Masonry Contractor in Acton, CA - Walls and Stonework Built for Rural Lots

Ask the building office that covers your address, and for property in unincorporated Los Angeles County that's LA County Public Works, which lists retaining walls and fences over 6 feet among the work it permits. We check this for you before any digging starts, and when a permit is needed we apply for it as your contractor.

Only if the job falls under the state's minor work exemption, which went from $500 to $1,000, and even then only when the work needs no permit and the worker has no one else working on the project. Any job that does need a permit also needs a signed statement from a licensed contractor with the license number on it, so a permitted wall isn't handyman work. We're licensed and fully insured, and that's the first thing worth asking anyone you call.

The price comes down to how long and tall the wall is, what it's built from and how much digging and drainage it needs, so we price each one after seeing it. Repairing a sound wall costs less than rebuilding a failed one, and a stone face or veneer costs more than plain block. I write every part of it into your estimate, and you can ask about any line as often as you like.

The building part usually goes faster than the waiting, because a wall that needs a permit can't start until the permit is issued and has to pass its inspections along the way. After that, the length, height, amount of digging and how far the site sits from the driveway set the pace. I'll lay out the order of work at the estimate so you know what happens when.

An outdoor kitchen can need more than one permit, because work that's exempt from a building permit may still need its own plumbing, electrical or mechanical permit. Exempt work also still has to meet zoning rules and other laws. We sort out what applies to the masonry before we build and tell you which parts your other trades will need to cover.

State law caps the down payment on a home improvement contract at $1,000, and on smaller jobs the cap is lower because it's tied to a share of the contract price, not counting finance charges. If anyone asks for more than that up front, it's a good reason to stop and ask questions before you sign.