Chimney repointing
Mortar joints on a chimney wear out long before the bricks themselves do, and once a joint has opened up, water gets behind the brick face and accelerates freeze and thaw damage through the winter months. Repointing removes the failed mortar to a proper depth and replaces it with a mix matched to the age of the brick, since a mortar that is harder than the surrounding brick can actually cause more damage than it prevents.
Chimney flashing where it meets the roof gets checked at the same time, because a leak at that junction is often mistaken for a roof problem when the actual source is the chimney itself.
Foundation cracks
Union County's clay heavy soil expands when wet and contracts when dry, and that movement shows up as cracking in foundation walls over time, especially on the older homes built decades before modern foundation waterproofing was standard practice. Hairline cracks that are not actively growing are usually cosmetic and get sealed to keep water out. Wider cracks, or ones that keep reopening after a previous repair, are worth a closer look before anything else is done to the house above them.
Porch and step repair
Front porches and entry steps on brick homes take a beating from foot traffic, road salt in winter and the same freeze and thaw cycle that affects chimneys. Spalling brick, where the surface flakes away, and settling steps that have pulled away from the house are the two most common calls. Both are addressed by matching the existing material as closely as possible rather than patching with a visibly different mix.
Reading a masonry job before quoting it
A masonry estimate on an older Elizabeth or Linden home starts with tapping the brick face with a small hammer to listen for hollow sections, checking mortar depth with a pointed tool along several joints rather than just the ones visible from the ground, and looking at how water has actually been draining away from the structure over time. A quote written without that close inspection tends to miss the extent of the repair needed, which shows up later as an underpriced job or a repair that fails again within a season.