Stone masonry in Chico CA - a stone wall built for the job it has to do
Mortar falling out of an old stone wall, or planning a new one? We help you pick the right method, then build it carefully.
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What's involved in stone masonry, and what decides the price?
Stone masonry in Chico, CA is building walls and fences out of natural or manufactured stone, laid with mortar or stacked dry. It also covers repointing old stone walls, where worn mortar comes out of the joints and fresh mortar goes in. At Cornerstone Chico Concrete and Masonry, we're based in Chico and do this work across the cities around it.
Most calls start one of two ways. Either you want a new stone wall along a yard or a planting bed, or an old stone wall is shedding mortar and you'd like it fixed before stones start coming loose. Either way, the method we pick moves the price the most. After that it's the wall's size, the stone you choose, how much old mortar has to come out by hand and how easy the spot is to reach. The schedule turns on the method, the weather and whether the job needs a permit. If the wall is holding back a slope, that's really retaining wall construction, and I'll tell you so. Your written estimate spells out what's included for your wall, so you can see exactly what you're paying for.
How we handle stone masonry from start to finish
Before any stone goes down, I want to know two things. What does this wall have to do, and how would you want to fix it down the road? Those answers decide between dry-stack, mortared stone and manufactured veneer, and I'll tell you straight if one of them isn't worth doing on your wall. For new work, our crew digs out, packs the base, lays the stone course by course and cleans the face as we go. On older stone walls we take the old mortar out by hand where that protects the stone, because on commercial jobs I saw good masonry ruined by the wrong mortar or a fast tool. Then we repoint the joints. Every wall we build is backed by our satisfaction guarantee.
Stone work tends to point at other problems, and I'd rather fix the cause than the crack. If the brick on your house or chimney has the same worn joints, brick pointing is the matching fix. If a crack in a stone wall runs down toward what's holding the house up, we look at foundation repair before patching anything above it.
Stone masonry in Chico: permits and building conditions
We check job by job whether your stone project needs a permit, with whichever office covers your address, the City of Chico or the county. When one's needed, we handle the paperwork as part of the job. The first time a contractor applies for a City of Chico permit, the city asks for a City of Chico business license number and a California contractor's license number, so a crew that can't produce both can't pull your permit. If your building might be on a historic list, I'd check with the city early, before anyone picks a mortar or a stone.
The city's design requirements for building plans list a frost line depth of 0 inches. That means footing depth here is about the soil and the wall, not frozen ground. The same requirements put most structures in Chico in Seismic Design Category D, toward the upper end of an earthquake design scale that runs from A to F based on ground motion and soil, so when a mortared wall is part of a building plan we work to that from the start. We see the same mix of new yard walls and tired old stone on jobs in Durham and Oroville.
- 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
You call (530) 399-1517 or send the form, and I'll ask what the wall is for and whether it's new work or a repair. That tells me what to look at before I drive out.
I look before I price
I come out myself and figure out what's really going on, like why the mortar is letting go or what the ground under a new wall is like, before I put a number on anything. You get a written estimate that spells out what's included, and we sort out whether the city or the county covers your address.
Our crew works, I'm there
Our own crew does the work with me on site. When something turns up once the old mortar is out or the ground is open, I'm right there to sort it out with you before we keep going.
We walk the finished wall
When we're done, you and I walk the finished job together and look at the joints, the face and the cleanup. If something isn't right, that's the time to say so.
Why Chico owners call Cornerstone Chico Concrete and Masonry for stone work
I write every estimate myself
I come out to look at the job and write the estimate, and then I'm on site while our own crew does the work. The person who priced your wall is the one watching how it goes together.
Fully licensed and insured
Cornerstone Chico Concrete and Masonry is fully licensed and insured. Ask about it at the estimate, because any mason working on your property should be glad to answer.
Veneer timed around Chico heat
The stone veneer trade group's guide calls for protecting manufactured stone from fast drying when it's over 100°F, or over 90° with wind above 8 mph, before, during and for 72 hours after the work. In a Chico summer that can decide which days and hours we set veneer, and I'd rather wait than rush it.
Commercial-trained, in business since 2020
I learned brick, block and stone on a big commercial crew and started this business in 2020. The jobs I liked best were the ones nobody else wanted to figure out, like an old wall that needs a careful match.
On stone, the method you pick at the start decides how the wall handles water and how it gets fixed later, so that's where we begin. Tell us about your wall or call (530) 399-1517.
Request an estimateGet a written estimate for your stone wall, free and on site
We reply within one business day, the on-site estimate is free and there's no pressure to book. Once your form comes in, I'll set a time to come out, look at the wall and what's around it, and write up exactly what the job includes.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Phone
- (530) 399-1517
- Location
- Chico, CA 95928
- Hours
- Mon–Sun: 7 AM–10 PM
Questions about stone masonry in Chico
Is dry-stack or mortared stone better for a wall at my house?
For most freestanding yard and garden walls I lean toward dry-stack, because it drains through its open joints and a repair later means resetting a stone instead of grinding out mortar. One building guide lays out the trade-off. It says a mortared wall traps water and needs weep holes to let it out and drainage backfill behind it, and that dry-stack is slower to build. Mortared stone still makes sense when you want tight, finished joints and we can build the drainage in behind it.
How much does a stone wall cost in Chico, CA?
Installing a stone wall across the US usually costs about $37 to $49 per square foot, and that's a national average for new wall installation, not our price. Repointing an older wall is figured differently, and taking old mortar out with hand tools takes more labor, which can raise the price. Your own number comes from the written estimate after I've seen the wall.
What is the best way to repoint an old stone wall?
Repoint with a mortar that lets moisture move out of the wall and evaporate, because National Park Service guidance for historic buildings says mortar that traps it damages the stones. The same guidance says hand chisels and small, heavy mash hammers take more labor, but in most cases they pose the least threat to historic stone and give the best result. Ask any mason what mortar they'll use and how it lets the wall dry out, and I'll answer that on your estimate.
How do I choose between natural stone and manufactured stone veneer?
Choose by what the wall has to hold up, because manufactured stone veneer is a lightweight product cast from cement-based materials and aggregate to look like stone, and it carries no weight. It goes on the face of a wall that's already there, so you pick it for the look, while natural stone can be the wall itself. If your wall has to stand on its own or hold back soil, it needs real stone or a structural wall behind the veneer.
Who can do stone masonry in Chico?
A licensed masonry contractor can, because California's C-29 Masonry Contractor classification is the one that covers installing natural and manufactured stone. You can look up any contractor's license with the Contractors State License Board. A city permit takes that state license number too, as covered above.
How do I find out who will be working on my stone wall?
Ask your contractor, because California requires a home improvement contractor to share each subcontractor's name, contact information, license number and classification when you ask. The prime contractor, the one you hired, stays responsible for the whole project. On our jobs it's our own crew with me there, as I said above.
Other work that often comes with stone
Brick pointing
If your house or chimney is brick and the joints are sandy or recessed, pointing packs fresh mortar back in before water works its way behind the face.
Foundation repair
When cracks in a stone wall line up with sticking doors or a sinking corner, the cause may be under the house, so we check there first.
Get your stone wall looked at on site
Call (530) 399-1517 or email office@chicoconcreteandmasonry.com with the wall's rough length and height, a few photos and whether it's new work or a repair, so I show up already knowing what to look for.
Request an estimateCall (530) 399-1517