Custom home masonry defines a home's exterior for a lifetime. Here's what expert-level planning looks like when brick and stone are done right from the ground up.
When Chicagoland families build custom homes, masonry is often the last trade discussed but the most consequential one to get right. The brick, stone, or limestone on your exterior will outlast every other component of the building — the windows, the roofing, even the framing — but only when selected and installed correctly for Illinois's demanding climate.
The process begins during schematic design, not after framing is complete. Our team works alongside architects and general contractors to specify full-bed clay brick rated SW (severe weather) for all Chicago exterior applications. We coordinate mortar types to match brick hardness, specify compatible flashing systems, and align weep hole placement with the waterproofing team before a single course is laid. Decisions deferred until later become expensive field corrections.
Custom home masonry is also where design creativity lives. Flemish bond patterns, recessed mortar joints, stone water table courses, corbeled chimney caps, and arched window surrounds — these are the vocabulary of quality residential masonry that separates homes that look designed from homes that look assembled. Our team has been building these features into custom homes across Winnetka, Kenilworth, Hinsdale, and Glencoe for nearly two decades.
If you are planning a custom build anywhere in Cook or DuPage County, bring AMS in during the design phase. Early masonry involvement prevents value-engineering compromises that affect the exterior for the lifetime of the structure. Contact us for a pre-construction consultation — there is no charge, and it regularly saves our clients thousands in change orders down the line.
