Terraced block retaining walls with cap stones stepping up a planted hillside garden

Masonry

Brick, block, and natural stone set by hand — walls, steps, veneer, and the custom stone inlays nobody else in the South Bay is doing.

The craft

Set by hand, one stone at a time

Masonry is the other half of our name. We carry both the C8 concrete and C29 masonry licenses, so the footing, the steel, and the wall above it all come from the same crew — brick, block, and natural stone bedded in mortar on a base built to hold it, the way we’ve done it since 1982.

The range on this page runs from workhorse block retaining walls to hand-fit Lompoc stone patios to sea turtles and dolphins cut from stone and set into pool decks. Different jobs, same standard: every unit placed by hand, plumb, level, and built to stay that way — all over Torrance, Palos Verdes, and the beach cities.

Materials & work

Custom stone inlays
Lompoc stone
Natural flagstone
Stacked stone veneer
Brick walkways & steps
Block retaining walls
Freestanding & seat walls
Stone entry columns
Chimney refacing

Roy's crew hand-fitting Lompoc stone pieces on a courtyard patio — Our crew fitting Lompoc stone by hand — every piece cut and set on site.

One of a kind

Custom stone inlays

This is the work we’re proudest to show off. Dolphins playing with a ball, a sea turtle mid-swim, palm trees on a garden wall, an octagon medallion — each one cut by hand from natural stone and set flush into the deck or wall around it. No stamps, no stencils. Bring us a sketch and we’ll set it in stone.

Sea turtle inlay of hand-cut tan stone swimming across a gray slate pool deck — A sea turtle, cut by hand from natural stone, swimming across a slate pool deck

Dolphins playing with a ball, inlaid in cut stone along a slate walkway beside a lawn — Dolphins playing with a ball along a poolside walkway

Palm trees and a sun inlaid in green slate on a stone veneer garden wall above a planter — Palm trees and a setting sun, inlaid in a stone garden wall

Octagon medallion of rose and green slate set into a stone patio beside an outdoor kitchen — An octagon medallion anchoring an outdoor kitchen patio

Lompoc stone

Quarried near Lompoc on California’s Central Coast, this stone brings warm buff-and-gold tones no manufactured material can match. We hand-fit it into patios, steps, and seat walls — every joint cut on site to make irregular stone read as one surface.

Curved Lompoc stone steps rising from a flagstone patio to a doorway — Curved Lompoc stone steps up to the door

Lompoc stone patio with steps and a low stone seat wall beside a planter — Lompoc patio with steps and a low seat wall

Before & after

Same structure, new stone

Not every masonry project starts from bare ground. When what’s underneath is sound, a stone or brick reface transforms a house for a fraction of a rebuild — here’s the proof.

Before and after: a plain red brick chimney refaced in stacked ledger stone — A red brick chimney, refaced in ledger stone. No demolition, no rebuild — we refaced the existing chimney in stacked ledger stone and carried it down the elevation. Same chimney, a completely different house.

Before and after: a stucco house front with new ledger stone veneer added to the lower walls and planter — Ledger stone across a whole front elevation. We added natural ledger stone veneer to the lower walls and the planter under the bay window. It’s the fastest way we know to give a stucco house real texture from the curb.

Before and after: a plain concrete walkway transformed into a natural flagstone path — A plain concrete walk, reborn in flagstone. The same path to the same front door — finished in hand-fit natural flagstone with tight, even joints. Small footprint, big change.

Brick, steps & entries

The masonry people touch every day — brick walks, stone-faced steps, and entry columns. Steps take more abuse than any wall, so treads get set dead level in full mortar beds, on structure that doesn’t move.

Herringbone brick walkway with rounded brick steps at a front entry — Herringbone brick walk with rounded steps

Front entry steps faced in natural stone with flagstone treads — Entry steps faced in natural stone

Broad steps with dark slate flagstone treads set into a flagstone patio — Broad flagstone steps with dark slate treads

Backyard bar with stone veneer walls beside a flagstone patio and stone steps — Stone-walled backyard bar off a flagstone patio

Stone veneer entry columns flanking a driveway with a white rail fence — Stone entry columns on a white rail fence line

Fieldstone veneer wall in warm buff tones rising behind garden plantings — Fieldstone veneer rising behind the garden

Retaining & freestanding walls

Walls that hold a hillside and walls that just hold a garden bed get the same bones: real footings, steel, and drainage. The face — split-face block, stacked ledger stone, or a flagstone cap you can sit on — is yours to choose.

Curved block garden wall with cap stones holding a planted hillside — A curved garden wall following the slope

Capped block retaining wall holding back a planted hillside — Capped block retaining wall on a planted slope

Tall freestanding split-face block wall being washed down after construction — A freestanding split-face block wall, just finished

Stacked stone planter wall with a stone cap along a travertine patio dining area — Stacked stone planter wall edging the patio

Low stacked stone seat wall with a flagstone cap beside a concrete patio — Ledger stone seat wall with a flagstone cap

Curved stacked stone wall wrapping a spa area with agave plants — A curved stone wall wrapping the spa

Common questions about masonry

Can you really put a dolphin or a turtle in my pool deck?

Yes — every inlay on this page is a real project. We cut the shapes by hand from natural stone in contrasting colors and set them flush into the surrounding deck or wall, so they’re as durable as the stone around them. Dolphins, turtles, palm trees, a medallion at the front door — if you can sketch it, we can probably set it in stone.

What is Lompoc stone?

It’s a natural stone quarried near Lompoc, on California’s Central Coast, with warm buff-and-gold tones you can’t get from concrete or manufactured pavers. We hand-fit it as patios, walkways, steps, and wall veneer — the Lompoc projects on this page show how much warmth it brings to a front yard.

Can you reface what I already have instead of tearing it out?

Often, yes. If the structure underneath is sound, we can veneer an existing chimney, wall, or house front in ledger stone, fieldstone, or brick — the chimney and front-elevation projects in the before-and-after section are exactly that. It costs far less than demolition and rebuild, and the change is dramatic.

Do retaining walls need permits or engineering?

Sometimes — it depends on the height of the wall and what it’s holding back. Taller walls, and walls supporting a slope or a driveway, typically need engineering and a permit in South Bay cities. Either way, we build them the same way: real footings, steel, solid-grouted block, and drainage behind the wall so water never gets to push on it.

What does masonry work cost?

It ranges as widely as the work does — a low seat wall, a brick walkway, and a full stone facade are very different projects. Material drives a lot of it too: block and brick generally cost less than hand-fit natural stone. Estimates are always free: call (310) 539-8023.

Let’s build something that lasts

44 years of South Bay craftsmanship, one phone call away. Estimates are always free.

Call (310) 539-8023