Brick wall installation in Vallejo CA - a wall built to stand steady and shed water
Want a garden wall, a screen or a fence line in brick? We build it braced, capped and laid with brick that handles weather.
What goes into building a brick wall in Vallejo?
Brick wall installation in Vallejo means building a freestanding wall or fence out of fired clay brick, usually laid in mortar, so you end up with a solid line along a yard, a patio or a property edge. Built right, a brick wall is about as sturdy as anything you can put in a yard.
Most people who call us want privacy, a border for a garden, or something to replace a tired wood fence, and they want to know what it'll take before work starts. The price mostly comes down to the wall's length and height, whether it needs piers or a staggered line to stand, the brick and cap you pick, how easy the spot is to reach, and whether an old fence has to come out first. The schedule turns on whether the city has to sign off before we start and on the weather, since fresh mortar doesn't like rain. When I come out, I'll walk the spot with you and explain what I'd build and why.
How our crew handles brick wall installation
I start by walking the line with you and checking where the wall sits on your lot, because a front yard, a side yard and a spot by the sidewalk each come with their own height limits. A thin brick wall needs help standing up, so we talk through piers, which are thicker brick columns spaced along it, or a staggered line, and how each one changes the look. Then we pick the brick. UK brick guidance says bricks for outdoor walls have to hold up to weathering, frost and sulphate attack, a slow chemical wear on masonry, so we use brick made for outdoor wear, and it's fair to ask any bidder which brick and cap their price includes. Our crew lays the wall course by course, keeps it plumb with full joints, and finishes the top with a coping, the cap that runs along the top, so rain runs off instead of soaking down into the brick. We clean up the site before we leave.
Some yards call for more than brick. If you'd rather have a natural stone wall, or stone caps and piers to set off brick panels, that's our stone masonry work. If you already have a brick wall that's sound but its mortar is sandy and washing out, brick pointing, raking out the old mortar and packing in new, may save it without a rebuild.
Why Vallejo homeowners call J&R Vallejo Concrete and Masonry for brick walls
I walk the job myself
I come out to look at each job myself, and I'm on site with our crew of masons while the wall goes up. You deal with one person who knows your wall from the first visit to the last course.
Fully licensed and insured masons
We're fully licensed and insured. The state contractors license board puts brick walls and fences under masonry work, so that's the license to ask about when you compare bids.
Vallejo's wall rules checked first
Before work starts, we check with the city's permit office for your address, and when the wall needs a permit we handle the filing and line up the inspections. That matters here because where a wall sits on a Vallejo lot changes how tall it can go.
Commercial training, home-sized jobs
I learned the trade laying brick and block for a big commercial outfit, reading plans and building to spec, and I started this business in Vallejo in 2023 to bring that care to homes. On your wall, that means we settle the layout with you before the first brick goes down and then build to it.
On a brick wall, how it stands and how it sheds water matter most, and both get decided before we lay anything. To get started, call (707) 310-8446 or send us a request with the wall's rough length, the height you want and where it sits on your lot, such as the front yard, a side yard or by the sidewalk.
Get a free on-site estimate for your brick wall
We reply to calls and requests within one business day, and the estimate is free with no obligation. I'll set a time to come out, walk the spot with you and explain what I'd build and why.
Brick walls, piers and caps
Questions before you build a brick wall
How tall can a brick wall be in Vallejo?
In a required front yard, the city's zoning code caps fences and screening at three feet, or four feet if the traffic engineer finds no visibility hazard, and in the required side and rear yards of an interior lot the cap is six feet. Anything over six feet needs planning approval, and engineering approval may be required within 15 feet of a public way. On a city landmark or a home in a designated heritage or historic district, front and street-side setbacks are capped at three feet six inches, and going taller takes a variance from the city's architectural heritage and landmarks commission.
Do I need a permit to build a brick wall in Vallejo?
You might, so check for your address before any work starts. Vallejo's building division issues permits for most new construction and exempts fences up to 7 feet high, but its permit list names fences and retaining walls, not brick walls. Any fence or wall between the curb or sidewalk and your property line needs an encroachment permit first, and that's part of the check we make with the city before we start.
How do I keep a thin brick wall from leaning or falling over?
Give it a thicker base, piers along its length or a zigzag line, because UK brick guidance says a thin brick wall can only go so far before sideways forces become a problem. Those three are the ways the guidance gets around that limit. It's the piers-or-staggered-line choice I go over with you on site, since each one changes how the wall looks.
How much does it cost to build a brick wall in Vallejo?
Brick and masonry work in San Francisco usually costs about $12 to $35 per square foot, which is the going rate for masonry in general across the bay, not our price. Where your wall lands depends on its length and height, whether it needs piers or a staggered line, the brick and cap you choose and how easy the spot is to reach. Call (707) 310-8446 and I'll come out and walk it with you.
Can I hire a handyman or build a brick wall myself in California?
California lets someone without a contractor license take on work up to $1,000, and only when the job needs no permit and they work without hired helpers. Most brick walls will run past that. If you want to build it yourself, Vallejo lets homeowners apply for a construction permit on their own after they fill out an owner-builder form.
What is the best way to keep water from damaging the bottom of a brick wall?
Slope the paving away from the wall where you can, or add a drainage strip along its base, so the bottom rows of brick don't stay soaked. That's the UK brick guidance's advice, and it works with the cap on top, which keeps rain from running down into the wall from above. If your patio already slopes toward where the wall will go, I'll point it out when I come look.
Other masonry work that goes with a new wall
- Stone masonry
Want a natural stone wall, or stone caps and piers to go with brick? Our masons lay stone walls and features to match what's already on your property.
- Brick pointing
If your existing brick wall is sound but the mortar joints are crumbling or washing out, fresh pointing can seal it up and keep water out of the wall.