Planning a garden or property wall? We lay it out square and level, fill every joint and cap it to keep water off the face.
Brick wall installation in Summerville is building a freestanding brick wall for your yard, garden or property line, from the footing up to the cap, so you end up with a wall that stays straight and holds up to the weather.
Most calls start with a plan, not a problem. You want a wall to mark a line, frame a garden or set off a patio, and you want it to last. A sound garden wall starts on a brick or concrete footing set in undisturbed ground, then goes up with every mortar joint filled, which is what lets it stand up to heavy weather.
The price moves with the wall's length and height, the design, the brick you pick, how much footing it needs and how easy the spot is to reach. The schedule turns on whether the city needs to review plans first, on the weather and on getting the brick delivered. Your written estimate is where you get the figure for your own wall.
A brick wall stands out in the weather on both sides with nothing to shelter it, so a few decisions made before we dig matter more than anything done after.
A pier and panel wall uses thin brick panels braced at intervals by brick piers. Brick industry guidance calls it relatively easy to build and economical, and it adapts well to ground that rises and falls, so if your yard slopes, it's usually the first design worth talking through.
Brick industry guidance asks for mortar joints that are completely full, because on a garden wall any defect can lead to deterioration and perhaps failure. When you collect bids, ask each builder how they fill the joints. A wall with hollow joints looks the same on the first day and shows it a few seasons later.
UK brick guidance says freestanding walls move more than the walls of a house, so they need enough vertical movement joints, which are planned gaps that let the brick shift. Where those gaps fall is something to settle at layout, before the first course goes down, not after a crack shows up.
Here's how a wall goes from a phone call to a finished cap, and who handles each part along the way.
Call (843) 376-1285 or use the form and tell us the wall's rough length and height, where it'll sit on your lot and any brick you hope to reuse.
I come out, look the spot over, measure it and ask what you want the wall to do, whether that's privacy, a border or a place to sit. You get a written estimate listing the materials, the steps and anything not included.
Before we start, I check with the office that covers your address, and city plan review, when needed, usually takes three weeks at most, depending on workload and weather. Our crew works within the city's 7 AM to 9 PM hours while I check each stage.
When it's done we walk the wall with you and leave the site clean. If you add paving beside it later, UK brick guidance says to slope it away from the wall or add a drainage strip so the lower courses stay drier.
I lay the wall out before anyone mixes mortar, square to your house or property line and level along its whole run, because a wall that starts out of line stays that way. We build the footing in brick or concrete, reinforced where the wall calls for it, then lay the brick with each joint filled full so water has no hollow to sit in.
We top the wall with a cap that sheds water off the face. Brick industry guidance has the cap stick out past the brick on both sides with a drip underneath, so rain falls clear instead of running down the wall and soaking the joints. If you want to reuse old brick, we'll look it over with you before we plan the wall around it.
If you'd rather have stone for the wall or its piers, our stone masonry work covers that. And if you already have a brick wall with mortar washing out of the joints, brick pointing can often save it before you need to think about building a new one.
If the wall sits near the house, a brick and mortar color close to the house ties the two together. Exact matches can be hard on older homes, so we'll look at samples against your walls in daylight.
A row of brick laid on edge suits a plain garden wall, while a cast stone or natural stone cap gives a heavier line on top. We size either one to the wall's width so it overhangs both faces.
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time for a free on-site estimate. I come out, measure the spot and write up the materials, the steps and anything not included. There's no obligation and no pressure to book.
(843) 376-1285The Town of Summerville Building Department requires permits and inspections for new buildings, renovations and repairs to building structures and systems. Its list names that building work and doesn't name brick garden walls, so it doesn't settle whether your wall needs a permit. We find out whether your address is inside city limits or in the county, check with the office that covers it, and handle the permit and inspections when the job needs them.
Contractors working in Summerville need the right South Carolina license for their scope of work and a Town of Summerville business license, so it's fair to ask any bidder about both. We're based in Summerville and work across the cities around it in Dorchester, Berkeley and Charleston counties, including Goose Creek and North Charleston, and we're glad to hear from you if your city isn't listed.
On jobs here we build a lot of garden walls beside patios and walks, and low walls along a front or side yard. Owners of older brick homes often want a new wall that looks like it was always part of the house, so brick and mortar color get as much talk at the estimate as height and length.
I learned brick, block and stone on a big commercial outfit, where every course got measured and checked before the next one went on. I started this business in Summerville in 2013, and for 13 years I've brought that same habit to homes. I'd rather spend an extra hour checking a layout than have you find a problem down the road.
I come out to look at the spot and measure it myself. Our own crew does the building, and I check the work as it goes, so the person who measured your wall is the one making sure it comes out that way. We're fully licensed and insured. Satisfaction guaranteed on every job.
To get started, call (843) 376-1285 or fill out our estimate request form, and I'll set a time to come out and look at where your wall will go.
Choose stone when you want a wall, pier or garden feature with a rougher natural face, or a stone cap to top a new brick wall.
When mortar on an existing brick wall or house is cracked or crumbling, repointing the joints keeps water out and can put off a full rebuild.
Our crew builds brick walls in Summerville and the cities around it, and each city page below covers the kind of work we see there.
Brick and masonry work in the Charleston area usually costs about $9 to $28 per square foot. Where your wall lands in that range depends on its height and length, the design, the brick and how much footing it needs, so your written estimate gives you the figure for your wall.
Sometimes, but it has to meet the SW grade, a durability rating for brick that faces the weather. Brick industry guidance says used brick generally falls short because it's often fired unevenly, so the question to settle before planning a wall around it is whether your brick meets that grade.
The city's list doesn't settle it, because it names building work like new buildings and renovations rather than garden walls, as covered above. We check with the office that covers your address before we start, so you'll know where your wall stands before anyone digs.
It mostly comes down to the wall's size, the weather and whether the city needs to review plans first, which adds the review time noted in our steps. Brick deliveries and rain days can also move the start, and I'll talk through the timing with you when I measure.
Know where your property line is and clear plants, pots and stored items from along the wall's path before we dig. Mark any sprinkler lines you know about, and move vehicles or trailers so we can get brick and mortar to the spot.
We take calls seven days a week until 11 PM, so you can reach us after work or on a weekend at (843) 376-1285 and get your wall on the schedule.
