Stone masonry in Auburn AL - walls built to drain, joints that let old stone dry out
Mortar crumbling out of a stone wall, or a slope that needs holding back? We fix the cause and build a wall that drains.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- We reply within 1 business day.
Who builds and repairs stone walls in Auburn, AL?
Stone masonry in Auburn, AL is the building and repair of stone walls. For us that mostly means new retaining walls and repointing, which is raking worn mortar out of a stone wall's joints and packing in fresh mortar so the wall stays tight.
Most people who call United Auburn Concrete and Masonry about stone, in Auburn or the cities around it, either have mortar falling out of an older wall or a slope in the yard that needs holding back. On a new wall, the price turns on its height and length, the stone you pick, how much digging and drainage the site needs, and whether the wall needs an engineer and a permit. On an old wall, it turns on how much mortar has to come out and how much looking it takes to find out why the joints failed. The schedule follows the same things, plus city review on taller walls, and your estimate spells out what we'll do and why.
How can you tell a stone wall needs work?
Mortar falling out of joints
If the mortar between stones turns to sand when you rub it, or the joints sit deep behind the stone face, water is getting into the wall. Caught early, it's usually a repointing job, but left alone the stones loosen and a section may have to come down and be relaid.
Wall leaning or bulging out
A retaining wall that tips forward or bows in the middle is being pushed harder from behind than it was built to take. That doesn't get better on its own, and the longer it leans, the more of it has to be rebuilt.
Cracks running through the wall
A crack that steps along the joints or splits stones usually means part of the wall has moved. Patching it without knowing why tends to bring the crack back, so it's worth a look before anyone fills it.
What our stone masonry work covers
On a new wall, I start by asking what the wall has to do, because that decides whether you want a mortared stone wall or a dry laid one stacked without mortar. University extension advice on retaining walls puts that question first, since a dry laid wall costs much less than a poured concrete one. Then we dig out, set the base, lay the stone and backfill with gravel so water behind the wall can drain away. On old stone, we rake the worn mortar out of the joints and repoint with a mortar that lets the wall dry out instead of trapping water in it, so the new joints don't end up hurting the stone they hold.
Stone usually sits close to brick and to the house itself, so a stone job can turn up other work. If the brick on your house has the same worn joints, brick pointing is the same careful raking and refilling done on brick. If a crack in a stone wall runs back toward the house, we check whether it's coming from below and take on the foundation repair as its own job.
Mortared stone wall
Suits a wall that's part of how the house looks, a freestanding garden wall or anywhere you want a finished face with filled joints. Because water can't pass through mortared joints, the drainage behind it matters even more.
Dry laid stone wall
Stones stacked with open joints and no mortar, which suits lower walls and terraces in a yard where budget counts. Water can work its way out through the gaps, and a stone that shifts can be reset.
Repointing old stone
For a wall whose stones are still sound but whose joints are worn, soft or missing. We take out the bad mortar and refill with one that lets the wall dry out, matched to the wall it's going into.
Get a free estimate for your stone wall
We reply within one business day to set a time. I come to your home, look the wall over and send a free estimate that says what we'll do and why, with no pressure and no obligation.
(334) 780-0060- Based in
- Auburn, AL 36830
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 7 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call about stone work in Auburn?
Here's how a stone job runs from your first call to the final walk-through, and who you'll be dealing with at each step.
Call or send the form
Call (334) 780-0060 or send the form, and we'll get back to you to set up a visit. Tell us roughly what's going on so I know whether I'm coming to look at a new wall or old joints.
I come out and look
I look the wall over, ask a lot of questions and work out why it's failing before I price anything. The estimate you get says what we'll do and why, so you can see where your money goes.
Handle permits, then build
When the wall needs a permit, we take care of the paperwork, and inspections on a permitted wall have to be requested with the city 24 hours ahead, Monday through Friday, so the work follows that schedule. Then our crew builds or repoints, with me on the job.
Walk the finished wall together
When we're done, we walk the wall with you and show you the drainage, the joints and anything worth keeping an eye on. We clean up the site before we leave.
Why Auburn homeowners call us for stone work
The owner sees every wall
I come out to look at every job and work alongside our crew while it's done. The person who figured out why your wall failed is the one making sure the fix answers it.
Learned the trade from my dad
I grew up handing brick to my dad on his jobs, and I've run this business since 2020. That's where I picked up the habit of finding why a wall failed before touching it, because a patch over an unknown cause usually means doing the job twice.
We're licensed and insured
Before Auburn will issue a residential retaining wall permit, its checklist asks for a current State Residential Contractor license and a current City of Auburn Contractor license. Ask any mason you're weighing to show you both, along with proof of insurance.
On stone, the repair has to answer whatever made the wall fail, or you'll be paying for it again. Tell us about your wall or call (334) 780-0060, and I'll come take a look. Your satisfaction, guaranteed.
Stone walls, permits and repairs in Auburn
In Auburn, the city's Inspection Services Department issues building permits, and it requires one for any retaining wall over four feet, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall. The city also wants an engineered design, one that keeps the wall from overturning, on any wall over four feet and on walls over 24 inches that hold back extra load, like fill piled behind or above them, and when your wall reaches that point I'll tell you it's a job that needs an engineer. We check with the office that covers your address before we start and take care of the permit paperwork when the job needs it.
Around Auburn we see a lot of older brick and stone houses whose walls and steps have been patched more than once, and newer lots where a slope needs a wall before a patio or walk can go in. We run into the same calls on jobs in Opelika and Tuskegee, and we handle them the same way.
Questions about stone masonry in Auburn
How much does stone masonry cost in Auburn, AL?
Installing a stone wall or natural stone veneer usually costs about $30 to $45 per square foot across the US, which is a national average, not our price. Height, the stone you choose, digging, drainage and any engineering all move the number, and your estimate gives the figure for your wall.
Why do stone retaining walls fail?
Most retaining walls fail because water or soil moisture builds up behind them and pushes against the wall, according to university extension guidance on wall design. That guidance says every wall should let the water drain down and away through gravel backfill, or drainage blankets and drain pipes, so ask each mason you get a bid from how they'll handle drainage.
What kind of mortar should I use to repoint an old stone wall?
Use a mortar that lets moisture move out of the wall and evaporate, because federal preservation guidance for historic buildings says mortar that traps moisture or water vapor damages the masonry. Before anyone repoints your wall, ask how the mortar they've picked lets the wall dry out.
What is the best way to remove old mortar from a stone wall?
Federal preservation guidance says hand chisels and mash hammers usually pose the least threat to historic masonry, even though the work is slow. Power saws and grinders are the most common tools, and the same guidance warns they can be disastrous on historic masonry in unskilled hands, so ask how a bid plans to get the old mortar out.
How long does repointing a stone wall take?
Repointing usually takes longer than people expect, because the first stretch of time goes to looking the wall over and finding out why the joints failed, and federal preservation guidance notes that this is much of what makes the work lengthy and expensive. The same guidance calls repointing precise, time-consuming and noisy, says scaffolding may cover the face of a building for some time, and suggests leaving time before work starts to write up what the job includes.
Do I need a permit to repoint a stone wall in Auburn?
The city rules we're working from cover retaining walls, not repointing, so they don't settle whether a repair on your wall needs a permit. As on every job, we check with the office that covers your address before we start and handle the paperwork if it's needed.
Related work that often comes with stone
Brick pointing
If the brick walls of your house show the same sandy, recessed joints as your stone, we can repoint them with mortar suited to the brick's age.
Foundation repair
When cracks in a stone wall line up with cracks or sticking doors inside the house, the trouble may start in the foundation, and that's where we look.
Stone masonry service areas around Auburn
United Auburn Concrete and Masonry is based in Auburn, Alabama, and we do stone work across the cities around it, including Valley and Lanett. Below are the 7 cities with their own page, Auburn among them, and they're not the only places we go.
Auburn, AL
Have your stone wall looked at
Have the wall's height, what it holds back and a few photos of the worn joints handy when you call, so I come out knowing what to look for.