Rutherford is one of the older suburbs in southern Bergen County, and much of its housing predates World War II. Walk a few blocks from the downtown and you pass Victorians with wraparound porches, four-squares, Dutch colonials and brick-trimmed bungalows, many with the original foundations and chimneys still in place. The borough sits above the Meadowlands to the east and the Passaic River to the west, but most of its residential streets are settled, established ground. Here the challenge is less about soil and more about age.
Brick that has seen a century of winters
Mortar joints on a hundred-year-old chimney or foundation have usually been patched more than once, sometimes with mismatched cement. Water gets in, freezes and pushes brick faces off. Careful tuckpointing and repointing removes the failed mortar to a consistent depth and refills the joints with a mix that suits the brick. Chimneys get the same attention, along with new crowns where the old ones have split.
Porches, piers and stoops
Porches are a big part of Rutherford’s streetscape, and their masonry parts fail first: brick piers settle, steps pull away and the concrete landing cracks. We rebuild entry steps in brick or poured concrete steps with bluestone treads, and we can take on porch framing and roofing when the structure above needs it too.
Walkways under old trees
Mature street and yard trees are part of the charm, but their roots heave walks and front paths. A few points we discuss before replacing a walkway:
- whether the root can be bridged or the path rerouted rather than cutting the tree
- matching brick, bluestone or concrete to the era of the house
- keeping the walk pitched so it does not send water to the foundation
- coordinating with the borough if the sidewalk itself is affected
Respecting the house
Older homes reward restraint. We repair before replacing, match materials and keep new work in proportion to the facade. Where historic masonry restoration makes sense, we say so, and where a modern material is fine, we say that too.
Stucco and parged foundations are common on homes of this age as well. When the coating is cracked or hollow, we remove the loose material, check the masonry underneath and recoat it, and our stucco services cover larger wall repairs.
Rutherford neighbors East Rutherford and Lyndhurst, and it is part of our regular Bergen County service area. Request your free estimate and we will look at the brick up close.
