Brick wall installation in Chico, CA - a garden wall built from the footing up
Not sure how tall your brick wall can go or what it should sit on? We settle both before we lay a single brick.
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What goes into building a brick wall in Chico?
Brick wall installation in Chico means building a freestanding brick garden wall on its own footing and finishing it with a cap on top, so you end up with a wall that stands straight and looks finished from both sides.
Maybe you want privacy along the back of the yard, a low wall to frame the front, or a wall that goes with an older brick house. The price mostly comes down to how long and how tall the wall is, how much footing it needs underneath, the brick you pick and the cap you put on it. The schedule usually turns on whether a permit comes into it and how soon the brick you want can be had. Your own number comes in a written estimate that spells out everything included.
How we handle brick wall installation, from footing to cap
We settle where the wall goes and how tall it'll be first, because that one decision sets the size of the footing, how much brick you need and whether a permit comes into it. The footing is part of the wall to us, and the brick industry's guidance puts a garden wall's footing in undisturbed earth below the frost line, in brick or concrete, reinforced if needed where soils shift. If you want reclaimed brick, we check the batch before we plan around it, for reasons I cover in the questions below. Once the footing's in, our crew lays the brick with a mortar picked to suit it, since I've seen the wrong mortar ruin good brick, and we finish with a cap that covers the top of the wall.
Plenty of people want some stone in the mix, like a stone cap, stone piers or a stone wall that runs into the brick, and our stone masonry work covers that. If you already have an old brick wall nearby with crumbling joints, brick pointing, which means raking out the worn mortar between the bricks and packing in fresh mortar, can bring it back so it holds up next to the new one.
What Chico's rules mean for brick wall installation
The city's height limits are the first thing I check, because they decide how tall your wall can be before we've even talked about brick. On Chico lots that aren't corner lots, a front yard wall tops out at 3 feet and a back yard wall at 7 feet, and going higher than either takes a use permit from the city. A building permit is a separate question. The city's Building Division issues permits for most retaining walls and for fences over 7 feet, and its list doesn't name brick garden walls, so it doesn't settle whether yours needs one, and that's a question for the Building Division before anyone digs. We find out whether the city or the county covers your address and take care of the permit paperwork as part of the job when one's needed.
That city or county question matters here, because Chico runs its own building and planning inside city limits while Butte County serves unincorporated places like Durham, Forest Ranch and Cohasset. We build walls on jobs in Oroville and the other cities around Chico too, and a lot of what we're asked for is a low wall beside an older brick house, so I take time matching the new brick and mortar to what's already there.
- Call (530) 399-1517
- Mon–Sun: 7 AM–10 PM
- Chico, CA 95928
What happens when you call Cornerstone Chico Concrete and Masonry in Chico?
Call or send the form
Call (530) 399-1517 or send the form with your address, where you want the wall and about how tall. That gives me enough to start working out which office covers your lot.
I come out and look
I come out, walk the spot with you and figure out what's really going on, like slope, what's in the way and what your house's brick looks like, before I price anything. You get a written estimate that spells out the footing, the brick, the cap and the cleanup, and we sort out which office covers your address.
Wait out the permit review
If your wall needs a permit, most Chico jobs need extra time for a detailed plan review before the city issues one, so build that wait into your plans. We handle the paperwork and keep you posted on where it stands.
Build it, then walk it
Our crew digs and pours the footing, lays the brick and sets the cap with me on site. When it's done, we walk the finished wall together.
Why Chico homeowners call Cornerstone Chico Concrete and Masonry for brick walls
The owner writes your estimate
I come out myself to look at the spot and write the estimate, and our own crew builds the wall with me on site. You're talking to the person who'll be standing there when the footing goes in.
Trained on commercial brick work
I learned on a commercial crew laying brick, block and stone on big buildings, and I've run this business since 2020. That's where I saw good brick ruined by the wrong mortar or a fast tool, so on your wall I take the slower, careful way.
Licensed and insured for small walls
We're fully licensed and insured. California's contractor licensing board says a license is required when the work needs a permit of any kind or uses hired helpers, even on a project under $1,000, so a short wall is no reason to skip one.
Backed by our satisfaction guarantee
Our work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee. I'd much rather hear what's bugging you about a wall while we're standing next to it than find out about it later.
The footing is the part of a brick wall you'll never see again once it's built, so it's the part I want to plan with you up front. Send us your project on our contact page and tell me where you'd like the wall.
Request an estimateGet a written estimate for your brick wall
We reply within one business day, and the estimate is free, done on site and comes with no pressure to book. I come out myself, look at where your wall is going and how tall you want it, and write up exactly what's included.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Phone
- (530) 399-1517
- Location
- Chico, CA 95928
- Hours
- Mon–Sun: 7 AM–10 PM
Questions about brick walls in Chico
How much does a brick garden wall cost in Chico?
The cost comes down to the wall's length and height, how much footing it needs, the brick you choose and the cap on top, so two walls of the same length can price very differently. Reclaimed brick that needs sorting, piers, a zigzag layout or a tight spot to work in all add to it, while a straight, low wall in new brick usually costs the least. You get your own number in the written estimate after I've seen the spot.
How do I know if reclaimed brick is good enough for a garden wall?
Reclaimed brick only suits a garden wall if it meets the industry's SW grade, the rating for brick made to stand up to hard, wet weather, and used brick usually doesn't because it was often fired unevenly. That's why I look over a batch before we plan around it. If it won't hold up, I'll tell you straight and we'll go with new brick.
What should go on top of a brick garden wall?
A garden wall gets a cap or coping, the finishing piece that covers the top, and it changes the look of the whole wall about as much as the brick does. Natural stone, cast stone, slate, terra cotta, metal and brick all work. I'll bring a few options that go with your house and your brick.
How tall can a brick wall be on a corner lot in Chico?
On a Chico corner lot, no wall can stand more than 3 feet above the curb inside the sight distance area, the corner zone drivers need to see across. The rest of the lot follows the front and back yard limits I covered above. I measure where that corner zone falls before we settle on a spot.
What happens if a wall gets built in Chico without a permit it needed?
The city can issue an immediate Stop Work Order, and fees can run up to triple the original permit fee. That's why we sort out whether your wall needs a permit, and which office issues it, before anyone picks up a shovel.
What is the best way to keep a brick garden wall from leaning?
Give the wall enough width for its height, because a UK brick group's guidance says thinner brick walls have a limit on how tall and slender they can be and still stay stable. That guidance meets the limit with a thicker base, piers that stick out along the wall, or a zigzag or staggered layout. I'll talk through which of those fits your yard and the look you want when I'm out there.
Other work that goes with a brick wall
Stone masonry
If you'd like natural stone on the cap or piers, or a stone wall running beside the new brick, we cut and set it ourselves.
Brick pointing
When an older brick wall on your property has crumbling or missing mortar between the bricks, pointing replaces those joints so it holds up beside the new one.
Tell us where your brick wall goes
Call (530) 399-1517 or use the form with your address, the wall's spot on the lot and how tall you want it, and I'll have the city or county question looked into before I show up.
Request an estimateCall (530) 399-1517