What we build
Stonework for the yard and the entry
Five kinds of work, all in natural stone, all set by hand.
Walls
Dry-stack and mortared garden walls, boundary walls and retaining walls, laid on a compacted base with drainage behind them.
Ask about a wallDry-stack or mortared
Gravel and drain pipe behind retaining walls
Patios and courtyards
Flagstone laid over a tamped base, cut to fit, with joints you can plant, sand or point.
Ask about a patioSlope set away from the house
Joints filled to suit the use
Paths and steps
Stepping stones, long paths and stone stairs up a slope, with risers that stay even from the first step to the last.
Ask about stepsEven risers and treads
Edges that do not trip
Gate piers and veneer
Stone piers, entry columns and veneer over block, matched to the stone already on your property.
Ask about piersMatched to existing stone
Cast caps and cut sills
Repair and repointing
We rebuild the stretch of wall that settled, replace loose stones and repoint joints that let water in.
Ask about a repairMortar matched to the original
Stone saved and reused where we can
Dry-stack or mortared
How we choose the method
Neither is better in general. Each fits a different wall.
Dry-stack
Stones fitted without mortar, each one locking into the ones below. It drains by itself and moves a little with the ground without cracking.
Mortared
Stones set in mortar over a reinforced footing. It stands taller and tighter, and suits piers, house walls and anywhere that must look formal.
A mix of both
A mortared core with a dry-stack look on the face is common on taller walls. We explain what is behind what you see.
About the work
How does payment work?
A deposit holds the stone order and the start window, then payments follow the stages of the job, and the last one is due at the walk-through. The quote lists the amounts and the methods we take.
Do you build dry-stack or mortared walls?
Both. Dry-stack suits garden walls and low retaining walls and lets water through. Mortared walls suit piers, tall walls and anything that has to look tight. We say which we would choose for your site, and why.
Do I need a permit?
Taller retaining walls usually need a permit and sometimes an engineer’s drawing, and Santa Fe reviews walls and gates that face the street in its historic districts. We tell you at the visit whether your job is likely to need either, and you confirm with the city.
Is the work under warranty?
We repair settling, loose stones and failed joints that come from our workmanship for one year after the walk-through, at no charge for labor or stone. It does not cover damage from flooding, a vehicle, a tree, changes to the ground made after we leave, or stone you supplied. The full terms are written into every quote.
Tell us what you want built
A site visit comes before any quote, so the numbers are for your ground and your stone.