Since founding Personal Touch in 1989, Joyce Harris has led with a commitment to quality, value, and hands-on expertise. What began as a one-woman cleaning service has grown into a respected company known for its integrity, craftsmanship, and long-standing client relationships.
Historic Masonry Restoration for the Putnam County Historical Society
Some buildings hold more than walls and windows. They hold memory, craftsmanship, and the story of a community.
That was the case with the beautiful mid-1800s homestead maintained by the Putnam County Historical Society. Today, the building serves as a museum, preserving historical items and sharing the rich history of Putnam County. It is a remarkable structure, but like many historic brick buildings in Illinois, it required specialized care to protect its long-term integrity.
The building was constructed with a softer clay brick that was common in the 1800s. These older bricks were designed to work with soft, breathable mortar. That matters because using a hard modern masonry mortar on a historic building can cause serious damage. Instead of allowing the wall to breathe and move naturally, modern hard mortar can trap moisture and put stress on the brick itself, leading to cracking, spalling, and premature deterioration.
The Historical Society understood that this was not a job for just any mason.
They contacted Personal Touch Service Solutions because we are one of the few companies in downstate Illinois that specialize in historic masonry restoration and create our own custom historic lime mortars. For older brick structures, proper restoration is not just about appearance. It is about matching the original materials closely enough that the building can continue to function the way it was intended.
For this project, we took samples of the original mortar and studied its color, texture, and composition. We then created a custom mortar blend using traditional materials, including lime putty, to closely match the original mortar used when the home was built. This type of mortar allows the structure to breathe and helps it move more naturally through the freeze-thaw cycles that are part of our Illinois climate.
Over the course of several years, we restored multiple areas of the building. The work involved more than cosmetic repair. The key to a successful historic brick repair is proper repointing.
A true repointing project requires removing the failed mortar deeply enough to create a lasting bond. As a general rule, mortar joints should be cut out to a depth of at least one and a half times the width of the joint. When done correctly, this process becomes more than cosmetic. It creates a structural repair that can strengthen the wall system and protect the building for decades.
In many cases, properly executed lime mortar repointing can last up to 50 years, provided there is no further water damage or structural movement.
That kind of durability matters when caring for a historic property. Buildings like this are not only valuable because of their appearance, but because of what they represent. They connect present generations to the people, materials, and methods that shaped a region long ago.
This project at the Putnam County Historical Society is a good example of why historic masonry repair requires specialized knowledge. Older buildings need materials that are compatible with their original construction, not just materials that are readily available at a big box store. When historic brick is repaired correctly, the building can continue to stand, breathe, and serve its community for generations to come.
At Personal Touch Service Solutions, we are proud to provide historic brick restoration, lime mortar repointing, and masonry repair for historic buildings in Central Illinois. For property owners, churches, museums, and caretakers of older structures, the right repair work is an investment not only in the building itself, but in the history it carries.
