Masonry Contractor in Ventura County, CA

Near the water in Oxnard, Port Hueneme and Ventura, the marine layer and the salt air are what wear masonry down. Salt and steady moisture corrode plain steel, so the metal behind veneer, the ties, lath and fasteners, needs to be galvanized or stainless and fully covered by mortar. Damp air also slows drying and can pull salts to the face of a wall as white efflorescence. We choose the mortar, sealer and stone with that in mind. Dense stone and fired brick handle salt spray better than soft, porous stone, and we will tell you if a stone you like is a poor fit for a wall that faces the ocean.

Inland, in Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Moorpark and the Camarillo hills, the question is usually the slope. A retaining wall holds back soil and the water in it, so the drainage behind the wall matters as much as the block: gravel backfill, a drain at the footing, and weep holes so water cannot build up pressure. In California a retaining wall over four feet, measured from the bottom of the footing, or one holding up a driveway or a slope above it, generally needs a permit and an engineered design. We tell you when your wall crosses that line. Stone, brick and block also do not burn, which is one reason people in the hills choose them for walls, columns and outdoor fireplaces.

Here is how it goes in Ventura County. Send photos of the wall, the front of the house or the fireplace, with rough measurements. We talk it through by phone first, so nobody spends a drive on a job that is not a fit. If it is, we come out, walk the site, and give you a written scope. Because of the distance from Hemet, a full house front, a long wall or a fireplace rebuild makes more sense for us here than a small repair, and we will say so up front.