Stone repair for older lake houses and wooded lots in Mahtomedi
Mahtomedi is on the east side of White Bear Lake, in Washington County, across the water from the city where Don Barger is based. That puts it well inside the area he named, and Stonecrete Inc works there on stone. Don sets new stone and repairs old stone: loose stones, worn mortar joints, and stone steps that frost or tree roots have pushed out of line. Text Don a photo at (612) 432-9467.
- Where
- East side of White Bear Lake
- County
- Washington County
- Stone work
- New stone set, old stone repaired
- Call or text
- (612) 432-9467
Lake houses on the east shore
Mahtomedi is on the east side of White Bear Lake, in Washington County. Its older houses are lake houses. Under a lot of them is a foundation of limestone or fieldstone, set in the soft mortar that was used back then, and many carry a stone or brick chimney.
That soft mortar is meant to be the weak part of an old stone wall. It gives a little when the ground moves and wears away before the stone does. Once it has washed out of the joints the stones loosen. That is when a step starts to rock or a stone drops out of a wall on an old Mahtomedi house.
Wooded lots and what trees do to stone
Mahtomedi is a town of wooded lots, and trees change how stone holds up. Shade keeps a north wall or a set of steps damp long after the sun has dried the rest of the yard. Leaves and needles pile against a stone wall in the fall and hold water right where it can freeze in the joints.
Roots work slower. A big tree beside a stone walk or a set of steps can lift them a little each year, and then frost gets under the high side and lifts it more. Resetting stone that a root has pushed up starts with deciding what to do about the root.
Signs worth a photo
Once the snow is gone, walk around a Mahtomedi house and look for these.
- Stone steps that rock, or tip back toward the house
- Mortar joints that crumble when you rub them
- Stone in the shade that stays green and damp
- White stains on stone near the walk or the driveway, where salt has soaked in
- A stone that has dropped out of a wall or a foundation
Salt on the front steps
Salt is the one people miss. It gets carried onto every front step all winter, soaks into the stone, and makes each freeze hit harder. So the front steps are often the first stone on a house to flake and crack, even on a shady lot where the rest of the stone looks fine.
Brick chimneys and block walls
Plenty of Mahtomedi lake houses have a brick chimney or a block wall somewhere on the lot. Those are separate from the stone work Stonecrete Inc leads with, so mention them by name when you reach Don.
Parks in Mahtomedi
- Katherine Abbott ParkA park on Lincolntown Avenue
- Wedgewood ParkA park on Wedgewood Drive
- Chautauqua ParkA small park on Quail Street
- Willernie BeachA small beach park on Ash Street
- Southwest ParkA park on Long Lake Road
Questions
Is Mahtomedi in Don's area?
Yes. Don covers White Bear Lake and roughly half an hour around it, and Mahtomedi is just across the lake on the east side.
A tree root lifted my stone walk. Can it be fixed?
Lifted stone can be taken up and set again. The root has to be dealt with first, and that part can be a question for a tree service. Send Don a photo of the walk with the tree in it.
What mortar goes back into an old stone foundation?
Something close to what was there: a soft mortar with lime in it, mixed to suit the stone. A hard modern mix packed against soft limestone leaves the stone to take the strain, and after a few winters its face can crack and flake.
Can Don fix the brick chimney on my lake house?
That is a question to put to Don. Stone comes first at Stonecrete Inc, and he can say on the phone whether a brick chimney is a job he takes.
Don tells you plainly what the masonry needs, and what it does not, before any work starts.
