Loose stones, sandy joints or a slope that needs a wall? We bed every stone in full mortar so it holds.
Stone masonry is building and repairing walls, veneer and paving in natural or manufactured stone. In Antioch, a lot of the stone calls we get are repairs, usually repointing, where we cut the worn mortar out of the joints and pack in new.
Most people call because something's showing. Mortar is sanding out of the joints, a stone has come loose on a veneer wall, or a garden wall has started to lean. Others want something new, like a stone face on a front wall or a low stone border along a planting bed. We're based in Antioch and work in the cities around it, from Concord and Walnut Creek out to Brentwood and Rio Vista.
The price comes down to how many square feet of stone there are, whether it's natural or manufactured, how much old mortar has to come out, how easy the spot is to reach and whether the wall needs a new base. The schedule turns on the size of the job, when the stone arrives and whether a permit comes first. I put all of it in writing before you decide anything.
A stone wall can look fine on day one and still be built to fail. These are the parts I look at first, on new walls and on old ones.
A stone wall laid without mortar stands on how the stones fit together. National guidance on dry-laid walls says the key to a durable one is interlocking the stones and tying them to the soil behind the wall. That takes time spent choosing and turning each stone, so a dry wall isn't just a mortared wall with the mortar left out.
On stone veneer, the mortar joints need to be full and well tooled, pressed firm and smooth as the mortar sets, with no voids or cracks that let water into the wall, according to one stone supplier's installation guide. A joint can look finished from the driveway and still be hollow behind the face, so we tool every joint.
Stone is heavy, and a freestanding wall needs a solid footing or a packed base under it before the first stone goes down. When an old wall leans or cracks in a stair-step line, the trouble is often underneath it. That's why I look at the base before I price new mortar on top.
Here's how a stone job goes with us, from your first call to the walk-through at the end, and who you'll be dealing with at each step.
Call (925) 503-1025 or use the form and tell us what's going on with the wall. Most of the time I'm the one who gets back to you, and we set a time for me to come look.
I come out myself, look at the stone, the joints and what the wall sits on, and tell you what I see. Then you get 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 the job needs and line up the inspections. I'm on site while our crew cuts out old mortar or sets new stone, so you can ask me anything.
When it's done, we walk the wall with you, look at the joints together and clean up the mortar and stone scraps. I'll also tell you what to keep an eye on while the new mortar cures.
Every stone we set gets bedded in full mortar, so there are no hollow spots behind it holding water. One stone supplier's installation guide calls full bedding essential, because even small voids can collect water and lead to early failure. If you're comparing bids, ask each mason how they fill the back of every stone. The answer tells you a lot.
When we repoint stone, we use a mix that breathes, so moisture inside the wall can get out. If your house is brick and the joints are going, that's our brick pointing work. And if a wall keeps cracking because the ground or the house under it has moved, fresh mortar won't fix it, so I'll tell you to look at foundation repair first.
Dry stack veneer leaves the joints open for a rougher, tighter look. The supplier's guide says it suits indoor walls or warm climates where it doesn't freeze, and ties the choice on outside walls to freeze and thaw, so we talk through where yours sits.
Natural stone is split or cut from rock, and no two pieces match. Manufactured stone is cast to look like it and comes lighter and more even. The choice changes the price, so if you're torn, I'll price both.
We reply within one business day, and most of the time it's me getting back to you. I come out to your property, look at the stone and send you a free written estimate. There's no pressure to book.
(925) 503-1025The city's Building Division issues building permits, and its list of work that doesn't need one includes retaining walls three feet or less in height. That list doesn't cover every stone job, like a taller wall or veneer on the house, so we check with the Building Division before work starts and pull the permit when one's needed. Work at the curb or a change to your driveway needs a separate encroachment permit from the city's Engineering Division.
On jobs around Antioch we mostly see stone faces on front walls and porch bases, low stone borders and planters, and older mortared walls where the joints have gone soft and sandy. We do the same work in Brentwood and Concord, where permit questions go to that city's own office, and we check with them the same way before we start.
I started as a helper on a small 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. I'd rather fix why a wall failed than cover it up, even when the honest answer is a smaller job.
We're licensed and insured. The state licensing board has a masonry license that covers natural and manufactured stone, laid with or without mortar, for walls, fences and paving, so ask any mason you're weighing whether they hold one. We back our work with satisfaction guaranteed on every job. When you're ready, call (925) 503-1025 or send us the form.
If your house, chimney or garden wall is brick and the mortar is crumbling out of the joints, we cut it back and repoint it properly.
When cracks keep coming back in a wall or step, the cause is often movement underneath, and that has to be fixed before new stone goes on.
We're based in Antioch and do stone work across the cities around it. These are the cities with their own page, not the only places we go, so if yours isn't here, call and ask.
Installing stone veneer across the US usually costs about $25 to $40 per square foot. That's a national figure, not an Antioch price and not ours. Where your job lands depends on the stone you pick, how much prep the wall needs and how easy it is to reach, and your written estimate gives you the number for your wall.
In Antioch's required front yard, no wall, fence or hedge can be taller than 36 inches. Elsewhere on the lot, the city caps walls and fences at six feet, with some exceptions, such as a masonry sound wall up to eight feet beside a major street or school site with a sound study. We settle the height before we price the wall.
It matters because new mortar that keeps moisture or water vapor from moving out of the wall and drying off ends up damaging the stones. The water has to go somewhere, and if the joints won't let it out, it works through the stone instead. Before anyone repoints your wall, ask which mix they use and how it lets the wall dry out.
If the stones are sound and only the joints are worn or sandy, repointing is usually enough. Loose stones, a bulge or a lean point to trouble behind or under the wall, and new mortar on the face won't fix that. I'll tell you which one your wall actually needs, even when it's the smaller job.
The schedule mostly comes down to the size of the wall, whether it's repointing or new stone, when the stone arrives and whether a permit comes first. Repointing a section usually moves faster than building a wall from the footing up. Once I've seen the job, I'll tell you how the timing looks for yours.
Clear a path to the wall and move anything sitting against it, like pots, furniture or stacked wood, so the crew has room to work and stage stone close by. If sprinkler lines or yard lighting run near the wall, mark them or point them out to me at the estimate so nothing gets dug into.
When you call (925) 503-1025 or send the form, have the wall's spot on your lot, its rough size in square feet, the stone you like and a few photos of any worn mortar, so I show up already knowing what to look at.
