I'm a mason based here in Escondido, and our crew fixes crumbling joints and cracked brick and builds block, brick and stone walls that sit right in the yard they're in. Call (760) 546-4075 and I'll tell you straight whether your wall is worth fixing.
(760) 546-4075
Escondido is home for us, and the calls here cover just about every kind of house the city has. Closer to downtown we see more older brick, like chimneys, garden walls and porch steps with mortar that's gone soft and sandy. As the lots climb into the hills, a lot of the work turns into block and stone retaining walls that keep a slope where it belongs.
In the newer neighborhoods it's mostly block property walls, paver driveways and stone veneer on stucco fronts, and people usually call about a cracked wall cap or a wall that's started to lean. Plenty of folks call just to ask whether something's worth fixing at all, and I'd rather give you that straight answer than sell you a job you don't need.
Tell us about your wall, chimney or patio, and ask about permits while you're at it. We'll get back to you within one business day, and then I come out myself to walk the job with you and put a free estimate in writing. There's no obligation and no pressure to book.
(760) 546-4075On the older houses here it's mostly repair, from tuckpointing tired joints and replacing cracked brick to chimney work and foundation repair when a block foundation has cracked or settled. On the hillside and newer lots we build retaining walls, block, brick and stone yard walls, paver driveways, walkways and outdoor kitchens.
Building permits here come from the city's Building Division, which only takes plans electronically and needs about 30 calendar days for each round of review once it has a complete set, so when your job needs a permit, that review sets the start date more than our crew does. If it does need one, we handle the application and meet the inspector when the time comes. Before you hire anyone, look up their state license with the Contractors State License Board and ask about their city business license, which the questions below cover. The price mostly comes down to how big the wall is, how much old work has to come out, the footing it needs and the brick, block or stone you pick, and the estimate puts your own figure on it.
On the hillside lots, getting block and stone up a steep drive or through a narrow side gate can take as much work as laying it, so I look hard at access on the walk-through because it shows up in the price. We do the same work in San Marcos, Valley Center and plenty of places beyond, but the permit office isn't always the same one, so I check whose rules apply to your house before we schedule.
I come out to every estimate myself, look at the wall with you, explain what's going on with it and put the estimate in writing. Then I'm on site running our crew while the work gets done, so the person who quoted it is the one building it.
I spent years as another mason's right hand, learning to read old walls and match their mortar. That matters on older Escondido brick, because a repair mortar that's too hard or the wrong color can crack the brick around it and stick out from across the yard.
If a wall isn't worth repairing, I'll tell you, and if a small fix will hold, that's what I'll quote. I'd rather do the repair your wall actually needs than the one that's easiest to sell, because good masonry should outlast all of us.
We're licensed and insured, we've been in business since 2020, and every job comes with the same promise, satisfaction guaranteed. When you're ready, call (760) 546-4075 or use the form to tell us about your wall, and we'll set up a time to look at it.
An older city permit guideline lists fences up to 6 feet high and retaining walls up to 4 feet, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, as needing no building permit, though they still need Planning Division approval. A retaining wall carrying a surcharge, which is extra weight pressing from above like a slope or a parked car, doesn't get that pass. Because the guideline is older, we confirm the current rule with the Building Division before we build.
Yes, the city requires a business license from anyone doing business inside Escondido, even when their headquarters is somewhere else, and it names construction contractors as an example. Ask any contractor you're comparing whether they have one before work starts.
The state requires a contractor's license when the job needs a building permit, uses any workers besides the contractor, or costs $1,000 or more in labor and materials together. A bigger job can't be split into smaller pieces to get under that line. We're licensed and insured, so you're covered either way.
There isn't one fair number, because the price comes from your wall, its length and height, the brick, block or stone you choose, how much old work comes out first and the footing it needs. Matching old mortar and color on a repair takes more care than laying new block, and a permit adds its own cost. You'll see your figure in the written estimate after I walk the job with you.
Usually it's age and water, since mortar is meant to wear before the brick does and years of moisture working in and out slowly turn it soft and sandy. Old patches done with mortar that's too hard can make it worse, because the brick ends up taking the stress. Tuckpointing, raking out the bad mortar and packing in a matched mix, fixes it when the brick itself is still sound.
Ask the city, which you can reach at City Hall at 760-839-4880, and if there's any chance your house is historic, I'll ask you to do that before we schedule anything. The city's older permit guideline already treats homes on its historical register and in the Old Escondido Neighborhood differently in at least one exemption, so it's worth checking before anyone touches an older house.
