Crumbling joints between your stones, or a stone wall you've been picturing? We'll help you pick the stone and build it to last.
Stone masonry in Wellington, FL means building and repairing stonework: walls stacked dry or set in mortar, stone veneer on house walls, and new mortar in the joints between stones. When it's done right, you get stonework that's generally considered permanent.
Most calls start one of two ways. Either the mortar between your stones is cracking or falling out, or you have a garden wall or a stone front in mind and want to know what it takes before you commit.
The price moves with the wall's size in square feet, the stone you pick and whether the wall is dry stacked or mortared, because mortar means a foundation underneath. On repairs, it moves with how much old mortar has to come out. Chiseling it out by hand takes more labor, but on older stone it's usually the safest way and gives the best result. The schedule depends on the stone you choose, whether the job needs a permit and how much rain we get while the mortar sets. Your estimate spells out what we'll do and why.
From the first call you deal with me, and I'll walk you through each step before it happens.
When you call or send a message, I'm the one who comes out to walk the yard with you, look at the stone and answer your questions. I started this business in Wellington in 2020, and I'd rather explain something twice than leave you guessing.
The estimate lists the work and the reason for each part, so you understand your own stonework before you pay anyone to touch it. If part of a wall is sound, the estimate says so, and we leave that part alone.
Once you say yes, our crew builds or repairs the stonework, and I tell you what's coming next as the job goes along. We're licensed and insured.
A new stone job starts with two choices, and we help you make both. The first is the stone, since not every stone that looks good is suited to being outside. The second is the wall. A dry stacked wall has no mortar, and a mortared wall needs a foundation under it, so choosing mortar means planning that foundation too. For a low garden or planter wall, dry stacked is often the simpler choice. When you want a crisp, solid wall, mortar on a foundation is worth the extra work. On older stonework we start with the joints, because new mortar is usually what's needed and new stone usually isn't.
Stonework often sits next to brick with the same tired joints, and our brick pointing work takes the same careful approach to those. If the crack you spotted runs through the slab or the block under the stone, we look at foundation repair first, because new stone on a base that's moving won't stay put.
Every wall is different, but the order of the work stays about the same.
Before a mortared wall's foundation goes in, we look at how your ground drains, because that affects where a foundation should go. If you want to look up your own lot first, the UF/IFAS guide to the Web Soil Survey shows you how.
We mark the line and the height with you, then dig out and pack the base, or form and pour the foundation for a mortared wall. That gives the stone something solid to sit on.
Our crew sets the stone course by course and fits each piece so its weight sits on the stones below it. On veneer, the stone goes over the backing the wall calls for.
We tool the joints, clean mortar off the faces of the stone and haul away the scraps. Then I walk the finished wall with you.
Send the wall's rough size in square feet, a few photos of the area and the stone look you want, or call (561) 268-0510. We respond within 1 business day, and I'll set a time to come out and give you a free quote on site. There's no pressure to book.
(561) 268-0510Installed stone veneer across the US usually costs about $15 to $45 per square foot. That's a national figure for veneer, not a Wellington price and not ours. Where your job lands depends on the stone, the size of the wall and what's behind it, and the on-site estimate gives you our number for your wall.
Under Palm Beach County rules, anyone who advertises, bids on or contracts masonry work has to hold a certificate of competency. The county's licensing board won't issue one until the applicant shows public liability insurance and a license bond. At the state level, a certified license covers work anywhere in Florida, while a registered license covers only the cities or counties where the contractor holds a certificate of competency. When you're comparing masons, ask which kind of license they hold and ask to see proof of the insurance and the bond.
The best choice is a stone with a history of standing up to the weather where you live, because not every natural stone is suggested for outdoor use. Before you settle on a look, ask which stone has held up in local weather, and we'll go over which of the looks you like are suited to being outside.
Masonry wears most at the mortar joints, so crumbling mortar is usually ordinary wear and not a problem with the stone itself. The fix is repointing. We take out the worn mortar and fill the joints with new mortar that lets moisture move out of the wall and dry, because mortar that traps moisture damages the stones. Repairs are chosen to protect the stone.
Behind manufactured stone veneer goes a water-resistant barrier and sometimes a rainscreen, which is a small gap that lets water drain. Trade guidance says both should go in the way the veneer maker's instructions and local code call for. Where a barrier is required on a framed wall, the guidance calls for two separate layers lapped like shingles, starting at the bottom. Ask any installer how they'll meet each of these before work starts.
We're based in Wellington and work in many cities around it, including West Palm Beach, Royal Palm Beach, The Acreage and beyond. Around here we see a lot of stone veneer on house fronts and columns, low garden and planter walls, and stone edging around patios and pools.
When a stone job calls for a permit, we apply for it and set up the inspections, and I'll go over it with you at the estimate. If a residential builder is already running a bigger project at your house, Palm Beach County rules let that contractor take out permits for the masonry part as well, within the limits of its license, so it's worth settling early who's pulling the permit.
A few photos and the wall's rough size let me see the job before I arrive, so I know what to look for when I get there.
If you're not sure whether your stone needs repair or just a second look, I'm glad to walk it with you.
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