Stone masonry in San Angelo TX - new stone set right and old walls repointed to last

Most calls start with something you can see, like mortar sanding out of the joints, a stone that's worked loose, or a plan to face a wall or the front of the house in stone, which our stone veneer installation page covers in more detail. The price depends on how much wall there is, the stone you choose, how it gets set and how much old mortar has to come out. The schedule depends on any drainage repair that has to come first and, when the job needs a city permit, on the inspections. I'll walk the wall with you at the estimate and give you your own figure from there.

I start by looking at the wall and the stone with you, and at where the water goes, because if a leaking downspout has washed the mortar out, the downspout has to be replaced and the drainage fixed before any mortar work, so plan for that first. On new stone we choose between anchored setting, where metal ties hold each stone to the wall, and adhered setting, where the stone is bonded on, by what the wall and the stone call for and not out of habit. On old walls we clear the worn mortar out of the joints and repack them with mortar softer than the stone itself. We clean the stone with non-acid cleaners and leave your yard the way we found it.

Plenty of houses mix stone with brick, so when the brick joints are going too, we take care of them as brick pointing on the same visit. A crack that runs straight through stone and mortar alike can mean the trouble is underneath, and in that case foundation repair comes before any work on the face of the wall.

In San Angelo, the Building Permits and Inspections division handles permits and inspections for building work. Its forms include a permit for brick ledges, but they don't settle whether a stone job like yours needs one, so ask that office about your project before work starts. When the job does need a permit, we handle the paperwork with the city. City rules also say anyone doing permitted work has to be registered with the building official, so it's fair to ask any mason you're considering whether they show up on the city's registered contractors page.

Older buildings can add a step. The state keeps a listing of San Angelo's historic and architectural resources, and on some historic properties the Texas Historical Commission may have to review the work before it can go ahead, depending on the laws and designations that apply. We see plenty of older stone around San Angelo, so if your house has some age on it, I'll ask about its status at the estimate so any review happens before we start.