Berkeley Parents Network: Brick and Stone

Berkeley Parents Network

Brick and Stone

Please note: this page contains reviews and opinions sent in by Berkeley Parents Net subscribers. Your own experience may be different. Please always check references before hiring!

Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > House & Garden > Brick and Stone

Builder for stone retaining walls
Reviews of Stone Masons & Brick Masons
Stepping Stones for Backyard
Brick Layer for Patio
See also: Landscaping & Garden Design

Builder for stone retaining walls

Feb 2007

Anyone recommend a good company for rebuilding stone retaining walls? There are two old posts for Jose Galvez of Orinda. Anyone use his company lately and have his contact info? Anyone use Lazar Landscaping? We need some old cement removed and someone with vision to figure out the best way to reconfigure our walls to make our slighty sloped yard more useable.

We live in the Oakland Hills and we used Bob Harmola of Welte Construction. http://www.e-welte.com/landscape.html Bob was great! He had vision and worked with us on different options. We ended up getting rid of old, crumbling retaining walls, installing new walls, changing the layout of the walls, installing a French drain, sprinklers, etc. His crew was clean, courteous and timely. Our neighbor even came over to say ''thank you'' for choosing such a polite company. Two years later we are thinking about having more work done and we won't hesitate to call Bob again! Mel

Manuel Gutierrez did a super job on our stone retaining walls. Beautifully done, reasonably priced. Here are then numbers i have for him: mobile 510-501-8252 home 510-237-9461
dan h

Darcy Hahn in Berkeley does beautiful rock walls, both retaining and decorative. She has done work for several people I know. She can be contacted at 510-528-8208. anon

I know of someone who does beautiful natural stone work -- he's done extensive work for a friend of mine in Pacifica -- retaining walls, planters, walkways, and a fountain/stream all built by hand with stone. He took her crappy weed-filled back yard and made it look like an oasis. He does the design plan and building. The company is based in San Francisco where I live, but I think he works all over the bay. It's called Stonescape Exotics, and his name is Robert Pendergrast. I think he advertises on Craigslist, but I can get his contact info if you're interested, from my friend. maryish

Matt Hornby built a stone retaining wall in my backyard three years ago that is really a work of art. Most people who see it think it is original to the house, a 1912 Craftsman, because it fits in so well with its surroundings. The stones were carefully fitted together without mortar, and a stone bench is incorporated into the wall. He also put down a flagstone path, also very beautiful. Matt has a graduate degree in Landscape Architecture from UC Berkeley and many years of experience working in landscaping, so he is not going to be the cheapest option. But he will create something that you will enjoy for many years. He's a very careful and artful designer and builder who does high quality work. He's also a very nice guy. Matt's phone number is 510 717-1342
Ginger

Reviews of Stone Masons & Brick Masons

Oct 2006

Once again, I would like to recommend a wonderful mason who has helped us with countless landscaping projects. He has built rock walls, brick patios/steps and flagstone patio/steps. He has also trenched and put in french drains, dug and terraced our yard, and helped us with our planting. He is very affordable and a very nice man. A real find and I am happy to refer him - Arnoldo can be reached at 510-827-8598. Please feel free to contact me with any questions. margaret

May 2006

Tom Doss does excellent stone work. He specializes in working in harmony with Mother Nature without the use of concrete to create patios, walls and other decorative stone features. 510 655-2839 Melanie

May 2005

Landscape architect/stone mason recommended
I am writing in response to several posts in the April 22 Digest about landscape architects and garden construction teams. We have recently landscaped the side area to our house in Alameda, and Matt Hornby, based in Berkeley, was an incredibly good landscape architect to work with. He is timely, reasonably priced, and a very good communicator. Matt also has extensive experience as a stone mason and has worked on projects big and small througout the East Bay. He is willing to take on small projects as well. He can be contacted at matthornby72 AT yahoo.com. If you would like more references or to take a look at the brick path and cement driveway he did for us, give me a call. Thanks! Anna

Stepping Stones for Backyard

March 2004

I am looking for a recommendation on where to buy nice stepping stones for our backyard. We looked at the ones at Home Depot which were relatively inexpensive (I believe about $2 per piece)but we did not like the sort of 'artificial' look of them. Does anyone know another place that might have a bit more of a selection than Home Depot but is not much more expensive ? Andrea

Go to an arts & craft website and learn how to make your own. You can use disposable pie/cake ''pans'', or make your own mold (depending on what size you need). This way, you can personalize with kids/grandkids hand or foot print, animal foot print, write sayings, etc. I know it is with concrete or plaster or something. Saw it on Martha of course and they turned out really cute. DiAnn

Try American Soil Products in west Berkeley (3rd Street, I think). They have an amazing selection, and as for price, you get what you pay for. Lisa McL

Brick Layer for Patio

July 2002

In the course of my remodel, my yard got dug up and I need someone to re-brick about half of a small Berkeley yard. There are a couple spots with mildly tricky grading/stair issues, so we need someone that knows what s/he's doing. Can anyone recommend someone to do this work? We would like it done ASAP. Thanks so much! - Catherine

We have a beautiful flagstone patio layed by a wonderful gardener/landscaper, and he does alot of brick work. His name is Francisco Mayo and his number is 601-9350. He has done a beautiful job of overall landscaping for us with our costs in mind. We are very happy with his work. - I. Sazer

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