Mortar washing out of the joints or brick flaking at the face? We fix the water first, then repoint and clean gently so the wall holds.
Masonry restoration in Antioch, CA means replacing worn-out mortar, cleaning the brick without hurting it and fixing whatever let the water in, so your wall can dry out and hold together again.
Most calls start with something you can see. Mortar crumbling out of the joints, sand on the patio under a wall, or brick flaking near a downspout or along the ground. The cause is usually water. The mortar is meant to take that wear first, because sound joints let moisture work out through the mortar instead of through the brick. When the joints give out, the brick starts paying for it.
What moves the price is how much wall needs work, how deep the old mortar has gone, how many bricks are too far gone to save, how high we have to work and whether a downspout or drain has to be fixed first. The schedule turns mostly on that drainage fix and on whether the job needs a permit. My written estimate spells out what we'll do and what we won't, so you see your own number before anything starts.
We're based in Antioch and work in the cities around it, from Concord and Walnut Creek out to Brentwood and Rio Vista. If you're not sure we cover your address, call and ask. Sometimes the honest answer is a smaller job than you expected, like repointing one wall instead of the whole house, and if that's what I see, that's what I'll tell you.
Two walls can look the same from the driveway and need very different work. These are the things I check up close, because they decide what your job actually is.
If the mortar is soft or sunk back but the brick faces are whole, the job is mostly repointing, which means cutting out the bad mortar and packing in new. If brick faces are cracked or flaking, those bricks need replacing too, and that takes more labor. I check both so you know which job you have.
A white, powdery crust on brick is salt the water left behind on the surface. It's called efflorescence, and it's usually fairly harmless. The trouble is salt that dries inside the brick, because that's what makes the face flake off, and it tells me water has been moving through the brick for a while.
If a wall needs cleaning, the joints get repaired first and the wall gets watertight. Washing a wall with open joints pushes water inside, where it can rust the metal anchors in the wall and stain the plaster on your inside walls. So cleaning comes near the end, once the mortar is sound.
Here's how a restoration job goes with us, from the first call to the final walk-through, and who you'll be dealing with at each step.
Call (925) 503-1025 or send the form, ideally with a few photos of the worn joints and any downspout that dumps water on the wall. Most of the time it's me who gets back to you.
I come out, look at the wall and the drainage around it, and tell you what I see while I'm standing there. Then I send a written estimate that spells out what we'll do and what we won't.
If you go ahead, we take care of any permit and line up the inspections. The drainage fix comes before any mortar work, and I'm on site with the crew while the job gets done.
When the work is done, we clean up and walk the wall with you, showing you what we repointed, replaced and fixed around it. If something doesn't look right to you, that's the time to say so.
I start every restoration by finding where the water is coming from, because that's usually why the mortar failed. A downspout that dumps against the wall, a clogged gutter or a sprinkler soaking the same spot will wash the joints out again if we repoint and walk away. We get that sorted before we touch the mortar, so it's worth counting the drainage fix as part of the job when you plan your budget.
Then we cut out the soft mortar back to solid material and pack the joints with new mortar that suits your brick, so the wall can still dry. When the brick needs cleaning, we clean it gently instead of blasting it, because soft brick doesn't come back once its face is damaged. Bricks that are already too far gone get replaced with the closest match we can find.
Restoration often lines up with other work on the same wall. If you're planning fireplace installation in a room with older brick, it's easier to restore the brick at the same time. If you'd like a stone face on a plain wall, stone veneer installation can go on once the wall underneath is sound and dry. I won't put veneer over a wall that's still failing.
If only the wall under a bad downspout is worn, we can repoint that wall and leave the rest. Doing every wall costs more but matches everywhere, and I'll tell you honestly whether the others need it yet.
Older brick doesn't have to look new. Gentle cleaning lifts dirt and staining, but if the brick is sound, leaving its weathered look alone is a fine choice and costs less.
Send the form with a few photos of the worn joints and any downspout trouble, and we'll reply within one business day. Estimates are free and done at your property, with no pressure to book. I'll set a time, come look at the wall myself and send you a written estimate of what we'll do and what we won't.
(925) 503-1025The City of Antioch's Building Services Division issues building permits, reviews plans and inspects the work. Its list of exempt projects names retaining walls three feet or less and fence replacement, but not masonry restoration, so that list doesn't settle whether your job needs a permit. When one is needed, we pull it and line up the inspections, and if it's unclear we check with the city first. You can also ask the Building Services Division about your project.
If any part of the job reaches the street side, like a curb cut or a change to the driveway, the city's Engineering Division requires a separate encroachment permit. Around Antioch and in nearby Pittsburg and Concord, a lot of the restoration calls we get are brick planters, garden walls and house fronts where a downspout or sprinkler has been soaking the same spot for years.
If your building is older brick with no steel inside the walls, California's Seismic Safety Commission says most buildings like that have features that threaten lives in earthquakes, such as walls and roofs poorly attached to each other, and that seismic retrofits can significantly reduce those risks. Repointing makes the mortar sound again, but it isn't a retrofit, and I'll say so plainly if your building raises that question.
I started as a helper on a masonry crew, mixing mortar and hauling block long before anyone let me lay a brick, and I opened this business in Antioch in 2023. I come out to look at every job myself, and I'm on site with our crew when the work gets done, so the person who looked at your wall is the one making sure it's done the way we said.
We're licensed and insured. Satisfaction guaranteed on every job. If your wall needs less than you feared, I'll tell you that, because I'd rather fix why something failed than sell you a bigger job. Call (925) 503-1025 or send us the form to set up a time for me to come out.
Planning a new fireplace in a room with old brick? Doing the restoration and the fireplace together means one crew, one mess and walls that match when you're done.
Want a stone face on a plain block or brick wall? Once the wall underneath is sound and dry, veneer can go on over it and give it a new look.
We're based in Antioch and restore brick and stone in the cities around it, from Martinez and Clayton out to Oakley and Discovery Bay. If your city isn't listed below, call and ask.
Brick mortar repointing across the US usually costs about $400 to $2,500 per 100 square feet of wall, for the repointing itself. Where your job lands depends on how deep the old mortar has gone, how high we work, how many bricks need replacing and whether drainage needs fixing first. Your written estimate gives you your own number.
Antioch's exempt list names retaining walls three feet or less in height and fence replacement, but it doesn't list masonry restoration. So the list alone won't tell you whether your job needs a permit. As covered above, we check with the city before work starts and pull the permit when one is needed.
Usually not, because water at high pressure is very abrasive and can etch soft stone and some kinds of brick, according to preservation guidance written for historic buildings. Sandblasting is rougher still. In one comparison of two houses, sandblasted brick was left rough and pitted and lost much of its mortar. Ask any crew how they plan to clean before work starts.
Mortar that traps moisture in the wall ends up damaging the bricks themselves. High-lime mortars let moisture pass more easily than denser cement mortars, so the wall can dry through its joints. Preservation guidance for older brick suggests asking for a mortar that lets the wall dry, so salts stay out of the brick face.
Move plants, patio furniture and anything stored against the wall, and turn off sprinklers that spray it. Keep pets and kids clear of the work area, since cutting out old mortar is dusty work. I'll go over the order of the job with you at the estimate so you know what to expect each day.
Every month the joints stay open, more water gets into the brick, so call (925) 503-1025, use the form or email team@antiochmasonryandconcrete.com with photos of the joints and downspouts.
