalling and out-of-plane movement. Those call for an engineer's look before any repointing.
- White deposits and sealant. BIA says to resolve the water entry before cleaning efflorescence, or it returns, and lists torn or hardened sealant at windows and expansion joints as a common entry point.
Five questions to ask before you sign
- Which mortar type, and how does its strength compare with what is in the wall?
- Which joints have failed, and are you repointing only those, at least twice the joint width deep?
- Where are my weeps and flashing, and will every weep be open when you leave?
- Are you registered with the village, can I see current liability insurance from your insurer, and will you give me the sworn statement before I pay?
- Who files any permit that applies, and has my association signed the village's exterior form?
Schaumburg and the surrounding area
Schaumburg borders Hoffman Estates and Palatine to the north and Elk Grove Village to the southeast. If you are comparing neighboring towns, see masonry in Hoffman Estates, masonry in Palatine or masonry in Elk Grove Village, or browse every area we serve across Chicagoland.
Questions Schaumburg owners ask
Does Schaumburg have a historic district that affects tuckpointing?
Yes, a small one. The Olde Schaumburg Centre overlay covers the area around Schaumburg and Roselle Roads, and the village lists eleven designated landmarks. In the district and on landmarks, exterior changes need village authorization, but ordinary repair and maintenance with no exterior change in appearance does not. Non-structural repair is decided within 14 days or deemed approved. Elsewhere in the village this does not apply. Community Development, at 847-923-4430, can place a specific job.
Is the Schweikher House brick, and does a National Register listing limit what an owner can do?
It is built entirely of brick, wood and glass, with redwood siding and a massive brick fireplace, so brick is part of it, not all of it. It is National Register reference 87000098 and is also on the village landmark list. The National Park Service says listing places no restrictions on what a non-federal owner may do, within local laws, so village review comes from local designation.
How old are Schaumburg homes, and what does that mean for masonry?
The 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey gives a median year built of 1979. Of 33,346 units, 60.0 percent date from 1970 to 1989 and only 0.9 percent from 1939 or earlier. A 1979 house is about 47 years old, and the Brick Industry Association says mortar joints typically last more than 25 years, so a walk around the walls, sills, lintels and chimney is reasonable. The survey does not ask about wall material.
I own a condo or townhome in Schaumburg. Who handles the brick and the chimney?
Usually the association, but your documents decide. Under the Illinois Condominium Property Act, common elements are everything except the units, and the board is charged with their upkeep, maintenance and replacement. About 46 percent of village housing units are in buildings of two or more units, and 18.6 percent are single-family attached. For any exterior project in an association, the village requires its signed Homeowner's Association Form. Report problems to the board in writing, with photographs.
Do I need a village permit to tuckpoint or repair a chimney in Schaumburg?
The village guides for fireplaces, stoops, retaining walls and commercial facades require permits to install a fireplace, replace a stoop, install or repair a retaining wall, and renovate a facade, but do not mention tuckpointing or repairing an existing chimney, so we cannot say either way. Permit Services, at 847-923-4420 or permits@schaumburg.com, can answer for your scope.
Does registration with the village prove a masonry contractor is insured?
No. The village requires registration for all contractors except roofers and plumbers, who hold state licenses, but its own page states that no bond or insurance is required. Illinois law requires home repair businesses to carry liability and property damage insurance unless a net-worth exemption applies. Ask for a certificate from the insurer, and for a sworn statement listing everyone the contractor hired before you pay.
How often should a chimney in Schaumburg be inspected?
The village fire department advises annual professional inspection of chimneys and fuel-burning equipment. The Chimney Safety Institute of America calls a Level 1 inspection the recommended level for routine annual checks, and a Level 2, with a video scan of the flue, when an appliance changes, a property is sold, a chimney is relined, or after a chimney fire or weather event. A ceiling stain beside the chimney or crumbling mortar warrants a call sooner.
I am replacing my furnace or water heater. Does the chimney matter?
It can. The Chimney Safety Institute of America recommends a Level 2 inspection when an appliance is replaced by a dissimilar one in fuel, efficiency or type, and that inspection confirms the flue is sized for continued use. The 2021 residential code requires a masonry chimney's lining to suit the connected appliance. The village issues furnace and water heater permits as Express Permits without plan review, so ask the installer what was checked about the chimney.
What mortar should be used to repoint a 1979 brick wall?
The Brick Industry Association recommends Type N mortar for normal use, including most veneer, and says repointing mortar must be equal to or lower in compressive strength than the original, since a stronger mortar can spall the brick face. Repoint only defective joints, remove old mortar to at least twice the joint width, and match color and profile. The lime-versus-cement debate mainly concerns brick laid before 1930, which is rare in Schaumburg.
Is MasonryPros.us a masonry contractor?
No. MasonryPros.us is a free matching service run by Media Express LLC, a Chicago digital agency. We do not lay brick or repair chimneys, and we have no Schaumburg office. You describe the job once and we pass it to local contractors who do that work, with no obligation to hire. Nothing here is a quote.