Brickworks San Jose Concrete & Masonry

Masonry contractor in Milpitas, CA - walls and brickwork for hillside and creekside lots

Brickworks San Jose Concrete & Masonry is a masonry contractor working in Milpitas, CA. We build retaining walls, block and brick walls, walkways and outdoor kitchens, and we repair older brick, worn mortar joints and chimneys.

A curved gray paver driveway with light stone edging winds through a landscaped front yard.

Milpitas homes run from valley tracts to hillside lots

Milpitas sits right against San Jose, where we're based, so it's a short drive for our crew. Most of what we see here are neighborhoods of single-family tract homes on the flat valley floor, mixed in with townhouses and newer complexes, and then bigger lots that climb into the hills on the east side. Creeks run down out of those hills and through the city, among them the Calera, Penitencia, Berryessa, Los Coches and Tularcitos, and plenty of yards sit close to one.

That spread shapes the job. Up the slope, the work is usually about holding ground back, and down near the creeks the first question is whether the lot is in the flood zone, which we cover in the questions below.

What we know from working in Milpitas

In Milpitas, building permits come from the city's Office of Building Safety, and the permit has to be issued before any work starts, so on a permitted job your start date waits on the city. Before you hire anyone, ask to see a California contractor license. The city also issues its own business license and can ask a contractor to show a state license before it issues one, and its application page lists $89 for six months or $104 for a year for state-licensed contractors.

I check with the office before I write your estimate, because whether a wall needs a permit can change the footing, the drawings and the start date. It's the same check I make before quoting in Cupertino or any other city, since each one keeps its own rules. The price moves with the size of the job, how deep the footing or base goes and how easy the spot is to reach, and the schedule moves mostly with the permit and with how much old work has to come out first.

Masonry services in Milpitas

Hillside lots and older brick keep us busy here

On the east side, where lots climb toward the hills, most calls are for retaining walls, because a yard cut into a slope needs something holding the soil back. When an old wall is leaning or cracked, there's usually a drainage or footing problem behind it, so we dig out to find that before we quote a rebuild. A new face on the same weak footing usually fails the same way.

Down on the flatter side, it's front steps, planters, block walls between yards and tired driveways, and a lot of people pair a repair with new driveway pavers. On older brick we match the mortar to the brick, because a mortar harder than the brick can crack the faces it's supposed to protect.

Get a free on-site estimate for your Milpitas job

Send the form and expect a reply within 1 business day, with no pressure to book. I'll set a time to come out to your Milpitas home, look the job over and write up what I found and what we'd do about it.

(669) 234-3391

How it works when you call us in Milpitas

  1. Tell us what you're seeing

    Call (669) 234-3391 or send the form with what's going on and where the house is in Milpitas. A photo of the crack, the leaning wall or the worn joints helps me come prepared.

  2. I walk and measure the job

    I come out myself, look over the whole job, measure it and take photos. We talk about what's causing the problem before we talk about the fix.

  3. Read your written estimate

    You get a written estimate that lists each area and each step, so you can see what you're paying for. If something can't be known until we open it up, I'll tell you that plainly.

  4. Sort out the permit first

    If the city needs a permit, we apply for it as the licensed contractor and wait until it's issued before anyone digs. If your lot is in the flood zone, that check comes first too.

  5. Build, check and walk through

    Our own masons do the work, I check it as it goes up and I meet the inspector on site when the permit calls for it. When it's done, we walk the finished job together.

Milpitas masonry questions we hear

Does a retaining wall or block fence in Milpitas need a building permit?

Sometimes. The city's residential list exempts retaining walls not over 4 feet from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, unless the wall holds back an added load such as a slope or driveway above it, and fences not over 7 feet high. Measure from the footing, not the ground. Past those lines, plan on a permit, and we confirm with the city before we start.

How do I get a building permit for masonry work in Milpitas?

You apply to the city, either yourself as the property owner or through a licensed contractor acting as your agent, who can pull permits only for work their license covers. Some simple jobs on houses and duplexes can be applied for online, though the city's examples are things like re-roofs and kitchen remodels. On our jobs we handle the application, as the steps above describe.

Does a masonry contractor in Milpitas need a California state license?

Yes, the state licensing board says any job worth $1,000 or more in labor and materials has to be done by a state-licensed contractor. Splitting a job into smaller pieces to stay under that line is illegal, and if the work needs a permit or workers, a license is required at any price. We're licensed and fully insured.

How do I plan masonry work if my Milpitas home is in the flood zone?

Check your lot first, because about a quarter of Milpitas sits in a federally mapped flood zone with a 1 percent chance of flooding, and that share says nothing about your parcel. Before you build, alter, regrade or place fill there, the city tells owners to check with its Land Development Engineering Division. Work on the house costing 49 percent or more of its market value, counted over 10 years, brings it under new-building flood rules.

Does an outdoor kitchen or fireplace in Milpitas need separate permits?

If it has a gas line, outlets, lighting or wiring, yes, because the city requires separate plumbing, mechanical and electrical permits to install or move that equipment. That's on top of whatever the masonry itself needs. We build the counters, walls and firebox and plan the job so the gas and electrical work can go in under its own permits.

What drives the cost of masonry work on a Milpitas home?

Size, footing and access drive most of it. A retaining wall on a hillside lot usually needs a deeper footing and more digging than a garden wall on flat ground, a backyard with no side access means carrying material by hand, and older brick takes time to match. A permit or a flood-zone check adds steps before we start, and your written estimate puts a cost on each part.

Where we work

Tell us about your Milpitas project and its permits

Call (669) 234-3391 any day of the week, into the evening, or send the form and ask which permits your job needs.

Request an estimate(669) 234-3391
(669) 234-3391Request an estimate