Masonry Contractor in National City, CA - Brick Repair and Walls That Fit Your Lot

Often yes, because the city says most construction projects and improvements to buildings need a building permit of some kind, though there are some exceptions. Permit applications go through the city's Building Department, which also inspects the work as it goes. Before we start, we check with the city on what your job needs, and when a permit is required we take care of the paperwork and the inspections.

Any fence or wall taller than six feet needs a building permit, and the city's Planning Department reviews all plans for walls and fences. Six feet is generally the most a residential wall or fence can be, though the limit depends on where it sits on your lot. Retaining walls go through the city's engineering permits instead, the same office that handles grading and driveway, sidewalk and curb work.

A permit becomes void if work doesn't start within one year of the day it's issued, or if work stops for a year after it starts. A written request to the Building Division before it runs out may extend it up to 180 days, or as the Building Official decides. Inspections need 24 hours' notice and happen Monday through Thursday, never on Fridays, so we plan each step around those days.

A survey by a licensed surveyor is how you find your exact property lines. The city has plans that show lot dimensions, which help, but the exact lines come from a survey. On a wall along a side or back line, I'd get the survey done before we dig, because a wall built a few inches over is a hard thing to undo.

Yes, the city requires a valid business license before anyone does business there, and before it signs off on the final inspection it checks that every contractor on the job has one. Building permits go to properly licensed contractors working for the owner, or to owners of one- and two-family homes who live there or plan to and do the work themselves, with family or with people they hire. We're licensed and fully insured, and we take care of the permit side for you.

The price comes down to how much has actually failed and how big the job is, so a few open joints cost far less than a rebuilt chimney or a long retaining wall. Matching old brick or mortar color, drainage behind a wall, tight access on a small lot and any city permits add to it, and the schedule usually turns on permit review and inspection days more than the masonry itself. I'll give you your own figure at the estimate, once I've seen the job.