Masonry Contractor in Bonita, CA - Walls and Repairs Built for Sloped Lots

Only if it's bigger or more loaded than the County's exemption allows. Under the County code, a retaining wall can skip the building permit when it holds back no more than three feet of soil, stands no more than 6 feet in total height, has level ground behind it, has no other structure within 6 feet and carries no extra weight above it, like a driveway. A lot of walls on sloped Bonita yards miss one of those conditions, so I check each wall against them when I come out.

Usually not, if it's small. The County code exempts fences and free-standing masonry walls up to 6 feet high, unless the wall is a pool barrier, and one-story sheds or playhouses up to 120 square feet that nobody lives in. Exempt work still has to follow the County's zoning rules and other codes, so exempt doesn't mean anything goes.

Ask the County before work begins, because the code puts that question on both the contractor and the person hiring them. In Bonita the County's Building Services Division issues building permits, and it asks anyone unsure whether a job is exempt to get in touch, including through its building hotline at (858) 565-5920. We make that check before we start, and when a permit is needed we take care of the paperwork and the inspections.

A state contractor license from the Contractors State License Board covers most masonry jobs here. The state requires one when the project needs a building permit, when the contractor uses employees, or when the contracts on a project add up to $1,000 or more in labor and materials, and a bigger job can't be split into smaller pieces to get under that line. The County doesn't require a business license in unincorporated areas like Bonita, though other rules still apply. We're licensed and fully insured.

The price comes down mostly to how big the job is, what the ground is like and how easy it is to reach. A taller retaining wall costs more than its height suggests, because it needs a deeper footing, more steel, drainage and sometimes a permit, and block runs less than brick or natural stone. Repairs cost less than rebuilds, and a backyard we can't get equipment near means more hand-carrying, so I'll give you a number for your job once I've seen it.

Most of the schedule comes down to two things, how big the job is and whether it needs a County permit. Small repairs like repointing a few joints move fastest, while a new retaining wall takes longer because of the digging, the footing and the time mortar and grout need to set. If a permit is required, the paperwork and inspections set part of the pace, which is why we check that first.