Masonry contractor in Santa Fe, NM - older brick and stone kept sound
Sterling Santa Fe Concrete & Masonry is a masonry contractor based in Santa Fe. We repair older brick and stone so the walls you have stay sound, and we build new walls, walkways, driveways and outdoor kitchens across the city.
Older homes and new projects across Santa Fe
Most of our calls come from Santa Fe homeowners. A lot of them live in older houses in the historic districts, where the brick and stone walls, chimneys and garden walls have been patched more than once over the decades. Newer neighborhoods bring a different kind of call, from people planning a new wall, walkway, driveway or outdoor kitchen.
We work the same way out in Eldorado at Santa Fe. On an older wall, I start by finding out why it's failing before anything gets patched, because the visible damage is usually the last thing to go wrong.
Working in Santa Fe: permits, licenses and what moves the price
Inside Santa Fe city limits, building permits for most construction work come from the city's Land Use Department, and we don't start a permitted job until the permit is in hand. Before you hire anyone, check two things. A contractor needs a license from the state Construction Industries Division, and that license only covers the kind of work named on it. Anyone doing business inside city limits also needs a City business license. We're fully licensed and insured.
I check what the office for your address asks for, since a house just outside city limits may answer to a different one, and we file the paperwork for the permits and approvals your job needs. The price mostly turns on the size of the job, how easy it is to reach and what we find once old mortar or a failed base is opened up. The schedule usually turns on those permits and approvals more than on the work itself, and the written estimate after I've seen the job is where you get your own figure. We do the same work in Española and Los Alamos.
Services in Santa Fe, NM
Foundation repair
Cracks in older Santa Fe foundations usually trace back to water or a weak base. Our foundation repair deals with that cause first, then the crack.
Brick repair
Flaking brick on older Santa Fe houses needs to be replaced, not covered over. We cut out damaged brick and set a close match in mortar that suits the wall.
Masonry restoration
Old garden and house walls here lose stones and brick faces when old repairs fail. We restore them with matching material, keeping as much original as we can.
Chimney repair
Chimneys on older houses here usually fail at the cap and top rows of brick, where water gets in first. We rebuild what's loose and redo the cap.
Driveway pavers
Many Santa Fe homeowners want a gravel driveway turned into pavers. We pack the base, set the pavers and lock the edges so the surface stays level.
Retaining wall construction
Sloped yards around Santa Fe need walls that hold the ground back without leaning. We put drainage behind each one, because trapped water pushes walls over.
What Santa Fe's older brick and stone need
A lot of older brick around Santa Fe has joints that someone patched with hard cement mortar years ago, and that patch does more harm than the wear it was meant to fix. Hard mortar doesn't give, so water and movement work into the softer brick instead and its face starts to flake off. We cut out those joints and repoint with a softer mortar matched to the wall, so the joint wears before the brick does.
Newer homes here bring planned work, like a garden wall, a walkway or an outdoor kitchen. When one of those fails early, the cause is usually what's under it, so we dig down to firm ground and pack the base before anything goes on top.
Get a free written estimate for your Santa Fe masonry job
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set a time for me to come out to your Santa Fe home. I look at the job in person, and you get a free written estimate with no obligation to go ahead.
How a Santa Fe job goes
Call us or send a message
Call (505) 303-0434 or use the form, and we set a time for me to come out to your house. It helps if you're there so you can show me what you've noticed.
I look, measure and explain
I come out myself, measure the job and tell you plainly what I'd do and why, starting with whatever is causing the damage. You get the estimate in writing, so you can see what's included before you decide anything.
Permits first, then the work
Once you say go, we file for the permits and any historic review, and my crew and I do the work with me on site. The city says building inspections may run two to three business days out with current staffing, and the inspector comes on the scheduled day during business hours, not at a set time.
Walk the finished job together
When we're done, I walk the job with you and we clean up before we pack up. Satisfaction guaranteed on every job.
Santa Fe masonry questions answered
Do I need a permit for a new driveway in Santa Fe?
Yes, a new driveway inside Santa Fe city limits needs a building permit, because the city lists driveway construction among the work that requires one. We file for it before we dig. Walls, repointing and other masonry aren't on that list either way, so I check with the city's building permit office for your job before we start.
How do I get approval to repair brick on a historic home in Santa Fe?
Exterior work on a building in one of the city's Historic Districts has to be pre-approved by the Historic Preservation Division before it starts. The city says most simple maintenance and repair there won't need a construction permit, but the division's approval still comes first. I check what your house needs and we file for it, and the work waits until it's approved.
How much does masonry repair cost in Santa Fe?
The cost of masonry repair in Santa Fe comes down mostly to how much matching an older wall needs and how much damage is hiding behind old patches. Finding brick, stone and mortar that suit a historic wall takes more time than building new, and a historic approval adds paperwork before we start. You get my number in writing after I've looked at the job in person.
How do I know if Santa Fe's green building code applies to my project?
Santa Fe's Residential Green Building Code applies to all new single-family homes, guesthouses, additions and remodels, so if your masonry is part of one of those, the code applies to the project. When it does, I go over what that means for our part of the work before we start.
Can I do my own masonry work under a City of Santa Fe permit?
You can build it yourself, but on a City permit the city requires an affidavit from a homeowner builder acknowledging the permit's responsibilities and liabilities. If you'd rather not carry that, we file the permits for the work our crew does.
Do I need to control stormwater runoff during a masonry project in Santa Fe?
Yes, the city requires every construction site and permit holder to follow its approved best management practices for stormwater runoff. A site that disturbs an acre or more, or a smaller one that's part of a larger plan, also has to submit a US EPA Notice of Intent, though a home wall or driveway is usually far smaller than that. We follow those practices on our jobs in the city.
Plan your Santa Fe masonry project with us
Call (505) 303-0434 or send the form while the damage is small, because a loose joint caught now is usually a smaller repair than the wall it turns into later.
