Masonry Contractor in Thousand Palms, CA - Walls Built to Stand Up to Blowing Sand

Riverside County Building and Safety issues them, because the county's building ordinance covers all buildings, structures, grading and improvements in its unincorporated areas. Some county permits, including patio covers, pools and spas, and manufactured home site prep, installs and permanent foundations, are set up by appointment only. If your job needs a permit, I'll tell you at the estimate, and we work it out with the county and pull it ourselves.

You do if the block wall is over 4 feet high, because the county's code lets fences up to 7 feet go without a permit but leaves out block walls taller than 4 feet. Any wall still has to follow the code and other local rules, and the county's own documents don't always agree on these limits, so we confirm the current one with the county before we quote your wall.

Measure it from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, because the county's code only exempts retaining walls that come to 4 feet or less that way. The exemption ends if the wall carries extra load above it, like a slope, a driveway or a building behind it, or holds back flammable or combustible liquids. Since the footing counts toward the height, a wall that looks about 3 feet tall from your yard can be over the limit, so I measure it with you at the estimate.

A contractor needs a license from the California Contractors State License Board when the job needs a building permit, uses employees, or costs $1,000 or more in labor and materials combined. They need it before they bid, and a larger job can't be split into pieces under $1,000 to get around that. We're licensed and insured, and you're welcome to ask us about it when I come out.

Most block wall cracks start at the footing, either because it was too small or shallow for the wall or because the ground under it settled. A wall built without enough steel, or with joints left open to the blowing sand, can crack too. I look at where the crack runs before I suggest anything, because a crack stepping through the mortar and a wall that's leaning need different repairs, and sometimes only one section needs rebuilding.

I can't give a fair figure until I've seen your lot, because the price turns on the size and height of the work, the material and what has to go in underneath. A taller wall needs a deeper footing and more steel, natural stone costs more to buy and lay than block, and matching old brick or mortar takes extra care, while a permit or a tight street like the ones north of Ramon Road adds its own time. When I come out, I write the estimate myself, so the number fits your lot and isn't a guess.