Serving Redlands, CA and surrounding areas. (909) 488-7993
Redlands Masonry & Concrete has been serving San Bernardino, CA with concrete block walls, tuckpointing, and foundation repair since 2017. We know postwar stucco homes, slab foundations, and the clay soils that cause problems across this city.
Concrete block walls are on nearly every residential property in San Bernardino - as fencing, privacy screens, and garden borders. In a seismically active area like the Inland Empire, those walls need steel reinforcement running through the cores to hold up through shaking. A block wall built to California standards here will outlast a wood fence by decades. See our concrete block wall service.
San Bernardino has a large share of homes built in the 1950s through 1970s, and the original mortar in those walls is commonly at the end of its useful life. Repointing failing joints before they recess and let water in is far cheaper than addressing water damage after the fact. We match mortar mix to the original material to avoid stressing the surrounding brick or block.
Most San Bernardino homes sit on concrete slab foundations, and the expansive clay soils underneath expand and contract with every wet winter and dry summer. Over years, that movement opens cracks in slabs and causes settling around the perimeter. Catching foundation issues early keeps what starts as a manageable crack from becoming a structural problem.
San Bernardino experiences strong Santa Ana wind gusts every fall that crack mortar crowns and loosen joints on chimneys that were fine the season before. Homes in the foothill neighborhoods near the national forest tend to have older chimneys that have seen decades of this seasonal stress. An inspection before fire season is the easiest way to avoid a bigger repair later.
Properties in the northern parts of San Bernardino, closer to the foothills near Cal State San Bernardino, often have sloped lots that need retaining walls to manage soil and protect landscaping. The combination of clay soils and seismic activity here requires walls engineered for both soil pressure and lateral movement - not just built for looks.
Older San Bernardino homes built along and near historic Route 66 corridors often have original brick features - chimneys, accent walls, and front facades - that have not been touched since construction. Brick repair on these structures requires compatible replacement material and careful mortar matching to avoid damaging the original work.
San Bernardino is a large city with a housing stock that runs from the 1940s through today, and many of the masonry challenges here come directly from that age. Homes built in the postwar decades used construction methods and materials that are reaching their natural lifespan - lime-based mortars in older block walls are softening and crumbling, slab foundations on clay-heavy soils have been through 50 or more wet-dry cycles that open cracks year after year, and concrete boundary walls built in the 1960s and 1970s often predate current seismic reinforcement requirements. When those walls crack or lean, the repair involves more than patching the surface - it means understanding why the failure happened and building the fix correctly.
The climate here adds its own pressure. Summer temperatures regularly reach 100 degrees and above, which dries mortar and caulk faster than in coastal areas and puts stress on any exposed masonry surface. Fall Santa Ana winds are capable of 50 to 70 mph gusts that damage roofing, chimneys, and fencing in a single event. Winter rain - especially in El Nino years - can be heavy and fast, and the clay soils that are hard and dry most of the year absorb water slowly. Poor drainage around a foundation or behind a retaining wall becomes a real problem in those conditions. Homeowners working with the San Bernardino County Land Use Services Building and Safety Division for permitted work benefit from having a contractor who knows the local process.
Our crew works throughout San Bernardino regularly, and we understand the local conditions that affect masonry contractor work here. San Bernardino is the county seat and a large city with distinct neighborhood characters - from the foothill neighborhoods near California State University, San Bernardino in the north to the older corridors near downtown and the historic Route 66 alignment. The homes in each part of the city have different ages, different construction methods, and different masonry needs, and we treat them accordingly.
We work on postwar stucco ranch homes, older brick and block structures near downtown, and newer construction on the city's edges. The clay soils that cause slab movement and retaining wall stress are consistent across much of the city, so we account for soil conditions when we design footings and drainage on every job - not just the ones where the problem is obvious.
We serve neighboring communities on the same schedule. Highland borders San Bernardino to the east and has similar soil conditions and housing stock from the same era. Homeowners in both cities deal with the same seasonal clay movement and aging masonry that makes regular maintenance a practical necessity.
We respond within one business day. A short description of the problem - crumbling mortar, a cracked block wall, foundation cracks along a slab edge - helps us ask the right follow-up questions and arrive prepared.
We visit your San Bernardino property, assess the condition in person, and give you a written estimate before any work begins - no charge. We will note whether a permit is required and what that adds to the timeline so you are not surprised.
We pull any required permits and schedule the work around San Bernardino's temperature extremes - avoiding mortar and concrete pours during peak summer heat when possible. Most jobs do not require you to be present, but we coordinate access clearly with you ahead of time.
We walk you through the completed work and tell you what to watch for in the first rainy season - particularly for retaining walls and foundation repairs where drainage performance matters. We stand behind our work and want to hear from you if anything looks off.
We serve homeowners across San Bernardino - from the foothill neighborhoods near CSUSB to the older streets closer to downtown. Call or submit a request and we will respond within one business day.
(909) 488-7993San Bernardino is a city of about 222,000 people and serves as the county seat of San Bernardino County, the largest county by area in the contiguous United States. The city sits at the foot of the San Bernardino Mountains, with elevations ranging from roughly 1,000 to 1,500 feet across its neighborhoods. The northern parts of the city, including the areas near California State University, San Bernardino and the Arrowhead Farms neighborhood, tend to have larger lots, older custom homes, and more mature landscaping. Downtown and the older corridors running along the historic Route 66 alignment have a denser mix of postwar residential and commercial buildings.
Most of San Bernardino's residential housing was built between the 1940s and 1980s, which means single-story ranch homes with stucco exteriors, concrete slab foundations, and block wall fencing. At that age, original mortar is commonly failing, driveways have been through enough clay soil movement to crack, and chimneys have seen decades of Santa Ana wind seasons without always getting the maintenance attention they need. San Bernardino borders Highland to the east and Rialto to the west, two cities with similar housing profiles and the same Inland Empire soil and climate conditions that create steady demand for masonry maintenance across the region.
Restore structural integrity and stop foundation damage before it spreads.
Learn MoreControl erosion and grade changes with a durable retaining wall.
Learn MoreInstall a beautiful masonry fireplace that becomes a home centerpiece.
Learn MoreBuild strong, long-lasting walls using quality concrete block masonry.
Learn MoreSet a solid foundation with precisely installed concrete block walls.
Learn MoreCreate a custom outdoor kitchen built to last through every season.
Learn MoreConstruct classic brick walls for boundaries, privacy, or decoration.
Learn MoreFrom older postwar homes near downtown to newer construction near the foothills, we serve all of San Bernardino. Reach out today and we will respond within one business day.
