Downers Grove pairs a downtown lined with 1880s brick against a wide ring of newer residential streets, and new masonry here gets read against both. We build custom homes and additions with the coursing discipline and material judgment that hold up next to either.
This town runs from 1880s storefront brick to subdivisions that didn't exist twenty years ago, and a new build has to hold its own in either setting. We build and match masonry for both ends of that spectrum.
Downers Grove pairs a downtown lined with 1880s brick against a wide ring of newer residential streets, and new masonry here gets read against both. We build custom homes and additions with the coursing discipline and material judgment that hold up next to either.
Downtown Downers Grove still carries some of the oldest brick in DuPage County, and a new build nearby is judged against that street whether the permit requires it or not. Contractors who guess at mortar tone or skip proper flashing on new construction leave a facade that looks wrong on day one and fails structurally within a few winters.
From CMU foundation block to finish veneer and chimney work, one crew carries the job from groundbreaking to final washdown. Nothing gets handed off to a stranger halfway through.
Downtown lots and open subdivision lots don't stage the same way. Here's how we plan for each.
We walk the block first, noting brick coursing, mortar tone, and joint style on the surrounding 1880s storefronts and homes.
A new wall a few doors from Downers Grove's oldest brick gets compared to it whether anyone asks or not.
We source brick and mix mortar to match the street — a Belmont Road infill isn't sourced the same way as a build near the Estates.
Guessing at a mortar tone on paper always shows up wrong once the sun hits it.
Downtown lots and older streets rarely have room to spare — we plan staging, scaffolding, and delivery timing around what the street can hold.
A blocked alley or a truck parked too long causes more downtown friction than any inspection ever will.
Our own crew lays every course, whether CMU block for a new foundation or veneer brick set quietly next to century-old masonry.
One crew start to finish means the coursing pattern never drifts halfway through the job.
We walk the finished work with the homeowner or GC, checking joints and washdown against the original quote before signing off.
A five-minute walk-through catches the small stuff before it becomes a callback.
Downtown Downers Grove has decades of brick to compare against, and a badly toned new wall stands out immediately. Further out, a rushed CMU foundation or sloppy veneer job causes trouble that only shows up once the framing is already closed in.
Typical cost to tear out and redo a poorly matched or improperly flashed brick veneer job
Before a rushed CMU block foundation starts showing settling and cracking
AMS passes Downers Grove building inspections on the first visit
A gray-toned mortar joint next to century-old lime-based mortar reads as an obvious patch job, not a deliberate design choice.
Block foundations poured to spec on paper but rushed in the field settle unevenly, cracking the finish work built on top of them.
Repointing the visible crown while ignoring the flue liner underneath just delays the same repair — at a higher price next time.
A crew that didn't pour the footing shouldn't be the one laying veneer on top of it. Handoffs are where accountability disappears.
Before quoting a downtown-adjacent project, we look at what's already standing next to it — coursing, tone, joint style — so the new work doesn't clash.
The same masons who pour and lay your CMU block foundation are the ones setting the veneer on top of it — nothing gets handed off mid-build.
When a chimney needs work, we check the flue and structure underneath, not just the visible cap — so it isn't back on the schedule in two years.
Downtown lots don't leave room for error in material staging. We plan deliveries and scaffolding around what the street can actually hold.
"Our addition sits a block from the historic district. AMS matched the brick close enough the inspector asked if it was original."
Sandra Kowalski
Downers Grove, IL · DuPage County
Brick and stone veneer, chimney rebuilds, and CMU block foundations completed for Downers Grove homeowners and builders — from downtown infill lots to new construction further out.
100+ projects completed across Illinois
If new brick or mortar doesn't read right against the surrounding block once it's cured — we redo it. No charge, no argument. That's our standard on every Downers Grove project.
What homeowners and builders on both sides of Downers Grove usually ask before a shovel goes in the ground.
Downers Grove is one town on a much larger map — we build and match masonry from the North Shore to the western suburbs and the city itself.
