Masonry contractor in Pleasant Hill, CA - Brick and stone work built for clay soil
A&K Pittsburg Concrete and Masonry is a masonry contractor based in Pittsburg, CA. In Pleasant Hill, we repair brick, mortar and chimneys and build walls, walkways and paver driveways that look like they belong to the house.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- We reply within 1 business day.
Pleasant Hill houses and what they ask of masonry
Pleasant Hill is mostly a city of homes, spread across the middle of Contra Costa County along I-680, and nearly all our work here happens at the front steps, chimneys and yard walls of houses people have lived in for years. It's the same kind of work we do in nearby Martinez and Concord.
The calls here run the way they do across our part of the county. Mortar on brick fronts has worn sandy, chimney tops have loosened, and garden walls or steps have cracked or tipped. I treat an older house as something to match rather than update, so we look closely at the brick size, the mortar color and the way the joints were finished before we touch anything, because a repair that stands out ends up looking like a patch.
Masonry services for Pleasant Hill homes
When a foundation wall cracks or a door starts sticking, we find out what's moving first, then repair the masonry so it carries the house again.
Chimneys take the most weather on a house, so loose bricks, a cracked cap or crumbling joints up top are some of our most common calls.
On older brick fronts, tuckpointing fills worn joints with mortar dyed to match the brick, then adds a thin line so the wall reads crisp again.
Cracked, chipped or loose bricks on a front step, planter or wall get cut out and replaced with brick that matches in size, color and texture.
Pavers suit a driveway here because single units can be lifted and reset if the ground moves, instead of one slab cracking across the middle.
When a yard has a leaning wall or a bare slope, we build a retaining wall with drainage behind it, so water doesn't build up and push it out.
For brick or stone that has been patched badly over the years, we take out the bad repairs and bring the wall back to how it was built.
We build fireplaces in brick or stone, indoors or out back, laid out so smoke goes up and out and the look matches the rest of the house.
Stone veneer, a thin layer of real or cast stone over a wall, dresses up a plain foundation, column or front without the weight of full stone.
Block walls make solid property-line and garden walls, and we set steel and grout in the hollow centers so the wall stays straight over the years.
For an addition, garage or crawlspace, we lay foundation block on a concrete footing so what's built above has something solid to sit on.
Backyard cooking areas get counters, grill surrounds and bases built in block, brick or stone, so they stand up to heat, rain and years of use.
We lay walkways from the driveway to the door or out to the yard in brick, pavers or stone, on a packed base so they stay level underfoot.
New brick walls along the front or back of a lot get a real footing and mortar to suit the brick, so they look built with the house.
For steps, planters, columns and garden walls in natural stone, we pick and fit each piece by hand so the joints stay tight and the work looks settled.
Repointing worn or cracked mortar joints is the work we're best known for, and we match the old mortar's color and strength so it ages with the brick.
Get a free estimate on your Pleasant Hill masonry job
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day. I'll come out, look at the job with you and write up a free estimate in plain terms, with no obligation.
(925) 318-8090- Based in
- Pittsburg, CA 94565
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 7 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–11 PM
What we sort out on Pleasant Hill jobs before we start
Permit applications for work in Pleasant Hill go to the city's Permitting Office, and the city's Building Division says any work that physically changes a structure or adds one to your property needs a permit, which can take in chimney, fireplace, foundation and wall work. The city decides what needs one, so I check with them before we start, and when a permit is needed, we pull it and handle the paperwork for you. On those jobs the work waits for the city's sign-off, so the permit is usually what sets our start date more than anything else.
Before you hire anyone here, it's worth checking two things, a California contractor's license and a Pleasant Hill business license, which the city requires even of contractors whose office is in another city. That covers us too, since we come in from Pittsburg on I-680 the way we do for jobs in Walnut Creek, and we're licensed and insured and have been in business since 2017. Price moves with how much old work has to come out, how much matching and digging the job takes and how hard it is to reach, while the schedule turns on the city's sign-off and the weather, and I spell both out in the written estimate.
Clay ground and aging mortar behind most calls here
The city has noted that clay soil is common all over Pleasant Hill, which is a general finding and not a test of your lot, but it matches what we run into when we dig here. Clay swells when it's wet and shrinks as it dries, and that slow push and pull is what cracks a garden wall, drops one corner of a step or opens the joints in a walkway. We dig past the loose top layer, set footings and a packed base sized for the ground we actually find, and give water somewhere to go, because your lot tells us more once it's open than any general note can.
Then there's plain age. Mortar is meant to wear before the brick does, so after enough years of rain and sun the joints go soft and sandy, and if nobody repoints them, water starts working into the wall and the chimney top. We'd rather catch it at the joint stage, because repointing costs far less than rebuilding brick that water has already loosened.
How a masonry job runs when you call us in Pleasant Hill
From your first call to the last walk-through, here's what happens and who you'll be dealing with along the way.
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Call or send us a message
Tell us what you're seeing, by phone at (925) 318-8090 or through the form, and we'll set a time for me to come out. A few words about the wall or chimney help me know what to look at first.
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Walk the job with me
I come out myself, look at the work with you and answer your questions, so it's best if you can be home for this visit. You get a written estimate in plain terms, with what we'd do, why we'd do it and the full price before anything starts.
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We pull permits and build
If the job needs a permit, we handle the paperwork and start once the city signs off, and the work is done by me and our crew. The city allows construction from 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on weekdays and 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekends, so those are the hours you'll hear us.
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Walk the finished job together
When we're done, I walk the finished work with you and show you what we did, and we clean up before we leave. Our promise is satisfaction guaranteed on every job.
Questions about masonry work in Pleasant Hill
How do I find out if my masonry project needs a permit in Pleasant Hill?
Call the city's Building Division at (925) 671-5200, which is what the city itself tells homeowners to do when they're not sure. If you hire us, you don't have to make that call, because checking with the city is how we start every job.
Do I need a permit for a paver driveway or walkway in Pleasant Hill?
The city says ground work such as driveways, pathways and patios doesn't need a building permit. That changes if the work reaches city property like the street, curb or gutter, which may need an encroachment permit from the city's Engineering Division, so a driveway that meets the street is worth checking before anything is dug.
Does a masonry contractor need a California state license?
Yes, for most jobs, because the state requires a contractor's license whenever a project needs a building permit, uses any workers besides the contractor, or costs $1,000 or more in labor and materials together. That line used to be $500, and it only exempts small jobs with no permit and no employees, so anyone building a wall or repairing a chimney for you should hold a license.
Do I need a special permit for masonry work in a Pleasant Hill flood zone?
You may, because the city says improvements in the floodplain area may require a Floodplain Development Permit. An older city handout counts about 700 homes inside the FEMA flood zones here, so if yours is one of them, we bring it up with the city before we plan the work.
What causes cracks in brick walls and steps in Pleasant Hill?
Usually it's one of two things, the ground moving under the footing or mortar that's simply worn out. On clay ground like the city's, movement tends to show as a stair-step crack along the joints or a step that's dropped at one end, while worn mortar looks sandy and sunk back all over, and I sort out which it is first because patching a crack without fixing what moved just brings the crack back.
How much does masonry repair cost in Pleasant Hill?
The price comes down to how much has to come out, how hard the old brick or stone is to match and what's under it, and you get your own figure in a written estimate after I've seen the job. Repointing a few worn areas costs less than rebuilding a section, a chimney costs more to reach than a garden wall, and a new wall costs more when the ground calls for a deeper footing or drainage.
Tell us about your Pleasant Hill project
A cracked step or a leaning wall is far easier to judge in person than in a photo, so call (925) 318-8090 or use the form and I'll come take a look.
Pittsburg, CA