Hirsch Brick and Stone Company

Hirsch Brick and Stone Company Hirsch Brick and Stone Co is a full service Landscape Masonry Company serving northern Illinois

06/18/2026

Everyone's driven past a beautiful installation and never noticed the details that made it right.

On this Highland Park project, we taper the granite curbing back down to sidewalk grade and street grade at both ends. Most contractors don't do this. They terminate the curb at a hard angle and move on.

We don't. Here's why.

One — it's the correct finish. The curbing should meet the existing grades, not fight them. A sharp angular termination tells you the installer wasn't thinking about the whole picture.

Two — it's a safety issue. A raised curb end at the sidewalk is a trip hazard. At the street, it's in the path of snowplows and vehicle traffic. That edge will get hit. When it does, it damages the installation and potentially causes an accident.

The details that separate a finished project from an unfinished one aren't always visible. But they're always there — or they're not.

Most masons would look at this job and walk away.The existing brick on this Winnetka home has a deliberately irregular c...
06/16/2026

Most masons would look at this job and walk away.

The existing brick on this Winnetka home has a deliberately irregular character — protruding headers, rough mortar texture, courses that break the rules on purpose. It’s not sloppy. It’s intentional. And it took a specific kind of mason to match it.

Scott Byron uses Hirsch because Hirsch can look at a 100-year-old brick detail and replicate the intent, not just the material.

The new stoop and patio work had to read as if it had always been there. Every course planned to match the existing vernacular. Every joint finished to match the original hand.

That’s not a concrete paver job. That’s masonry.

Comment PATIO below and we’ll send you our guide to what separates a standard install from precision craftsmanship.

06/11/2026

Your pavers aren't moving on their own.

If your hardscape is shifting, sinking, or separating — the problem started before the first paver went down.

Here's what we see most often:
1. Improper base preparation
Not enough compaction. Not enough gravel depth. The base is doing the real work — if it's wrong, everything above it eventually fails.

2. No drainage plan
Water gets underneath the pavers and starts moving the sand. This is the one homeowners almost never see coming.

3. Weak edge restraint
Plastic edging instead of proper restraint. The edges go first, then the field follows.

Movement doesn't happen overnight. It happens because the system underneath wasn't built right.

Structure matters more than surface.

Save this if you have pavers — or if you're planning to.

Small backyard. No room for error. No place for water to go.This is a constrained urban backyard — house on one side, ga...
06/09/2026

Small backyard. No room for error. No place for water to go.

This is a constrained urban backyard — house on one side, garage on the other, fence at the back. When it rains, water has nowhere to drain. A conventional base would hold moisture, move over time, and start to fail within a few seasons.

The solution was a permeable base under the bluestone. Water moves through the surface, through the base, and out. The patio stays level. The joints stay tight.

The bluestone runs from the back of the house along the side of the garage as a path. One material, clean transitions, solved in a space most contractors would overcomplicate.

Not every project needs to be a showpiece. Some projects just need to be right.

06/04/2026

The column you see above ground is only as good as what's buried below it.

We're on site in Highland Park installing four granite column footings at the driveway entrance. These columns will anchor a fence running the length of the property line — and they'll carry that load for decades.

Most people focus on the column itself. The material, the cap, the finish. What they don't think about is the footing depth, the footing width, and the footing shape.

You have to go fully to frost on the North Shore. A footing that doesn't reach frost depth will heave every winter and settle every spring until the column is no longer plumb. A footing that isn't properly belled at the base won't resist lateral movement under load.

The column stays straight for the rest of its life because of what we did underground today. Nobody will ever see it.

Most people walk right past details like this.Where this granite cobble driveway meets the street, the stones taper down...
06/02/2026

Most people walk right past details like this.

Where this granite cobble driveway meets the street, the stones taper down course by course to match the grade. No abrupt edge. No trip hazard. No compromise.

That's not something you spec. That's something you know how to do.

This project pairs a full granite cobble driveway with a bluestone front walk and a bluestone-on-edge accent band. Two materials. One cohesive install. Every transition intentional.

Design by Kettlekamp & Kettlekamp Landscape Architects. Masonry installation by Hirsch Brick & Stone.

This is what craftsmanship looks like before anyone says a word about it.

05/30/2026

Cheap installs are rarely cheap.

The real cost shows up later — in repairs, in structural failures, in tearing out work that wasn't built right the first time.

Three mistakes that cost homeowners the most long term:

1. A base that wasn't built correctly
No drainage plan. Not enough compaction. Corners cut where you can't see them. The surface looks fine — until it doesn't.

2. Ignoring maintenance
Hardscape is not a set-it-and-forget-it investment. Small issues addressed early stay small.

3. Waiting too long on movement
A paver that shifts an eighth of an inch today becomes a structural repair in two years. The window to fix it cheaply closes fast.

Not all installs are equal. You can't always see the difference on day one.

You'll see it eventually.

Buy nice or buy twice.

Save this before you hire anyone.

This is what deferred maintenance looks like.Settled bluestone. Cracked slabs. A front stoop riser that pulled completel...
05/28/2026

This is what deferred maintenance looks like.

Settled bluestone. Cracked slabs. A front stoop riser that pulled completely away from the structure.

Two things happened here. First, the stone was never releveled after it started to move. Second, salt was used to de-ice the surface every winter. Bluestone is porous. Salt gets in, freezes, expands, and breaks the stone from the inside out.

The damage you see on the surface started years before anyone noticed it.

We came in, releveled the walk, replaced the compromised slabs, installed angle iron to rebuild the stoop riser, and reset the stone properly.

This is a maintenance call, not a replacement. It stayed that way because the structure underneath was still sound.

Annual maintenance costs a fraction of what this repair costs. Save this if you have bluestone at home.

Comment INSPECT below and we'll send you our spring bluestone checklist.

05/26/2026

Grouting is done. The project isn't.

Most people think once the pavers are set and the joints are grouted, the job is finished. It's not.

The grout needs 30 to 40 days to cure. After that, there's a washing process that most installers skip — and you can always tell.

Here's what proper completion looks like:
After curing, we apply an acid and water solution across the entire surface. We work it in with brooms to lift the loose mortar that settled onto the stone during grouting. Then a full water rinse to neutralize and reveal the finished surface.

That's what takes a patio from "installed" to done.

The difference shows up in the stone. And it shows up years later when yours still looks right and your neighbor's doesn't.

Save this if you're planning a bluestone patio or pool deck.

Natural stone doesn't age. It develops.This project was installed five years ago. Bluestone veneer on the columns and fi...
05/21/2026

Natural stone doesn't age. It develops.

This project was installed five years ago. Bluestone veneer on the columns and fireplace. Limestone pool deck. Bluestone treads and upper patio.

Five years later, it looks exactly like this.

Here's what most people don't know: concrete pavers fade. The color is surface-deep. Sun, freeze-thaw cycles, and foot traffic wear it down. You're resealing, replacing, and chasing color match within a few years.

Natural stone is different. The color runs all the way through. It doesn't fade. It doesn't need to be replaced. It just needs to be maintained.

We're on site today power washing this limestone deck. Not because something failed. Because great stone deserves great maintenance.

If the budget allows for it, natural stone isn't a luxury. It's the better investment.

Comment MAINTAIN below and we'll send you our seasonal stone care checklist.

Address

3510 Washington Street # 100
Park City, IL
60085

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 4pm
Tuesday 8am - 4pm
Wednesday 8am - 4pm
Thursday 8am - 4pm
Friday 8am - 4pm

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