Stone veneer installation in Clovis CA - stone that stays bonded to a sound wall

Most people call us because they've got a wall they're tired of looking at and want stone on it without the weight of a full stone wall. If you do want stone that holds itself up, that's stone masonry, which is a different job. What moves the price is how big the wall is, whether you go with natural or manufactured stone, how many corners and edges need cut pieces, and what shape the wall behind is in, since any repair there comes first. The schedule turns on that same repair work and on the weather, because fresh mortar can't be rushed on a hot, windy day. I'll give you the number for your wall when I come out for the estimate.

First I check the wall the stone is going on, because veneer only lasts as long as what's behind it, and a cracked, crumbling or loose backing gets fixed before any stone goes up. Then our crew gets the surface ready so the mortar has something clean to grip. When we set the stone, we press full mortar onto the back of every piece so there are no hollow pockets left to hold water, because trapped water is what works stones loose over time. We fill and shape the joints, protect the new work while the mortar cures and clean up when we're done.

A lot of veneer goes on walls we build ourselves. If you're putting up new concrete block walls around a yard or patio, we can plan for stone from the start, and the part that shows on a new foundation block wall can take the same finish so it doesn't read as bare block.

California's contractor license classes, set by the state licensing board, describe installing natural and manufactured stone as masonry contractor work, so it's fair to ask anyone bidding your job which license they hold. The stone matters too. Manufactured stone is concrete all the way through, but not every natural stone is suggested for outdoor walls, and the stone industry's advice is to pick one with a history of standing up to the weather where you live. If you're leaning toward natural stone for an outside wall, I'll help you sort out which kinds make sense before anything gets ordered.

What we see most on jobs around Clovis is concrete and block, mostly yard and patio walls, and manufactured veneer can go straight onto those when the surface is free of dirt, waterproofing, paint, form oil or anything else that would block the mortar bond. Plenty of block walls here have been painted over the years, so we deal with that coat before any stone goes on, and we run into the same painted walls on jobs in Sanger and Madera.