Homeowner Guide: How We Protect St. Louis Historic Masonry
Our "Mobile Masonry Lab"
Fast vs. Fastidious: Why the "Quick Fix" Usually Fails.
Beyond the "Big Box Store" Bag Mix
Precision Material Selection: Why We Carry 18+ Specialized Cements
Every restoration project gets its own unique solution with combinations of different materials for each part of the job. From historic St. Louis stucco, enriched S-type mortar coves or high-impact 10,000 PSI modified cement overlays. We don't believe in "one-size-fits-all" bagged mixes. Our mobile unit is fully stocked with over 18 different specialized professional-grade cementitious materials, including OPC & CSA based concretes, waterproofers, and high-performance polymer modified mortars. Depending on the substrate and the requirement, we custom-engineer each batch mix on-site for your specific job Mixes incorporate bonding admixtures, high-early strength accelerators, and fortifiers. Carefully selecting materials by aggregate and selecting the right metallic oxide powdered colors allows us to blend texture, color, and performance with your original masonry while helping ensure a repair that is built to last!
Beyond the "Big Box Store" Bag Mix
Fast vs. Fastidious: Why the "Quick Fix" Usually Fails.
Beyond the "Big Box Store" Bag Mix
Engineered for the St. Louis "Freeze-Thaw" Cycle
Standard big box retail concrete mixes often fail because they aren't designed for the brutal St. Louis climate. While a basic mix might pass ASTM lab tests in a cozy stable environment, a South City porch in February is a Severe Exposure Environment. When you have 11 freeze-thaw cycles in two weeks, that standard mortar—which is full of tiny pores—sucks up daily moisture, freezes nightly expanding by 9%, and literally shatters from the inside out. Store mixes work great in Florida and Arizona, but here, it’s just a countdown to failure.
At STL Stair Repair, we utilize low-permeability, polymer modified materials that are specifically climate-engineered to have viscoelastic flex and resist water absorption to help ensure your restoration withstands the rapid temperature swings that turn "standard" repairs into crumbling debris.
Fast vs. Fastidious: Why the "Quick Fix" Usually Fails.
Fast vs. Fastidious: Why the "Quick Fix" Usually Fails.
Fast vs. Fastidious: Why the "Quick Fix" Usually Fails.
"The True Cost of 'Quick' Step Repair"
We see it every season: homeowners who paid for "quick" or "cheap" repairs only to have ugly, gray, mismatched patches that flake off in months. Even when the patch fails, the sloppy, smeared, and splattered mortar mess is often there to stay.
Most "handyman" and general contractors use standard retail "off-the-shelf" clumpy hydraulic or mortar mixes designed for general bricklaying, not structural restoration. These are not designed for the high demands of exposed steps and porches. These unprepped, 'ugly raised repairs trap moisture and fail during the first St. Louis freeze.STL Stair Repair is known for being fastidiously clean in a very messy industry. We do the job once without cutting corners. By using high-PSI modified cements, bonding and doweling, and the right prep, we ensure your restoration is a trusted part of your home—not just a temporary patch.
STL Masonry Guide: Restoration vs. Rip-Out & Replacement
Saving St.Louis: Why "Rip-Out and Replace" is a Costly Mistake
When a contractor tells you, "It’s too far gone; it can’t be fixed," what they are really saying is they lack the specialized skills and know-how to fix it. To a Demolitionist, the go-to tool in the truck is a sledgehammer. But a full "rip-out" is more than just expensive—it is often a permanent loss of your home’s historic character.
Preserving the St. Louis Historic Curve and Your Property Value
Original St. Louis masonry is defined by craftsmanship—often incorporating limestone, side pillars, caps, and custom-troweled curves that modern "rip-out" crews simply cannot replicate. These contractors typically use straight, big-box-store lumber to quickly form their pours. The result? A blocky, soulless, blue-gray monstrosity that sticks out against your home's aged patina. You don't just lose your steps; you lose the architectural curb appeal that makes your St. Louis home special.
The "New Concrete" Longevity Myth
You might think a new concrete pour is a 'permanent' fix, but modern Portland-limestone cement (Type 1L) tells a different story Today's bulk mixes are now made with less Portland clinker and with industrial fillers like fly ash and furnace slag. These industrial byproducts allow manufacturers to "cook" the mix faster and cheaper-- "to save on carbon"—it results in a more difficult product that, when improperly cured, might not last. We have had many calls to fix new work that has spalled, some of which was only 9 months old. Why trade your century-old, proven high-density masonry for a monolithic gray slab filled with industrial byproducts that lacks a proven track record of longevity in our brutal local climate?
Construction Chaos vs. Preservationist Precision
A full-scale demolition is a noisy, messy, neighbor-invasive process. It involves heavy equipment, loss of access (sometimes months), silica dust, jackhammers that can weaken old foundations and crack interior plaster.
Beyond the "rip-out guy's" $14,000+ price tag for a new porch or $6K+ for rip-out steps (plus railings..), you might be left with landscaping work to do and tons of debris sent to a local landfill.
The "We can fix that" Alternative:
At STL Stair Repair, we have fixed hundreds of jobs for homeowners who were previously told their stairs had to be ripped out. By choosing a Preservationist over a Demolitionist, you:
- Save the Mess: 85% of jobs are done in 1 or 2 days with access only taped off for a few hours at the finish
- Save the Curves: We restore and love to protect the historic details and character of your home.
- Save the Planet: Preservation is the ultimate sustainable technology. "The greenest house is the one already built." Keep the front of your home out of a landfill and skip the massive carbon footprint of a new pour.
And the part you'll love...
- Save your wallet!
STL Stair Repair is closing in on our mission to save St. Louis homeowners one million dollars.