Tired of a plain block or stucco wall? We check what's underneath first, then set stone that keeps water out of the wall.
Stone veneer installation in El Paso means bonding a thin facing of natural or manufactured stone to a wall you already have, so a plain block, concrete or framed wall gets the look of stone without the weight of a solid stone wall. Manufactured stone is a lightweight product cast from cement and aggregate to look like real rock, and it doesn't hold anything up.
Most calls I get about veneer start with a wall someone's tired of looking at, like a gray block wall, a concrete foundation showing above the dirt or a plain stucco face. Picking the stone is the easy part. Most trouble with manufactured stone comes from how it was put on, not from the product, so the crew matters more than the catalog. We're licensed and fully insured.
Price moves with the wall's size in square feet, the stone you choose and how much prep the wall needs before stone can go on. The schedule turns on that same prep and on any permit, which I check for your address up front. If the wall itself still needs building, our concrete block walls and foundation block wall installation give the stone a solid start, and your written estimate spells out your own figure.
Call (915) 265-1230 or use the form and tell us what kind of wall it is and roughly how big. We'll set up a time for me to come out to your house.
Before I price any stone, I check the wall underneath for cracks, loose spots, paint and old coatings, because veneer over a bad wall won't hold up. You get a written estimate that lists the prep, the stone work and how we'll keep water out, so you can compare it line by line with anyone else's.
If you go ahead, our crew does the work with me checking on the barrier, the bond and the joints as it goes. When the stone's up, we walk the finished wall together, and we don't call it done until you've looked it over.
At least one stone maker's guide names water getting into the wall as the most common reason adhered veneer fails, and I'd tell you the same thing. Whatever gets behind the stone has a hard time getting back out, so most of our attention goes to keeping water from getting behind it in the first place.
How we do that depends on the wall. On a wood-framed house, the industry installation standard calls for two separate layers of water-resistive barrier, the wrap that sheds water, over the sheathing behind the stone. On block or concrete, one maker says the surface has to be clean and rough for the mortar to grab, and where it won't, lath and a scratch coat go on first, which is a wire mesh under a rough base coat of mortar.
What a stone veneer job covers:
If a few stones have popped loose and the wall behind them is dry and solid, resetting them is usually enough. If you see dark stains, soft spots or loose stone across a whole section, water has usually gotten behind it, and sticking the face back on just hides the cause. Then I'd take that section off, fix the barrier and the wall, and reset the stone. I'll show you which one your wall needs.
The biggest pieces are the wall's size, the stone itself and the prep. Natural stone usually costs more than manufactured, and a wall that needs cleaning, lath or a scratch coat costs more than one that's ready. Lots of windows, outside corners and cut ends mean more cutting and fitting. Height matters too, since scaffolding takes time to set and move. On a historic house, the extra review can stretch the schedule more than the price.
I'd rather spend extra time at the wall with you than have you guess what you're paying for. I'll point at the crack, the bad joint or the spot where water's been getting in and tell you what it means, so you can make a good call on your own house even if you hire someone else.
While we work, we protect the plants and paving below the wall and clean up before we leave. We fix what caused the problem, not just the part you can see. Your satisfaction, guaranteed.
What your wall needs underneath can change which stone makes sense, so call (915) 265-1230 before you buy any.
Tell us the wall's material, its rough size in square feet and whether the house is historic. We reply within one business day to set a free, no-obligation visit at your home.
Across the US, installing stone veneer usually runs about $25 to $40 per square foot, and that's the market range, not our price. Where your wall lands depends on the stone, the prep the wall needs and how many cuts and corners it has. I'll put a figure for your own El Paso wall in the written estimate.
You may, because the City of El Paso requires a building permit to build, enlarge, alter or repair a building or structure, and adding stone to a wall can count. The city takes in building permits through its One Stop Shop. Before work starts I check which office covers your address, since that changes from one city to the next, and when a permit is needed we handle the paperwork and keep you posted on where it stands.
Plan for two reviews, one from the Historic Landmark Commission and one for the building permit. A Certificate of Appropriateness from the commission doesn't guarantee the permit, so getting one approval isn't the finish line. You can look up your property on the city's Historic Areas map and let me know what you find before I come out.
Usually it's water getting behind the stone, made worse by shortcuts during the install, the two things I covered above. Water tends to get in where the stone stops, at the top of a wall, around windows and along the bottom edge. Those are the spots I look at first on an old job and the ones we take the most care with on a new one.
Often it can if the wall is sound, but veneer shouldn't go over a wall that's deteriorating or over EIFS, a foam-backed synthetic stucco. Block and concrete walls with paint, waterproofing or form oil on them may need acid washing, sand blasting or pressure washing first. I check this at the estimate, so you know before you pick a stone.
Ask how they'll keep water out and how they'll check your wall first, and listen for a real plan. Then ask to see past work in the mortar color and joint style you want, because joint size, dry stacking, cut ends and pitched faces, the rough chiseled edges, change how the same stone looks. Call (915) 265-1230 and I'll walk you through how we do it.
We're based in El Paso and work on both the Texas and New Mexico sides, including Socorro and Sunland Park. Pick your area below, or call if yours isn't listed.
