Masonry Guide for Westdale, Hamilton | Fix My Brick

There's a stretch of Sterling Street where you can stand on the sidewalk and see the same tuckpointing problem on four houses in a row. All built in the late 1920s, all with the same red brick, all showing the same crumbling mortar joints on the north side. That's Westdale for you—the homes went up together, and now they're aging together.

We've been working on homes in this neighbourhood since 2002, and the pattern's unmistakable. You call us because you noticed sand falling from between the bricks. Your neighbour had us out last month for the same thing. And the house two doors down? They're probably next.

Living in Westdale

If you live here, you already know it's different. The streets curve in a way that doesn't happen in newer subdivisions—that's by design. Westdale was one of Canada's first planned communities, laid out in 1923 with a specific vision: walkable streets, shops in the middle, homes radiating out. The developer, W.J. Westaway, wanted families to be able to walk to everything they needed.

And they can. The Westdale Theatre still runs movies the way it has since the silent film era. You can get groceries, grab coffee, see your dentist, and pick up dinner without ever touching your car. McMaster's right there for culture and lectures. The public school feeds into Westdale Secondary, which has the arts program that draws families from across the city.

But what really defines Westdale—at least from where we stand—is what the homes are made of. Almost every house here is brick. Real brick, from the 1920s and 30s, when Ontario was producing some of the best clay brick in the country. Walk down Paisley Avenue and you'll see Tudor Revival homes with decorative half-timbering. Sterling Street has those classic Arts & Crafts bungalows with their low-pitched roofs. King Street West shows off the Edwardian influence closer to the shopping district.

It's beautiful work. But it's also 100 years old. And that matters.

The Houses Here

Most of Westdale went up between 1925 and 1930. The naming contest was held in 1923 at the Royal Connaught Hotel downtown—6,170 people showed up to hear that Rev. Canon Percival Spencer had won $200 for suggesting "Westdale." Construction kicked into high gear right after that.

Here's what that means for your brick:

The Good News: The brick itself is excellent. This was the golden age of Ontario brickwork—high-quality red clay, hand-laid by skilled masons, built to last generations. These homes weren't thrown up fast. They were built to show off what a planned community could be.

The Timing Problem: Lime mortar—the soft, breathable mortar that holds those bricks together—has an 80-100 year lifespan. Do the math: 1925 + 100 = right now. Most homes in Westdale are hitting their major maintenance cycle at the same time. It's not a coincidence when you see scaffolding going up on multiple houses in the same block.

The Wrong-Repair Problem: Sometime in the 1990s or 2000s, someone probably worked on your house. Maybe repointed a section, rebuilt part of a chimney, fixed some cracks. The problem? They likely used Portland cement mortar—it's what contractors were trained to use. But Portland is much harder than the original lime mortar. When freeze-thaw cycles hit, the soft brick can't move, so it cracks. We see this constantly: spalling brick right next to a newer repair. The repair caused the damage.

Schools, Parks, and the Feel of the Place

Westdale has the schools families move for. Westdale Secondary runs the AMIS program—Integrated Arts and Music—that pulls students from across Hamilton. G.L. Armstrong Public School is walkable for younger kids. Churchill Park gives you green space in the middle of everything, and the McMaster campus opens up the whole west end of the neighbourhood.

But here's what you might not think about: those century-old brick schools and institutions have the same maintenance needs as your house. When we work on homes here, we sometimes get calls from the school board or McMaster's facilities team. Same era, same issues.

The neighbourhood has that feeling of care you don't find everywhere. People tend to their gardens. The Westdale BIA keeps King Street looking sharp. Houses get painted, roofs get fixed, and yes—brickwork gets maintained. There's pride here. When you fix something on a Westdale home, you're maintaining something that was built to matter.

What We See Here

We get calls about four things more than anything else in Westdale:

1. Mortar That's Given Up

The most common call: "The mortar between my bricks is crumbling." You touch it and sand falls out. You can stick your finger into the gap. On the north and west walls, it's worse—that's where weather hits hardest in Hamilton.

This is the 100-year maintenance cycle doing its job. Lime mortar is supposed to be softer than the brick, taking the stress of freeze-thaw so the brick doesn't have to. After a century, it's sacrificed itself. Time to replace it.

The fix isn't complicated: rake out the failing mortar to 3/4" depth, repoint with new lime-based mortar (NHL 3.5 works well for this era), and match the colour and profile to original. Takes time, but it's the kind of work these houses were built for.

2. Damage From Previous Repairs

This one frustrates homeowners. "I paid someone to fix this ten years ago, and now the brick next to it is cracking."

Here's what happened: the previous contractor used Portland cement mortar. It's harder than the original lime mortar. When temperature swings hit, the hard mortar doesn't flex—but the soft brick does. Result: spalling, cracking, and faces popping right off the brick.

We see this constantly on Westdale homes. The telltale sign is grey mortar next to original buff or white mortar, with damaged brick right next to the "repair." Fixing it means carefully removing the Portland (it won't come out easily), replacing damaged brick with period-correct salvaged or custom-matched material, and repointing properly.

It's more work than the original problem would have been. But it's fixable.

3. Tudor Revival Details Failing

Westdale has a lot of Tudor Revival homes—you know the style: steeply pitched gables, decorative half-timbering, fancy brickwork under the windows and above the doors. These details look incredible when they're maintained. When they're not, they're usually the first thing to show damage.

Why? More joints means more opportunities for water to get in. A soldier course under a window sill catches water that runs off the glass. Corbelled brick creates horizontal surfaces that hold moisture. Stone sills and lintels expand and contract differently than the brick around them.

We handle these with care. The decorative work is what makes a Tudor Revival look authentic. Matching the original mortar colour and texture, profiling the joints correctly, sometimes custom-cutting brick to maintain a pattern—it takes patience, but it's worth preserving.

4. North and West Walls Looking Worse

"The back of my house is way worse than the front. Why?"

In Westdale, homes below the escarpment get weather off Burlington Bay. Prevailing winds come from the northwest. Your north and west walls take 50-60 freeze-thaw cycles per year, plus driving rain, plus the moisture that comes with lake effect. The south-facing front porch barely sees any of that.

We usually recommend tackling weather-exposed walls first. That's where water does real damage. Wait too long, and what started as mortar failure becomes spalling brick, water infiltration behind the wythe, and problems that are ten times more expensive to fix.

Work We've Done in Hamilton

Paul W., Hamilton:

"As we gradually restore our 141-year-old brick home in Hamilton, we've called on Fix My Brick three times to help with some of the work. They've done excellent work every time."

Chris P., Hamilton:

"We were a bit skeptical for a franchise company rebuilding our 140 year old Victorian chimneys and putting them back to their original design. We are ecstatic over the job... These chimneys are very high and some difficult access. We were very concerned about rebuilding back to the original aesthetics as they had to custom cut and fit a lot of bricks to match the design."

Mitch W., Hamilton:

"Mike and Luke did an amazing job with my historic downtown Hamilton brick house. They lowered and capped my old chimney, replaced many bricks on the old bump out and fixed my door header. You can't even tell that any work was done."

Questions Westdale Homeowners Ask

"Do I need a heritage permit for masonry work?" Westdale isn't a Heritage Conservation District, so most homes don't require permits for masonry repairs. But if your property is individually designated—check Hamilton's Heritage Register—you may need approval. Either way, we recommend using lime-based mortar. It's what the home was built with, and it's what protects the brick.

"Can you match my original mortar colour?" Yes. Lime mortar from the 1920s often has a buff or cream colour with visible sand. We test the original and mix to match. The goal is repairs that disappear—not grey stripes that announce themselves.

"How long will repointing last?" Done right, with proper materials, you're looking at 80-100 years. Your grandkids can deal with the next round.

"Should I fix just the bad section or do the whole wall?" If one section is failing, the rest of that wall is probably close behind—especially on north and west exposures. We can do partial work, but often it makes sense to tackle the whole face at once. Less scaffolding, better colour match, and you're done.

"My neighbour just had work done. Is my house due too?" Probably. Same era, same materials, same weather. If you're seeing similar signs—crumbling mortar, sand falling out, soft joints—it's time for an assessment.

Get an Assessment

If you're in Westdale and you've noticed mortar problems, soft joints, or brick that's starting to spall, we'll come take a look. No sales pitch, no pressure. We've worked on enough homes in this neighbourhood to spot what's urgent and what can wait.

The worst thing you can do is nothing—water gets in, freeze-thaw makes it worse, and a repointing job becomes a brick replacement job. The second-worst thing is hiring someone who uses the wrong materials. Portland cement on lime mortar buildings causes damage that takes years to show up.

We know these homes. We know the era, the materials, and the issues. Call or book online, and we'll give you a straight answer about what your house needs.

Related Resources

• Brick Repair Services – Full breakdown of our brick repair capabilities
• Tuckpointing & Repointing – Mortar joint repair for older homes
• Chimney Services – Chimney rebuilds, caps, and repairs
• Spalling Brick Causes – Understanding why brick fails
• About Us – What to expect when you work with us
• Schedule an Assessment – Book a free on-site evaluation