Masonry Contractor in Ashland, CA - Sound Brick, Block and Stone for Older Homes
C&M Castro Valley Concrete & Masonry repairs and builds masonry for homes in Ashland, CA, from cracked chimneys and loose brick to new block walls, paver driveways and stone steps, a short drive from our Castro Valley base.
- Fully licensed and insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- We reply within 1 business day.
Ashland as we see it from the driveway
Ashland is the stretch of unincorporated county between San Leandro and Castro Valley, running down to Cherryland, with East 14th Street through the middle of it.
On jobs here we find small older houses, apartment buildings and the shops along the main roads, all packed in close. Lots are tight, side yards are narrow, and a lot of the brick, block and concrete out front has been patched more than once. So most jobs start with sorting out what's original and what's been fixed before, and with figuring out how we'll get block and stone into a backyard a truck can't reach.
Masonry services we handle for Ashland homes
Foundation repair
When a crack runs through an older Ashland foundation, I find out what's moving first, then repair the concrete or block with that cause in mind.
Chimney repair
Older brick chimneys here often crack or lean at the roofline, where weather and shaking hit hardest, so we rebuild loose sections and patch the rest.
Tuckpointing
If mortar on older Ashland brickwork has gone sandy, we rake out the old joints and pack in fresh mortar matched to the brick, so water stays out.
Brick repair
Cracked or flaking bricks on older Ashland homes get cut out one at a time and replaced with brick matched in size and color to the old wall.
Driveway pavers
Short, cracked driveway slabs are common here, and pavers on a packed base let us lift and reset one section instead of tearing out the whole driveway.
Retaining wall construction
Where a yard drops toward a neighbor's lot, we build retaining walls with gravel and a drain behind them, because trapped water is what usually tips a wall.
Masonry restoration
For older brick fronts and porches that have been patched over the years, we clean, patch and remortar the whole face so it reads as one wall again.
Fireplace installation
If your older Ashland house has a closed-off or worn-out fireplace, we can build a new masonry firebox and surround sized to the room and chimney.
Stone veneer installation
Stone veneer, thin stone set over a block or framed wall, dresses up the plain stucco fronts and porch columns we see here without full stone's weight.
Concrete block walls
Block walls along property lines give tight Ashland lots privacy, and we set them on a real footing with steel and grout in the hollow cells.
Foundation block wall installation
When an older crawlspace foundation has crumbled or a room addition needs support, we lay a new block foundation wall on a fresh footing, tied into what stays.
Outdoor kitchen masonry
Small Ashland backyards still have room for a built-in grill counter, and we build the base in block with stone or brick facing that stands up to weather.
Walkway construction
Front walks on older houses here are often cracked or lifted by tree roots, and we rebuild them in pavers, brick or concrete on a properly packed base.
Brick wall installation
A brick wall or planter out front suits older Ashland houses, and we start it on a poured footing, since brick on bare dirt tends to crack.
Stone masonry
For stone steps, garden walls and seat walls, we fit each piece by hand, which takes longer but gives a small yard a solid, settled look.
Brick pointing
Brick pointing fills the worst joints on front steps, brick planters and low garden walls, so you can catch wear before loose bricks have to be relaid.
Get a free masonry estimate for your Ashland home
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set up a visit. I come out to look at the work with you, then follow up with a written estimate, free and with no obligation.
(510) 264-7156- hello@castrovalleyconcreteandmasonry.com
- Based in
- Castro Valley, CA 94546
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 7 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM
What working in Ashland means for your masonry job
Ashland doesn't have a city hall, so Alameda County is who you deal with here, the same as back home in Castro Valley. The county's building inspection division issues permits and does inspections for work in the unincorporated areas, and since a job that needs a permit can't start until it's issued, the permit usually sets the start date more than our calendar does. Before you hire anyone, look up their license with the Contractors State License Board and ask about the county business license, which the county requires every year from any business working in unincorporated Alameda County, even one based outside it or holding another city's license. We're fully licensed and insured, and when your job needs a permit, we take care of the paperwork and the inspections. The price mostly turns on how much old material has to come out and what you build back with, and the written estimate I send after the visit spells out the work and materials for your job.
Most of our Ashland work is on the side streets off East 14th Street, where driveways are short and there's rarely room to park a pallet of block, so we plan deliveries and where the mixer sits before the first day. East 14th itself stays busy, so we like materials dropped early in the morning. Being a masonry contractor in Castro Valley, CA, we're right next door, and the same kinds of houses carry on into San Lorenzo, so the walls and chimneys we see here are ones we know well.
What Ashland's ground and older houses do to masonry
Earthquake fault zones and seismic hazard areas run throughout Alameda County, including the busy stretches along the Hayward Fault, though that alone doesn't put any one Ashland lot in a zone. What shaking does to masonry is easy to spot once you know where to look: cracks stepping up a brick wall along the mortar joints, a chimney cracked or shifted where it leaves the roof, a block wall leaning off its footing. When I see that, I try to work out whether it's old movement or something still going on before we fix anything, because patching a crack that's still moving just gets you a new crack.
Age does the rest. Mortar on older houses slowly goes soft and sandy, water gets into the joints, and roots and settling push front steps, planters and walks around, so a lot of what we do here is catching that wear while it's still a repair and not a rebuild.
How a masonry job runs when you call us in Ashland
Here's how it goes from your first call to the final walk-through, with me on site at the start and the end.
Call or send a message
Call (510) 264-7156 or use the form, tell me what you're seeing, and we'll pick a time for me to come out. It helps if you can be home so we can look at it together.
Walk the job together
I look at the work with you, figure out why it failed and talk through your choices. Then you get a written estimate that spells out the work and the materials, so you know what you're paying for before anything starts.
Line up permits and dates
Once you say go, we sort out any permit your job needs and put the work on the calendar. When a permit is involved, the start date waits on it, and we handle the inspections as the work goes.
Build it and walk it
My crew does the work and I check in as it goes. At the end we walk the finished job together, and I'll show you what we did and why.
Questions about masonry work in Ashland
How do I apply for a building permit for masonry work in Ashland, CA?
Permits for Ashland go through the Alameda County Permit Portal, where owners and contractors apply, upload plans, book inspections and check where a permit stands. You can find it from the county's permits page. When we do your job, we handle the application and the inspections, and you can still look up the permit's status yourself.
When does a masonry contractor need a California state license?
A contractor needs a state license when the job needs a building permit, uses any workers besides the contractor, or costs $1,000 or more in labor and materials. The only way around it is a job that needs no permit, uses no employees, comes in under $1,000 and isn't advertised as licensed work. Most masonry jobs worth calling someone for cross one of those lines, so ask for the license before you sign anything.
Do I need a county permit to redo the driveway apron or sidewalk in front of my Ashland house?
Work in county roads, sidewalks and other public rights-of-way, the strip out front that the public owns, has its own permit category with the county, separate from a building permit for your house. So if a new driveway or front walk ties into the public sidewalk or the apron, the piece between the sidewalk and the street, that part can bring in its own permit. During the visit I'll look at where your property ends and tell you which parts of the job touch county ground.
How do I find out if my masonry project in Ashland needs a permit?
The county keeps a guide called "Work Exempt From Permit" on its permit resources page, and that's the starting point for knowing which work doesn't need a building permit. I don't guess on this from memory. I check your job against the county's guide before I write the estimate, and if it needs a permit, we take care of it.
What is the best time of year for outdoor masonry work in Ashland?
Late spring through early fall is usually easiest, because nearly all of Alameda County's rain falls between October and April. Footings, paver bases and fresh mortar all go better on dry ground, so that's when we like to dig and pour the bigger jobs. We still do smaller repairs through the wet months, timed between storms and covered while the mortar sets, and calling in winter gets a summer wall or patio on the calendar early.
How much does masonry work cost in Ashland, CA?
I can't give you an honest number until I've seen the job, because masonry cost comes down to how much has to come out, what goes back in and how hard the spot is to reach. On older Ashland houses, tearing out a crumbling chimney top or a cracked walk adds work before anything new goes in, and a backyard with no truck access means carrying block and stone in by hand. Brick matched to an old wall or natural stone costs more than plain block or standard pavers, and your written estimate breaks all of that out.
Castro Valley, CA
Ask about your Ashland masonry project
Call (510) 264-7156 or send the form while the crack is small, because a soft joint or a loose brick is a quick repair now and a bigger one after another winter of rain.