Masonry Contractor in Anthony, NM - Repairs That Start With the Cause

City code in Anthony requires a building permit for all construction within the city, and the City Building Inspections Department reviews it, so a new wall or a repair starts with a permit application to the city. State rule also calls for a permit before a structure is built, altered, repaired or torn down unless a rule exempts it, and some projects need the city's zoning sign-off before the state permit application goes in. I check which office covers your address before we start, and when a permit is needed we handle the paperwork.

Under state rule, a retaining wall is exempt from the state permit when the ground behind it sits less than 36 inches higher than the ground in front and the whole wall measures six feet or less from its top to the bottom of the footing. A wall with extra weight on the high side, like a driveway or parked cars, needs a permit no matter its height. The city has its own permit for construction inside city limits, so I check with both before we dig.

The state's Construction Industries Division licenses the company, and only when it employs or is owned by a qualifying party the division has certified for that kind of work. The license covers only the work in its classification, so a company working outside it can be disciplined, and every licensed company has to carry workers' compensation and secure a license bond.

There's no set price, because repointing a few joints and rebuilding a wall are different jobs, so I price each one after I've seen it and leave you a written estimate. A repair that stops at the mortar costs less than one that reaches the footing, matching older brick or stone takes more time to track down, and a job that needs a permit or drainage work at the base adds to it.

Only after you pass the exam the state requires for it, since the division lets a homeowner do electrical, plumbing or mechanical work once that exam is passed. Each of those trades needs its own permit, separate from the building permit, and gas line work needs its own too. On an outdoor kitchen, we build the masonry and plan the openings for whoever runs those lines.

Most cracks in block walls come from movement under the wall, usually a footing that's too small or ground that got wet and shifted, and the runoff that crosses town after storms makes that worse in the low corners of a yard. Stair-step cracks along the mortar usually mean the wall is settling, while a straight crack through the blocks often means something is pushing on it. I look at the footing and the drainage first, because patching the crack alone won't stop it.