Santa Monica · Masonry Services
Stone Masonry
Hand-set natural stone: flagstone patios, stone walls, boulder placement, stone steps, and cobblestone.
Stone Masonry · Santa Monica
Natural Stone Work in Santa Monica
Stone is the material clients come back for. We work in full-thickness natural stone rather than thin veneer wherever the design allows, which means flagstone patios laid on a proper base, dry-stack and mortared stone walls, boulders set as structure and as sculpture, stone steps cut into a grade, and cobblestones for driveways and aprons. We pull from California quarries and yards in the basin, and we will walk the yard with you so the palette is chosen off actual pallets rather than a photo. Every piece is placed by hand and by eye. Nothing about good stone work is fast, and that is exactly why it still looks right in thirty years.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between natural stone and stone veneer?
Thickness, and what carries the weight. Full-bed natural stone is three to six inches of solid rock and needs a footing or a ledge to sit on. Veneer is one to two inches bonded to the wall behind it and adds almost no load, so it can go over existing block or framing. Veneer costs roughly half. The difference shows at corners, sills and returns, which is where we look first on a period house.
What type of stone is best for exterior walls?
For exposed walls, the dense stones: granite, quartzite and the harder limestones. Sandstone gives you warmer color and is lovely in a sheltered courtyard, but it gives up its face faster in weather. Within a mile of the water we steer away from the softer, more absorbent stones altogether. We bring samples to the property and look at them against your house before anyone commits.
Does a flagstone patio need to be sealed?
Only if you want it to. Sealing deepens color and makes spills easier to clean on dining terraces, but unsealed flagstone weathers to a softer, more natural finish and needs no maintenance at all.
How long does stone work take?
A flagstone patio of average size runs 4 to 7 days. A dry-stack garden wall takes about a week. Boulder staircases and large terraced stone walls run 2 to 4 weeks depending on access and how much material has to be moved by hand.
Plenty more of what we get asked, grouped by trade, sits on the masonry questions page.
Planning masonry work in Santa Monica?
Tell us about the project and we will come out for a free on-site estimate.
Or call us now: (310) 356-9429