Masonry Contractor in Santa Clara, CA - Repointing, Repairs, Walls and Pavers
Quality Gilroy Concrete and Masonry is a masonry contractor based in Gilroy and working in Santa Clara, CA. We repoint and repair older brick, build new block, brick and retaining walls, and lay paver driveways and walkways.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- Replies within 1 business day.
Santa Clara houses and yards as we find them
Santa Clara is mostly flat, built-out neighborhoods of single-story ranch houses from the postwar building years, with newer townhomes and apartment buildings mixed in along the main roads. On the older houses we see the same things again and again: a brick chimney that's losing mortar near the top, a brick planter under the front window that's starting to push out, a block wall between yards with a crack running down it. Most calls come from homeowners who've noticed one of those and want to know whether it's a patch or a bigger job before they spend anything.
The houses look a lot like the ones next door in Campbell and Cupertino, but the ground here gets lower and wetter toward the bay. That's why I look at where water goes around a wall or a foundation before I talk about brick.
Masonry services for Santa Clara homes
Foundation repair
When a foundation wall cracks or a brick step pulls away from the house, we find out whether water or soil movement is causing it first.
Chimney repair
Many older houses here still have their original brick chimney, and a cracked cap or loose bricks at the top let rain into the masonry below.
Tuckpointing
On older brick fronts and chimneys where joints have worn back, we cut them out and refill with mortar matched to the old color so the repair blends.
Brick repair
When brick faces flake or pop off, water is usually getting in, so we replace the damaged bricks and deal with where the water comes from.
Driveway pavers
Pavers suit Santa Clara's flat lots because the gaps let some rain soak in, and a sunken section lifts out and resets without tearing up the driveway.
Retaining wall construction
On Santa Clara's mostly flat lots, retaining walls usually hold raised beds or a step in grade, with gravel and a drain behind so water doesn't build up.
Masonry restoration
When the brick front, chimney and garden walls have aged together, we plan the work as one job so repairs match and leaks get handled together.
Fireplace installation
Many living rooms here still have a dated brick fireplace, so we reface or rebuild those and build new fireplaces for remodels and backyards.
Stone veneer installation
Thin stone veneer dresses up a plain stucco front or block wall, and what keeps it sound is the water barrier we put behind it.
Concrete block walls
Block walls are a common choice here for privacy along side and back yards, and we set them on a real footing with steel and grout inside.
Foundation block wall installation
For an addition, a garage or a raised floor, we lay the block foundation walls on the footing, reinforced and grouted to carry the house above.
Outdoor kitchen masonry
Flat, fenced backyards here are good spots for an outdoor kitchen, and we build the block base, stone or brick face and counter support on a solid slab.
Walkway construction
On flat lots like most here, we build brick, paver or stone walks with a slight slope so rain runs off instead of puddling by the door.
Brick wall installation
A low brick wall along the front yard or around a patio fits the older ranch houses here, and we match brick and joints to the house.
Stone masonry
Natural stone suits garden walls, steps and planters, and we set each stone so it sits solid and sheds water instead of trapping it.
Brick pointing
If you can scratch the mortar out with a key, it's usually time to repoint, because open joints are where water gets into brick walls and planters.
A free written estimate for your Santa Clara project
Send us a few lines about the job and we'll get back to you within one business day. I'll come out, walk it with you and put a free estimate in writing, with no obligation.
(669) 205-6449- Based in
- Gilroy, CA 95020
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–11 PM
What I check before a Santa Clara job starts
In Santa Clara the building permit comes from the city's building division through its Permit Center, and the city wants one before anyone builds, alters, repairs or tears down a structure. If your job needs one, we check with the city and handle the application and the inspections, and I build that into the schedule at the estimate, because a permitted job starts when the permit is issued, not when our crew is free. Whoever you hire, ask to see their California contractor license and their City of Santa Clara business license, which the city requires even of contractors based outside it, like us in Gilroy. We're licensed and fully insured.
Price here moves with the size of the job, how much old masonry has to come out and whether a permit is involved, and the schedule turns on the permit and the weather. Houses sit close together on most streets, so if a bin for old brick has to go on the street instead of your driveway, the city issues a minor encroachment permit for that, and I'll tell you at the estimate whether you need one. It's the same work we do from Milpitas down to Watsonville, and your written estimate gives you the figure for your own job.
Why brick and block here need attention
Water is the first thing I check on a Santa Clara job. The city says less than 10% of Santa Clara is in the mapped flood zone, but properties in and out of that zone can still flood, because 35% of the city relies on levees for protection. Even without a flood, low, flat yards hold water against foundations, planters and the bottom of a wall, and that's where mortar washes out first. So before we fix a joint or set a new wall, we look at how water gets to it and how we'll move it away.
Age is the other one. A lot of the brick here was laid decades ago with softer mortar, and if it's repointed with a hard modern mix, the brick takes the stress and cracks instead of the joint, so we match the mortar to the old brick.
How a Santa Clara masonry job runs, from call to cleanup
Here's what happens after you get in touch, who you'll deal with at each stage and when you'll see a price.
Call or send us a message
Tell us what you're seeing, a crack, loose bricks or a new wall you want built, and we'll set a time for me to come out. Photos help, but I still want to see it in person.
I walk the job with you
I look at the joints, the footing and where water runs, explain what it means and what I'd do, and answer your questions, so it helps if you're home. You get the price in writing before any work starts.
Our crew does the work
If your job needs a permit, work starts once the city issues it, and inspections happen as each stage is ready. Our lead mason runs the crew, and I check in while the job's going.
We walk the finished job
When it's done, we clean up and haul off the old material, then I walk it with you. I point out what to keep an eye on, like the joints at the top of a chimney or the drain behind a wall.
Questions about masonry work in Santa Clara
(669) 205-6449Yes for a retaining wall more than 4 feet tall, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, and for a fence over 7 feet high, because both are on the city's list of work that needs a building permit. The city also requires a permit before you build, alter or repair any structure, so for a shorter wall I check with the city before we start instead of guessing.
In most cases, yes. The state licensing board requires a contractor's license when the job needs a building permit, when the contractor uses any workers, or when labor and materials on one or more contracts total $1,000 or more. That dollar line was $500 until recently, so older advice can be off, and most masonry jobs cross at least one of those lines anyway.
A Santa Clara building permit stays valid for 365 days from the day it's issued or from the last inspection the job passed. If it expires before the work is done, work can't start again until a new permit is issued, so we schedule inspections as each stage is ready instead of letting a permitted job sit.
No, not in an existing house. The city's Reach Codes apply only to newly built buildings at this time, and the city says owners don't have to replace existing gas appliances with electric ones, so refacing or rebuilding the masonry around your gas fireplace doesn't force a switch.
For single-family projects, the city requires a soil study, which it calls a geotechnical investigation report, for any new house, and also on hillside lots, questionable or expansive soil, earthquake fault zones, liquefaction zones and landslide zones, or wherever the Building Official asks for one. If your lot falls under one of those, I want that report in hand before we size a footing, because it tells us what the ground will carry.
The price mostly comes down to the size of the wall or repair, the materials you pick and how hard the site is to work. Matching old brick and mortar color takes longer than new work, a wall on soft or wet ground needs a deeper footing and drainage, and a backyard reached only through a narrow side gate means moving material by hand. I'll walk you through each of those on site, and your written estimate gives the figure.
Gilroy, CA
Tell us about your Santa Clara project
Call (669) 205-6449 or send the form while the crack is still small, because water working into a wall only makes the repair bigger.