Stone Masonry in Lake Elsinore CA - walls built for the job they have to do
Old stone wall loosening, or a new one on your list? We match the stone and method to what that wall has to do.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
Do you need a stone mason for your wall in Lake Elsinore?
At E&M Lake Elsinore Concrete & Masonry, stone masonry means building walls, fences and stone facings in Lake Elsinore from natural or manufactured stone, set in mortar or stacked dry, so each wall carries what it has to and looks the way you want.
Most calls start one of two ways. Either an old stone wall is shedding stones or leaning, or you want a new wall, a fence or a stone face on a plain block wall and aren't sure which kind makes sense. The price mostly turns on the stone you pick, how long and tall the wall runs, whether it carries weight or holds back soil like a retaining wall, and how much old work has to come out first. The schedule turns on permits, inspections and getting the stone in, and I give you your own figure when I come out and see the spot.
How can you tell a stone wall needs work?
Cracked joints and loose stones
You can rock a stone with your hand, or a crack runs through the mortar and splits a stone or two. That usually means worn mortar or a wall that's shifted, and once one stone goes, the ones beside it lose their support and water gets in behind them.
Wall leaning or bulging
Sight down the wall and it bows out in the middle or tips forward at the top. On a wall holding back soil, that's usually wet ground pushing with nowhere to drain, and it tends to keep moving until someone deals with the cause.
Stone facing coming loose
Pieces of a stone face sound hollow when you tap them, or a corner has started pulling away from the wall. That usually points to a bond that failed or a wall behind it that's breaking down, and water getting in back there makes both worse.
How we handle stone masonry, from picking stone to the last joint
We start by asking what the wall has to do, whether it holds back a slope, carries weight, marks a property line or just gives a block wall a stone face, because that decides whether we use natural or manufactured stone and whether we set it in mortar or stack it dry. I'll steer you by the job, not by what's easiest for us. Then we check what the new stone will sit on or attach to, dig and pour a footing where the wall needs one, set the stone course by course, finish the joints and clean up the site.
Stone work often turns up other problems. If an old wall failed because the ground or footing under it moved, that's foundation repair work, and I'll tell you so before we rebuild anything on top of it. Where stone sits beside brick with worn joints, we can handle the brick pointing while we're already there.
Natural stone, mortared or dry stacked
Real stone set in mortar makes a solid wall that can carry weight or stand as a fence, so it suits structural and boundary walls. Stacked dry, with no mortar or steel, the rocks hold by their own weight, shape and fit, which can work for a rock wall along a slope when the stones are chosen and placed with care.
Manufactured stone facing
This is a lightweight stone look cast from cement and aggregate, and it's a facing only, so it carries no load of its own. It suits a sound block or framed wall when you want the look of stone without the weight of the real thing.
Get an estimate for your stone wall or facing
Send photos of the wall or spot if you have them, and we'll reply within one business day. I'll come out and give you a free estimate on site, with no pressure to book.
(951) 579-7076- Based in
- Lake Elsinore, CA 92530
- Hours
- Mon–Sun: 6 AM–11 PM
What happens after you call us about a stone wall in Lake Elsinore?
Here's how a stone wall job runs with us, from your first call to the final walk-through.
Call or send the form
Reach us at (951) 579-7076 or through the form, and we'll get back to you to set a time. If you can, tell us what the wall needs to do and the stone look you like.
I come look at the wall
I come out myself, ask what you've noticed and look closely at the stone, the joints and what the wall sits on. You get the estimate right there, and I walk you through what's driving the price so the number makes sense.
We build, then walk it together
Once you're ready, we sort out what the local office asks for and our lead mason runs the crew, and since the city's inspector has to see permitted work exposed until it's approved, finishing waits for that sign-off. When the wall is done, I walk through it with you before we call it finished.
Why Lake Elsinore homeowners call E&M for stone walls
The owner sizes up every wall
I come out to look at the job myself, ask what you've noticed and work out why a wall is failing before I price anything. That way you pay to fix what's actually wrong, not for a bigger job than you need.
In business since 2013
I grew up mixing mortar and hauling block on a masonry crew, and I started this business in 2013. We're based in Lake Elsinore, so the slopes, block walls and stone facings around here are the work we see every week.
Fully licensed and insured, every job
We're fully licensed and insured. That matters on stone work, where our crew is moving heavy material across your yard and close to your house.
On a stone wall, the method has to fit what the wall does, so tell us about yours and I'll come out and take a look.
Stone walls and retaining walls in Lake Elsinore
In Lake Elsinore, the city's building official issues the permit you get before building, altering, repairing or tearing down a structure. Whether your particular wall counts is something we confirm for your address, because some homes around here fall under the county instead, and when the job needs a permit we take care of the paperwork and plan the work around inspections. The state has also mapped earthquake fault zones along the Elsinore fault and others in Riverside County, which is part of why I look hard at what a stone wall sits on and how it's tied together. We're based in Lake Elsinore and work across the cities around it, and we see the same hillside lots and stone-faced block walls on jobs in Wildomar and Canyon Lake.
Plenty of stone-faced retaining walls here are block underneath, and the city's standard block retaining wall design calls for drainage behind the wall, either clean coarse gravel with a perforated pipe sloped to drain or open upright joints along the bottom course. Water that can't get out pushes on the wall, so we treat that drain as part of the wall itself.
Questions about stone masonry in Lake Elsinore
How do I choose stone for an outside wall in Lake Elsinore?
Choose a stone with a track record of standing up to the weather in this area, because not every natural stone is meant for outdoor use. Stone with that history gives the best results, so when we help you pick, the track record comes before the color.
What is the best way to attach stone veneer, adhered or anchored?
The wall decides, not the crew. Stone veneer is either set with adhesive or held with metal anchors, and the stone trade's guidance is that the structural support, the loads, the stone itself and the local climate should pick the method. We look at what's behind the facing and how heavy the stone is before we choose.
What inspections does a retaining wall need in Lake Elsinore?
A retaining wall built to the city's standard block design is inspected at the footing, at the rebar and drainage before the block is filled with grout, and at a final after backfill, before any decorative cap goes on. The city also says its standard design is used at your own risk, with no guarantee against failure, and that an engineered design may be possible instead. On a taller wall or a tricky slope, I'll tell you if I think one is worth having.
What license does a stone mason need in California?
California's masonry contractor license covers stone work, including setting natural and manufactured stone in walls for buildings and fences, with or without mortar. It covers walls that carry weight and walls that don't, so it's the license to ask about when you compare masons.
How much does a stone wall cost in Lake Elsinore?
The cost comes down to the stone, the method, the wall's size and what has to happen behind it, and I price your wall once I've seen it. Natural stone is usually heavier and slower to set than manufactured facing, and a wall holding back soil needs a footing and drainage that a garden wall may not. Tearing out an old wall or working on a tight backyard slope adds to it as well.
Can you put stone veneer over an existing wall?
Yes, as long as the wall underneath is sound. One masonry trade group's guide says manufactured stone veneer should go over solid backing, not over a wall that's breaking down or over the foam-backed stucco systems called EIFS. If the wall behind is failing, we fix that first, because a facing is only as good as what it's attached to.
Related masonry work we often pair with stone
Brick pointing
When the mortar between your bricks has gone soft, sandy or missing, fresh pointing keeps water out of the wall before the bricks themselves start to loosen.
Foundation repair
If cracks keep coming back in the walls or floors above, the problem may sit lower down, and we'll trace it to the footing before fixing anything.
Service areas for stone masonry around Lake Elsinore
E&M Lake Elsinore Concrete & Masonry is based in Lake Elsinore, CA, and builds stone walls across the cities around it, from Murrieta to Menifee. The 12 areas below each have their own page, though they aren't the only places we work.
Lake Elsinore, CA
Show us the wall you have in mind
Photos, what the wall has to do and the look you're after let me think through the stone and method before I even pull up.