We come over from Tyler for Henderson jobs, and the calls here are the same ones we get across East Texas. It's older brick houses with joints worn back from the face of the brick, chimneys that are showing their age, and yards that need a retaining wall, a walkway or a driveway. Most of it is repair, and when a whole wall or the whole house needs attention, that's masonry restoration. I'd rather tell you part of it can wait than sell you work you don't need.
We do the same work in Kilgore and Gladewater. On older brick, a lot of what looks bad is worn mortar rather than failing brick, so the fix is often new joints, not new brick.
Who files the permit and when
Before regulated work starts, the owner or someone authorized to act for them has to apply to the city's Building Official and get the permit. You don't have to handle that yourself. We check with the city on each job, and when a permit is needed we file it and keep the paperwork moving, so you hear from us instead of chasing the city for answers. Permitted work then gets inspected, and it has to stay open and exposed until the inspector approves it, so we hold off on covering a footing or backfilling a wall until that's done.
What sets the price on your job
Price comes down to how much of the wall needs work and how hard it is to match. A few cracked bricks and some worn joints are a different job from a chimney that needs rebuilding above the roofline, because height means scaffolding and more hours. For new work, the size of the wall, how deep the footing goes and whether you pick brick, block or stone move it most. I come out, look at the job and write the estimate myself, and I'll tell you what needs doing now and what can wait. Once you book, a lead mason runs the crew on site.
What can hold up the start date
When the job means digging, for a retaining wall, a footing or a walkway base, buried lines get marked first. The city's older permit packet says to call Dig Tess before you dig and to request city water and sewer locates separately, allowing three working days, so that wait goes into the start date. Inspections set the pace on permitted work too. The same packet says concrete inspections are cancelled when it's raining or too wet, the contractor isn't contacted, and each one has to be rescheduled rather than held to the next day. When that happens, we tell you so you're not wondering where the crew went.