Chris Armbruster, the owner of Bricked Masonry, is the German-trained stone mason and bricklayer who personally handles your project. You're not getting a sales guy who disappears after the quote. From the first walk-around to the finished wall, you're dealing with the same person who's been laying brick and stone for more than 25 years, including over a decade on Metro Vancouver houses.

The head office is in Port Moody, but we also have an office in downtown Vancouver. We work all over Metro Vancouver and the Tri-Cities, including Vancouver, East Vancouver, West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Kitsilano, Point Grey, Dunbar, Kerrisdale, Shaughnessy, Mount Pleasant, Strathcona, Burnaby, New Westminster, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, Richmond, Surrey, Delta, White Rock, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, and Langley.

You get a firm quote in advance. Homeowners keep saying the finished cost didn't wander from the original number. That's how Chris runs the job. If the scope changes because you add work, we talk about it first.

Yes. Bricked Masonry is registered and insured. That's one of the first things you should ask any mason in Vancouver, because roof work, scaffolding, and demolition aren't casual jobs.

Yes. Hours are Monday through Sunday, 7:00 am to 7:00 pm. If you need to talk after a regular weekday, call (778) 985-6780 or the Vancouver line at (604) 359-3241, or email chris@bricked-masonry.ca.

Yes. Daily cleanup is part of how Chris works. Adjacent finishes get protected, debris gets hauled, and you shouldn't be living in a pile of brick dust all week.

Yes. Residential and commercial. Small gate posts and large stone cladding jobs are all handled with the same professional care.

It means Chris was trained and certified in Germany and he treats mortar hardness, level planes, flashing details, and matching as the job, not extras. Vancouver rain finds every sloppy joint. Precision isn't a slogan here. It's how the wall survives October to April.

Call (778) 985-6780, email us, or use the estimate form. Chris comes on site, walks the wall, chimney, patio, or slope with you, and prices the actual conditions. Photos help for a first pass. A real quote still needs eyes on access, drainage, and what's failing.

A photo won't show hollow brick, washed-out joints behind the face, missing weeps, poor flashing, or a soft clay subgrade under a patio. Those details change the price. That's why the estimate is free and on site.

Once you approve the quote, we schedule around weather, material lead time, and access. Small chimney repairs can be a day. Bigger walls and cladding take longer to book because scaffolding and stone cutting have to line up.

Clear a path to the work, move cars if we're using the driveway, know where the hose bib is, and tell us about any neighbour or strata rules. If you have old drawings or a previous permit, keep those handy.

Yes we do. Quotes include demolition and haul-away when that's part of the job. We protect adjacent finishes, pull unstable brick or stone, and leave a clean, level starting point.

Absolutely. Matching colour, size, and texture is part of the work, especially on heritage walls and chimneys. We source locally and we'll tell you honestly if a perfect match isn't sitting on a shelf.

It depends on access, height, demolition, material, and whether water is already inside the wall. A small repair is a different animal than a rebuild. A simple repair can cost a few hundred but a large-scale commercial construction project can cost tens of thousands.

In further FAQs below, we go into more detail and provide realistic price ranges so you can plan, but the best way to get an accurate cost is to book an estimate.

A typical fireplace renovation lands around $1,500 to $8,000. Size, a shape change, and how much old stone or brick has to come out are the big movers.

To learn more about our fireplace renovations, visit here.

A typical 4 ft high by 25 ft long residential retaining wall often lands around $9,000. Rebuilds cost more because demolition and disposal are extra. Access, material, and dry-stack versus grouted construction move that number.

You can read up more info on our retaining wall services here.

Natural stone siding in Vancouver usually runs $25 to $85 per square foot. Stone type, unit size, and how easy it is to reach the wall decide where you land.

Read further details about our stone siding services here.

Rebuilding a chimney as opposed to building a new one from scratch is a similar cost because they both respectively requite extra work. In this case that extra work is demoltion and haul-away.

What are the numbers? A 3 ft brick chimney with 2 flues averages around $3,000 to $4,000. Chimney repair more broadly typically sits $1,000 to $5,000, and only rarely climbs toward $10,000 when access, flashing, and scaffolding get ugly.

For more info about our chimney rebuilds, visit here.

A new brick wall commonly lands $30 to $80 per square foot. Waterproofing, prep, whether there's already a foundation, and fancy details all change the number.

To get more info on our brick wall services, see here.

Plan on about $25 to $30 per block installed. Rebar, concrete reinforcement, and extra cutting for patterns add labour and material.

Click here for further info on block wall installations, 

Patio and path pricing moves with the build, not just the pretty stone on top. A professionally installed garden path often lands around $18 to $35 per sq. ft. for concrete pavers or interlocking stone, and $30 to $55-plus per sq. ft. for natural stone like flagstone or slate, including excavation and a gravel base. Narrow paths, tight access, drainage work, and premium stone push the high end. A fuller patio build with more labour and material can land higher still, so get the on-site number instead of shopping a single internet figure.

We have more information about our patio services here.

Steep lots, poor access, scaffolding, demolition of a failed wall, engineered height, surcharge from a driveway above the wall, matching heritage brick, and winter weather all add cost. North Shore slopes and Burnaby clay soils are classic reasons a "simple wall" isn't simple.

Usually no. The cheap quote often skips drainage, uses mortar that's harder than the brick, or patches the face while water is still sitting in the wall. Chris prices the whole structure, not just the part you can see from the sidewalk.

Yes.

No. The quote is straightforward and the price is the price.

Late spring through early fall is the friendliest window for new work because mortar likes decent temperatures and a chance to cure without a week of sideways rain. That said, we work year-round. Repairs can't always wait for July.

Yes, with the right protection and mix. Brickwork takes a beating from October through April. Wind-driven rain soaks mortar. Freeze-thaw opens joints. We plan around that instead of pretending rain doesn't exist here.

No. Summer is easier for roof access and curing, but a leaking chimney in November shouldn't sit until June. Small repairs can be a one-day job. Rebuilds take longer and need a weather window.

If the wall is already leaning or weeping, don't wait. Hydrostatic pressure from winter rain is what finishes a weak wall. We can plan drainage and rebuild when the site is workable. Leaving a moving wall "until spring" is how neighbours get nervous.

Saturated silt and clay in the wet months make compaction harder. You can still build, but base work has to be done properly or the patio will dish by next winter. That's why we talk soil and slope on site, not just paver colour. If we had to give a month though we'd say November, but our point is a patio can still be installed in November. We're experts with insurance and we'll ensure you a proper build any month of the year.

Building a new chimney is priced similarly to rebuilding an old one, because instead of hauling away old bricks we need to secure a solid foundation and renovate whole sections of a wall to fit the chimney in.

Cost moves with counter flashing, access, condition, and scaffolding. To build a brand new 3 ft brick chimney with 2 flues, the average is around $4,000 to $22,000+. We can give an exact quote on-site after booking.

A small chimney repair with one mason and a helper is typically 1 day. A rebuild is often 4 to 5 days.

Locally sourced bricks in the shapes and sizes the stack needs, plus sealant for waterproofing. Caps and crowns matter as much as the pretty face brick.

Yes. Pressure wash if trees are dumping debris on it. Keep roots off a chimney that meets grade. Reseal every so often. Applying sealant about every two years is a solid habit. Repoint bricks as the decades wear the joints.

Getting a stone mason to inspect the chimney every 5 years is also a solid habit, and we're happy to do that!

A chimney is a vertical sponge unless the crown, cap, flashing, and mortar are tight. Rain drives sideways here. Water sits in a cracked crown, sneaks behind failed flashing, and shows up as a ceiling stain. Freeze-thaw then opens the joints every winter.

Fully exposed chimneys often need joint work on a 5 to 10 year cycle.

Sand at the base, recessed joints, white staining, a leaning stack, wet spots on the ceiling near the flue, or bricks that sound hollow when tapped.

Yes. Crown repair or replacement and a cap that actually keeps rain out of the flue are part of treating the chimney as a system, not a decorative tube.

Yes. Water has to shed at the roof-to-masonry joint. We coordinate flashing and roof work so we're not rebuilding brick while the leak path is still open.

Sometimes. If you no longer use the fireplace and the stack is a leak factory, removal can be the cleaner long-term move. Talk it through on site because roof patching, interior makeup, and permits can enter the picture.

That's common work here. We match brick and stone on heritage chimneys as closely as the supply allows and we don't blow hard modern mortar into a soft historic joint.

A rebuild is mostly demolition, matching, and putting the surround or firebox back on a house that already exists. That renovation work is the $1,500 to $8,000 range we already covered higher up. A brand new fireplace on a construction site is a different job. You're building the firebox, hearth, surround, and often the tie-in to a new chimney while other trades are still in the house.

Plan on a wide $3,500 to $22,000 window. A simple brick or cultured-stone surround on an opening that's already framed often lands $3,500 to $8,000, which overlaps the renovation range because the labour is similar. A full new indoor masonry fireplace with hearth and a proper surround commonly lands $8,000 to $16,000. Floor-to-ceiling natural stone or a custom firebox on a new house can land $14,000 to $22,000. Unusual shapes, a chimney that still has to be built, and tight access can go higher. Gas units, inserts, and venting are often separate from the masonry number.

Not exactly, and the word "fireplace" covers a few different builds. A small outdoor fire pit or basic kit install can start around $850 to $3,500. A prefab outdoor fireplace set on a pad often lands $1,800 to $7,500. A custom masonry outdoor fireplace, the kind with a real firebox and chimney, commonly lands $5,500 to $19,000. A full outdoor kitchen that includes the fireplace can land $14,000 to $38,000 when the base, stone, and counters are one job. Indoor rebuilds stay in that $1,500 to $8,000 band we already listed. Outdoor work needs a proper base and drainage because Vancouver rain will sit in a cheap box all winter.

Yes. That's the cleanest time. Access is better, finishes aren't in the way, and we can build the opening square before drywall and flooring lock the room in. Wait until the house is finished and you're doing renovation pricing plus protection of new floors.

Floor plans, elevation drawings, the finish schedule, and a note on gas insert versus wood-burning. Photos of the framed opening help. If the chimney chase is already built, say so. If it isn't, we need to know who owns that scope.

Most residential fireplace projects still land in a 2 to 5 day window once the opening is ready. A big stone feature wall or an outdoor fireplace with a new base can take about a week. The clock starts when the site is ready.

Locally sourced bricks, natural stone, and cultured stone veneer. Cultured veneer usually keeps a new indoor fireplace toward the $3,500 to $10,000 part of the window. Natural stone usually sits higher.

Yes. We build to a true, level plane so the insert, trim, and hearth line up. The insert itself is a separate purchase. The masonry is what we price.

Yes. A simple fire pit often lands $850 to $4,800. A pizza-oven chimney or custom outdoor fireplace is usually in the $5,500 to $19,000 masonry range. A full outdoor kitchen can land $14,000 to $38,000. Drainage and cap details decide whether it still looks good after two Vancouver winters.

Indoor fireplaces don't need much structurally once they're sound. Keep them dust-free and enjoy them. Outdoor fireplaces need eyes on the joints. A small outdoor touch-up might be $350 to $1,200. Leaving a cracked joint can turn into a $2,000 to $6,000 repair.

Before the room is finished if you can. Hearth height, mantel projection, and floor material all bump into each other. Changing stone after the hardwood is down adds renovation cost on top of the original fireplace number.

Yes. Chris has torn out stone that wasn't level, reset the area around it, and laid new brick in a few days with a firm quote that held. That indoor rebuild usually sits in the $1,500 to $8,000 renovation range already listed higher up.

Not really. Indoor work stays dry. Outdoor work has to handle rain and freeze-thaw. We pick materials and joints for the weather the fireplace will actually see in Metro Vancouver.

A new wall on a construction site is built in raw dirt, not against finished landscaping and neighbour fences. That can save time. It can cost more if the lot is mud or the wall has to hold a new driveway. Rebuild pricing includes demolition. New-build pricing includes layout and drainage.

Most new residential walls land in a wide $3,200 to $22,000 window. A short garden wall, say 2 ft high and 20 ft long, often lands $3,200 to $7,500. The typical 4 ft high by 25 ft long residential wall we already mentioned often lands around $9,000, and a lot of straightforward new walls sit $7,000 to $14,000. A taller engineered wall on a North Shore slope, or a long wall holding a driveway, commonly lands $14,000 to $22,000. Big commercial or heavily engineered hillside walls can run $25,000 to $60,000-plus. If the exposed height is over about 1.2 metres, or about 4 feet, most municipalities want a permit.

Usually on labour, yes. Dry-stack goes up about twice as fast. On that 4 ft by 25 ft example, dry-stack versus grouted can be the difference between a job closer to $7,500 and one closer to $11,000, depending on stone. Fast isn't the same as right on a steep Coquitlam lot.

Concrete, natural stone, cement-based products, granite, block systems, and gabion. Block systems often sit in the lower or middle part of the $3,200 to $22,000 residential window. Natural stone and granite usually sit higher because every piece is fit by hand.

Yes, and on hillside lots that's often the smart sequence. Don't let the builder bury the drainage we installed.

Engineering on taller walls often adds $1,200 to $3,800. Permits commonly add $250 to $1,200. Extra drain rock, pipe, and soil haul-away can add $800 to $6,000. Those extras are why two walls of the same length can be $9,000 and $18,000.

One mason and a helper usually need 2 to 5 days once the site is workable. Larger commercial walls can take a week or more.

Pressure wash when it's dirty. Keep trees off the face. Roots lift walls. A drain pipe behind the wall is part of the build. If that pipe gets crushed, a new wall can turn into an $8,000 to $16,000 rebuild.

If there's a slope, a drop at the property line, or a patio that needs holding, yes. Grading moves dirt. A retaining wall holds it.

Steep lots, rain, and hydrostatic pressure. Water builds up behind the wall, the face bulges, then it leans. The fix is gravel backfill, drain pipe, weep paths, and grading.

Over a decade building retaining walls across the area means we don't make the same mistakes other builders do, and you can feel confident knowing your new retaining wall won't fail because of lack of drainage.

Yes. A simple two-tier garden terrace might land $8,000 to $18,000. A taller stacked system the city treats as one wall can land $16,000 to $32,000 once engineering and drainage are in.

That's a don't-wait call. We inspect movement and drainage and tell you if it can be repaired or needs a rebuild. We'll even speak to the worried neighbour with you if you like.

Repair work is matching and fixing water damage. A new brick wall is layout, ties, waterproofing, and clean corners. The $30 to $80 per square foot band we already listed is still the planning range. A small new garden wall might be $2,400 to $8,500. A single house elevation can be $8,000 to $35,000 depending on height and detail.

Waterproofing, foundation, corners, openings, scaffolding, and access. A straight garden wall often sits $30 to $50 per square foot. Feature brick with arches and scaffolding can sit $55 to $80 per square foot on tight lots.

Yes. Matching can add $800 to $4,200 in extra labour and hunting for brick. We'll be honest if the old brick isn't sitting on a shelf anymore.

One mason and a helper usually lay 300 to 500 bricks a day once the prep is done. A medium wall can be a day or two of laying after prep.

Classic red clay or modern cement brick. New homes in Surrey and Langley often want a cleaner modern brick. Character homes in Kitsilano, Dunbar, Kerrisdale, and Shaughnessy usually need a warmer match.

Softer than the brick. The joint should take the weather, not the unit.

Once it's cured, which can take up to 28 days, and once it's in service, then sealing is fine. However, after a new build, you can treat sealing as a habit about every two years on exterior walls that needs to stay waterproof. A sealing visit is often $280 to $750. If you're still confused, give us a call and we'll explain it in better terms, as you also must ensure you're using the right type of breathable sealers.

They can. Ties and the ledge the brick sits on are cheaper to fix before sheathing is finished. Fixing a bad ledge later can add $900 to $3,200.

Keep water off the top and out of the joints. A small pointing visit later might be $750 to $2,800. Waiting until brick is hollow is a different budget.

Recessed joints, sand at the base, stepped cracks at corners, and bricks that sound hollow.

Yes. Localized repair might land $1,800 to $7,500. Rebuilding a failed section can land $7,500 to $18,000. That's repair work, not a new-construction wall.

It usually will. Heritage work in Shaughnessy, Kitsilano, Dunbar, and Kerrisdale often needs a lime-aware mix, not a hard grey smear.

No. A small veneer repair might be $1,200 to $6,500. New stone siding uses the $25 to $85 per square foot planning band we already published. A front wainscot of 150 to 300 square feet often lands $3,800 to $18,000. A larger elevation of 600 to 1,000 square feet often lands $15,000 to $55,000. A full wrap can run higher at the top of the stone range, especially with scaffolding and corners.

Stone type, unit size, and access decide it. A 4,000 square foot wall with three guys can take up to 4 weeks, including scaffolding in winter. A front wainscot on a Port Coquitlam house may take a few days to a week.

Flashing has to work with both. Changing window sizes after the quote can add $800 to $6,500 in extra cutting and flashing.

Manufactured veneer often sits toward $25 to $48 per square foot installed. Natural granite and heavier stone often sit $48 to $85 per square foot. Bad flashing makes either one fail.

Yes. An interior feature wall might land $2,400 to $14,000 depending on size and stone.

No. We install it with flashing, movement joints, and a way for the wall to dry.

Yes. Add removal and waterproofing, and a front-elevation conversion often lands $8,000 to $28,000. A bigger wrap is more.

Less than cedar or vinyl. Clean it. A mortar tune-up decades later might be $1,800 to $6,500. Keep tree roots and soil off the weeps.

An old patio lift-and-relay might be $1,800 to $7,500 on a small yard. A brand new patio is excavation, base, slope, edges, and tying into new doors and walls.

A professionally installed garden path often lands $18 to $35 per sq. ft. for concrete pavers or interlocking stone, and $30 to $55-plus per sq. ft. for natural stone like flagstone or slate, including excavation and a gravel base. A simple 200 sq. ft. paver patio can land $3,600 to $8,500. A 400 sq. ft. patio often lands $7,200 to $18,000. Tight access, drainage, and premium stone can put a full backyard in the $12,000 to $28,000 window. Narrow side paths cost more per foot because of cutting.

After heavy equipment is done and final grading is actually final. Build too early and a plumber's trench becomes a $1,800 to $6,500 repair.

Concrete, slabs, paving stones, granite, natural stone tiles, interlocking stone, brick, and composite options. Basic pavers sit toward the low end. Granite and flagstone sit toward the high end.

Yes. A small apron or border might land $1,800 to $6,800. A longer masonry edge can land $4,500 to $12,000.

Drainage. A drain line or extra base work often adds $750 to $4,800.

A straightforward patio with one mason and a helper can be around 2 days once the base is ready. Bigger layouts can take 3 to 6 days.

Soft subgrade, no slope, no edge restraint, or mossy joints holding water. A new patio needs a compacted base and pitch away from the house.

Often yes. A lift-and-relay on a small patio might land $1,800 to $7,200. Full replacement is the higher patio window above.

Whatever we pick still needs slope and a compacted base. Moss loves shade. Stone and pavers both work if water leaves the surface.

If it pools, the slope or base isn't right. Pressure wash. Keep roots off the edge.

Both. New construction is the easy time to get pitch and cheek walls right.

Most new residential entrance stairs land $2,800 to $14,000. A short concrete or simple brick run might land $2,800 to $6,500. Brick or stone steps with a landing often land $6,500 to $11,000. Add cheek walls, pillars, or granite treads and you're often $9,000 to $14,000. Rebuilds of settled old stairs often sit $3,500 to $12,000 because demolition is extra.

Usually pitch, a soft base, or open joints at the house wall.

Freeze-thaw, settlement, and poor drainage. If steps rock or hold puddles, water is already in the landing.

Yes, and they should.

Yes. Matching brick and correcting pitch are normal rebuild details.

Puddles at the door, dark staining, ice, or an open joint at the house wall.

A pair of new masonry gate posts often lands $3,200 to $11,000. Simple brick piers can sit $3,200 to $6,800 a pair. Taller stone posts with caps and a reinforced core often land $6,500 to $11,000. Repairing sound caps might be $650 to $2,400. Rebuilding two rotten posts is closer to new-post money.

Plan on an extra $450 to $2,200 in masonry detailing for a reinforced core and embeds. The gate and opener are separate.

Yes. A single mailbox column often lands $1,100 to $3,800. Fence piers might land $950 to $3,200 each.

Loose caps and open cap joints. The cap has to shed water.

Sometimes. A cap-only repair might be $380 to $1,200 per pillar. If the core is soaked, a new cap is only cosmetic.

Pretty much. A short masonry wing wall might land $3,500 to $14,000 depending on length.

New block is a production job. Repair is a puzzle. On a new construction site we can snap lines, set the first course dead level, drop in rebar if the drawing calls for it, and lay block at a steady pace. That's why we still use $25 to $30 per block installed as the planning number, then add rebar, grout, cutting, and haul-away. A small new wall of 80 to 120 blocks often lands $2,400 to $5,800. A bigger structural or garage wall can land $6,500 to $16,000. Repairing a failed section of an old wall is slower because you're cutting into work that may already be out of plumb, tying new block into old, and dealing with rusted steel or wet soil behind it. That kind of repair often lands $1,400 to $6,800. On new work, one master mason and a helper typically set about 80 to 120 six-by-sixteen inch blocks a day once the footing is ready. That rate drops when every block has to be cut around a door, a beam, or a stepped footing.

Yes. Concrete masonry units are one of the cleanest answers for new utility rooms, garage interiors, mechanical rooms, and backup walls that later get brick or stone veneer. On a new house the sequence matters. The footing has to be cured and level. The first course has to be right, because every course above it copies that mistake. If the wall is load-bearing or holding back soil, we follow the engineer's steel and grout schedule instead of stacking empty cores and hoping. Interior block is nicer to build than exterior retaining block because you're not fighting rain and hydrostatic pressure while you work. Exterior block that stays exposed still needs a plan for water: parging or veneer on the face, and drainage if it's holding soil. A block wall is only as good as the footing and the water path around it.

The visible part is stone or concrete block in the size the drawing wants. The hidden part is what keeps it standing. Extra materials can include rebar in the cores, grout to lock that steel in, ladder or truss joint reinforcement in the bed joints, angle bars at openings, anchor bolts, and a concrete bond beam at the top. Reinforcement and extras can add 15 to 40 percent on top of the per-block number. That's not padding. An unreinforced garden screen and a grouted wall under a driveway are not the same product. For walls holding soil, the assembly also needs a compacted gravel base, a drainage layer behind the face, filter fabric so fines don't choke the gravel, and a perforated drain pipe that actually outlets somewhere. Clear drain rock, often three-quarter inch, is the usual backfill immediately behind a wall in the Fraser Valley because it lets water move instead of turning the soil into a wet sponge.

Indoor block needs almost nothing. Outdoor block lives in rain, moss, and roots. Keep soil and bark mulch from piling against the face. Don't plant trees on the footing. Roots don't "kind of" lift a wall. They lift it. Plan a breathable waterproofing or sealer habit about every decade on exposed outdoor block, and a sealing visit is often $250 to $700. Pressure washing is fine if you keep the jet off the joints. The maintenance most people skip is the drain. If the outlet behind the wall gets buried by a landscaper or clogged with silt, the wall starts taking water pressure it was never meant to hold. Check that the pipe still dumps water after a heavy rain. If it doesn't, the wall is already in trouble even if the face still looks pretty.

Yes. New construction is the easy time, because we can build the masonry opening square, plumb, and sized for the panel before tile and drywall fight us. A small bathroom or basement panel often lands $1,200 to $4,200. A larger wall or stairwell panel can land $4,200 to $9,500. Those numbers assume a proper masonry opening, mortar or the specified joint system, and making the perimeter watertight. A tiny prefab basement panel dropped into an existing buck can come in lower in some markets. Custom work in a finished bathroom costs more because you're protecting tile and rebuilding the surround. Glass block comes clear, frosted, wavy, or coloured. Frosted and patterned block is what most Burnaby and Vancouver homeowners want in a bathroom or a side yard window, because it lets light in without giving the neighbour a show. We can include a vented unit where the room still needs air. Just know glass block is not an egress window. If the basement bedroom needs a legal way out, that's a different opening.

It's masonry. People search "glass block window" and picture a store-bought unit that screws into a frame. Some panels work that way. The work Chris does is building a glass-block panel inside a masonry opening so the whole thing is square, supported, and sealed. The blocks, the joints, the sill, and the perimeter mortar all have to be right. If the opening is racked, the panel looks drunk in the wall and water finds the low corner. If the joints are sloppy, you get leaks into a bathroom or a basement that you just finished. That's why we treat it as stone-connecting work, not a glazing swap. A single basement conversion is often a half-day to a day. A full shower wall or stairwell panel takes longer because every course has to stay true.

For light, privacy, and security, often yes. Glass block is thick, hard to kick in, and it doesn't give a clear view into a basement suite or bathroom. It also handles splash and humidity better than a thin pane in a rotted wood frame, which is why it's a classic basement and shower move. It is not automatically better for air or for fire exits. Most glass block does not open. If that basement room is a bedroom, code still wants a proper egress opening somewhere. If the room needs ventilation, we plan a vented block or another air path. Energy-wise, a well-built glass-block panel is a lot closer to a wall than an old single-pane hopper window. That's one reason people in colder Canadian cities convert basement windows to block and then stop complaining about drafts.

The concrete that belongs with masonry. Small new driveways, patio slabs, sidewalks, pool-deck patches, hot tub pads, shed slabs, porch landings, stamped or broom finishes, and the pads that sit under a new outdoor fireplace or kitchen. A hot tub or shed pad might be $900 to $3,400. A small patio slab or walkway pour might be $1,800 to $6,500. A short new driveway or larger decorative pour can land $5,500 to $16,000. Those numbers move with thickness, base prep, access, finish, and whether we have to form around existing walls. A pad on soft Richmond silt needs more base than a pad on firm gravel in Langley. We are not pricing a high-rise parkade or a municipal sidewalk replacement. If your builder needs the concrete edges to meet new brick steps or stone veneer, that's the work that belongs in the same conversation as the masonry.

Only if the size, height, and drainage are already agreed in writing. The pad is the foundation of the fireplace. If it's short, out of square, or pitched so water sits at the firebox, we either build a bad fireplace or we demo the pad. A wrong pad can waste $800 to $2,800 before the first brick goes down. The better sequence is: lock the fireplace size, set the finished patio height, decide where rain goes, then pour. On a wet Metro Vancouver lot the pad also needs a base that drains. A fireplace sitting in a puddle is how a brand-new outdoor feature starts life as a repair job.

Yes. New masonry in Metro Vancouver still lives in rain, moss, wind-driven storms, and freeze-thaw. "New" only means the joints haven't had ten winters yet. Water is still going to hit the chimney on five sides, splash off the driveway onto gate posts, and sit behind a retaining wall if the landscaper buries the drain. A maintenance plan is not a product upsell. It's how brick and stone last generations instead of looking tired in year four. Walk the work after the first wet season. Look at caps, joints, the base of walls, and anywhere soil or planters got pushed up against new stone.

After the masonry has cured and the wall is in service. Chris's habit for chimneys and exterior brick that must stay waterproof is resealing about every two years. That's a wet-coast schedule, not a desert one. A sealing visit is often $280 to $750 depending on access and height. The sealer only works if it's a breathable penetrating type, usually silane or siloxane, not a shiny film that traps moisture in the brick. Film-forming coatings can make freeze-thaw worse because water gets in and can't get out. Seal after repairs, not over crumbled joints. Skipping the habit is how a $2,800 chimney repair becomes a $6,500 rebuild. A cap and a sound crown still matter more than any bottle of sealer. Sealer helps the brick shed rain. It does not fix a split crown or failed flashing.

Yes, and it happens more than builders like to admit. The three classics are crushing the drain pipe with a mini-excavator, piling soil or mulch against the face until the weeps disappear, and planting a tree on the footing because that spot "looked empty." A retaining wall is a drainage machine with a pretty face. If the pipe behind it can't outlet, winter rain turns the backfill into a water tank and the face starts to lean. Walk the yard with the landscaper before they "finish" it. Show them the outlet. Tell them the first course is not a planter box. If the wall already moved, you're not in maintenance anymore. You're in repair.

Wait until the mortar has cured. Fresh joints are still gaining strength. A hot, close jet will chew them into trenches and leave sand on the patio. When you do wash, start gentle, keep the wand moving, and stay off the mortar lines. Pressure washing is a good yearly habit on patios and dirty retaining walls. It is a bad substitute for pointing. If the joints are already recessed, washing harder just opens them faster.

Keep water moving away from it. Clean gutters so they don't dump onto a chimney or stone wainscot. Keep the patio pitched away from the house. Leave caps and weeps visible. Don't let soil bury the first course of a wall. Those habits cost almost nothing and they prevent the failures that cost thousands. Most "mysterious" masonry problems in Vancouver are just water that never left.

Think in seasons. After the wet winter, look for recessed joints, sand at the base of walls, white staining, stepped cracks at corners, and bricks that sound hollow. In spring or early summer, do the cleaning and the small pointing before next October's rain. Keep trees trimmed off chimneys and walls. Don't store firewood or planters tight against new brick. Fix roof flashing when the roof is done, not five years later when the ceiling stain shows up. On older lime joints, don't "upgrade" them with hard grey cement. The joint should stay sacrificial so the brick doesn't take the beating.

You can, carefully. Use a fan tip, keep your distance, and test a low corner first. Too close with a zero-degree tip will etch mortar and even face brick. Never wash upward into weeps or under flashing. If the wall is already crumbling, stop and call. Washing a failing wall just moves the broken mortar onto your garden bed and makes the next repair bigger.

Not by itself. Moss means the surface stays wet and shady, which is half of Vancouver. It becomes a problem when moss is sitting in open joints and holding water through freeze-thaw. Clean the growth, then look at the mortar. If the joints are sound and the wall is drying between storms, you're fine. If the joints are recessed and the brick faces are flaking, moss is just the visible part of a wet wall.

Usually no. Paint is a film. In a climate that soaks walls from October through April, films trap moisture, then peel, then hide the next round of damage. If a wall needs help, the right conversation is breathable protection after the masonry is sound, not a colour coat over wet brick. Heritage walls with lime mortar are especially unforgiving of paint. Once you paint brick, every future repair gets harder because matching and drying both suffer.

Efflorescence is salt that rode water to the surface and got left behind when the water evaporated. Cleaning the white powder is step two. Step one is stopping the water path. Canada Brick and masonry labs all say the same thing: you need water, soluble salts, and a path to the face. Cut any one of those and the bloom fades. Common sources here are open joints, missing flashing, clogged weeps, soil piled against the base, and a patio that drains toward the wall. Dry-brush mild bloom after the wall dries. Don't acid-wash as a first move. If the white keeps coming back after every rain, the wall is still wet inside.

Please don't. Caulk is for movement joints and flashings, not for replacing mortar in a brick bed joint. It traps water in a joint that should be masonry, looks shiny and wrong, and fails in a season or two of UV and freeze-thaw. The right repair is raking or grinding out the dead mortar and pointing with a mix that matches colour, texture, and hardness. On older Vancouver houses that mix is often softer than modern grey cement.

Often yes. North Shore lots in North Vancouver and West Vancouver are steeper, wetter, and closer to bedrock and runoff. That means more retaining, more engineered walls, and chimneys that sit on steep roofs where scaffolding is the job. The same length of wall can add $3,000 to $12,000 compared with a flat Langley lot once engineering, access, and drainage get involved. Langley, Surrey, and parts of Maple Ridge often give you machine access and longer straight runs, which helps the per-foot price. They still get rain. They still need drain pipe behind a wall. They just don't always need a mountain-goat setup to reach the work.

Soft, wet soils. A lot of those lots are silt, clay, and fill that hold water. Patio bases and wall footings need real excavation, crushed-rock base, and compaction or the new work dishes in year one. Extra base work can add $800 to $5,500. Don't set stone on a pretty sand bed over mush and call it done. Also watch the water table and downspouts. If the house drains onto the new patio, you're building a pond with expensive edges.

Hillside pads, terrace walls, and outdoor living that gets added after the house is closed in. Builders finish the box, the owners move in, then they want an outdoor fireplace, steps, and a wall so the backyard isn't a slope. If those pieces weren't on the first plan, budget a second masonry phase. A fireplace, steps, and a small wall together often land $12,000 to $32,000. More if the slope is serious or the city treats terraces as one tall wall. Port Moody is also home base for Bricked Masonry, so these lots are regular work, not a special trip.

Usually 15 to 40 percent more per foot, not because the brick is different, but because everything moves by hand. No skid-steer. No easy staging. Wheelbarrows through a side yard measured in inches. Strathcona and older East Van lots add heritage matching on top of the access problem. A small city wall can cost more per foot than a long suburban one even when the suburban wall is bigger on paper.

Wind-driven rain and exposure matter as much as salt talk. Houses that face the water take weather on the same walls all winter. Caps, joints, and flashing have to be right or a new house starts staining like an old one. Metal in the assembly, like lintels and flashings, also has to be detailed so rust doesn't blow the joints. The maintenance habit is the same: keep water off the top, out of the joints, and moving away from the base.

Yes. Vancouver's design brief is rain, moss, and freeze-thaw, not drought. Wind-driven rain soaks mortar. Older lime-rich joints on character homes wash out. Newer cement-heavy mortar can crack units if it's harder than the brick. Details that work in a dry climate, like tight face-sealed veneer with no drying path, fail here in a few winters. We build like water is trying to get in, because it is.

Slope failures and chimney leaks. Retaining walls that were built without drainage start to lean when winter rain loads the slope. Neighbours downhill notice first. Chimneys on steep roofs are hard to see and expensive to reach, so people ignore them until a ceiling stain shows up. Scaffolding on those roofs can add $700 to $3,200. If your wall is dropping material onto the yard below, don't wait for spring.

Clay soils, settlement at steps and patios, and mid-century brick that got a hard mortar repair at some point. Burnaby also has a lot of shared property-line drama on slopes. If a neighbour's new wall is using your foundation as a form, call the city and call a mason. Clay holds water, so patio bases and wall drains are not optional extras.

A lot of hillside yards started with landscape timber. Timber looks cheap on day one and tired after a decade of rain and roots. Replacing timber with masonry is often $7,000 to $22,000 depending on height and length. The upgrade is the drain and the footing, not just prettier blocks. If you're already rebuilding, don't put timber back.

Bigger lots, longer walls, more driveway loading on low walls, and more we-built-it-ourselves repairs. Access can be easy, which helps cost, until the wall height trips a permit. A long 3-foot wall across a wide backyard can still be a serious budget because you're buying length. Driveways above a "short" wall count as surcharge, which can drag a simple wall into engineered territory.

Yes. Tight access raises labour because materials, debris, and mix all travel by hand. We protect neighbouring finishes and plan the haul-away so the alley or the side walk stays usable. That's one reason a small city lot job can cost more per foot than a wide suburban backyard. The masonry itself is the same standard. The logistics are not.

Yes. Metro Vancouver cities care about height, load, and location, not whether the wall is new or a replacement. Most cities use about 1.2 metres, or roughly 4 feet, as the trigger. City of Vancouver's Building By-law treats retaining structures greater than 1.2 m as a "building," so they fall under the permit system. Burnaby, Coquitlam, Port Moody, New Westminster, and Surrey use that same 1.2 m neighbourhood of rules, with extra triggers for slopes, driveways, and terraces. Richmond is tighter: walls greater than 1 metre above the lower grade need a building permit and a registered professional engineer. Permit fees often land $200 to $1,200. Unpermitted walls get flagged when you sell, including walls built with a brand-new house. We flag permit and engineering needs at quote time.

City of Vancouver Building By-law page that treats retaining structures over 1.2 m as a building:

https://bylaws.vancouver.ca/consolidated/10908.pdf

City of Richmond building approvals FAQ for walls over 1 metre: https://richmond.ca/business-development/building-approvals/faqs.htm

It can. Height is not the only trigger. A shorter wall can still need review if a driveway or house loads it from above, if it sits near a property line or stream, or if a stack of short terraces acts like one tall wall. Burnaby can require a permit on a shorter wall if the inspector thinks site conditions affect safety, and it also catches terraced groups. Some cities measure from the bottom of the footing, not just the pretty face above grade, so a wall that looks 3 feet tall can still cross the line.

City of Burnaby fences and retaining walls guide covering terraces and inspector discretion:

https://www.burnaby.ca/sites/default/files/acquiadam/2021-08/Fences-and-Retaining-Walls-Informational-Guide.pdf

Yes. That is the clean way to price a new structural wall. Cities that require permits on taller walls also want a registered professional. Surrey wants a Schedule B and insurance from the engineer. Burnaby wants sealed drawings plus a Schedule B and points people to Engineers and Geoscientists BC retaining-wall guidelines. Engineering on a taller residential wall often lands $1,200 to $3,800, more if soils need a geotechnical look. If there are no drawings and the wall is holding a driveway or a house pad, we flag engineering before the quote looks cheaper than it is.

City of Surrey retaining wall permit page listing Schedule B and engineer insurance:

https://www.surrey.ca/renovating-building-development/building/residential-building/residential-building-permits/retaining-wall-permit

Sometimes. You need written strata approval first. Burnaby asks for a Consent to Construction form signed by the strata or property manager on stratified properties. That is city paperwork on top of the Strata Property Act. CHOA and the standard bylaws say an owner must get written permission before altering the structure or exterior, things attached to the exterior, or common property. Get the bylaws, the approval letter, and access rules in writing before we book.

City of Burnaby building permits guide that includes the strata consent form:

https://www.burnaby.ca/sites/default/files/acquiadam/2021-08/Building-Permits-and-Inspections-Process.pdf

CHOA bulletin on which alterations need strata permission:

https://choa.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/300-1011-22092022-What-Type-of-Alterations-Need-Strata-Permission.pdf

It can. Buyers, inspectors, and lenders look at walls, steps, and chimneys. Cities can treat stacked short walls as one tall system. Doing it with a permit the first time is usually cheaper than ripping it out, engineering it, and rebuilding after the property is listed.

City of Vancouver page on when you need a building permit before work starts:

https://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/apply-for-and-manage-your-permit.aspx

Yes, when the work is the stuff inspectors write up. Leaning walls, rocking steps, open joints at the house, wet chimney stains, and missing flashing are classic report items. Sound chimneys, tight flashing, level landings, and walls that aren't moving make the report shorter.

Usually no, if you're only renewing mortar joints and you're not changing the structure. Coquitlam says a permit is not required for repair of building elements that do not affect structural or fire and life safety performance. That does not mean anything goes. The work still has to comply with the BC Building Code and local bylaws. If pointing turns into rebuilding a bowed wall, replacing a lintel, or taking down a chimney, you're in permit territory.

City of Coquitlam FAQ on when a building permit is and is not required:

https://www.coquitlam.ca/faq

Often yes if you're building or installing a chimney for a wood-burning appliance. Port Moody and Richmond both list that work as needing a permit. Vancouver's Building By-law also charges a permit fee for chimney and fireplace construction or repair unless the work costs less than $500. The BC Building Code also regulates flue height and clearance to combustibles. A small pointing job on an existing chimney is different from a rebuild above the roofline.

City of Port Moody residential permit guide listing chimneys for wood-burning appliances:

https://www.portmoody.ca/media/2gvlefh4/applying-for-residential-building-permit-guide.pdf

Not the open wood-burning kind. The City of Vancouver says wood-burning appliances such as chimineas and fire pits are not allowed anywhere on private or public property. Cooking on a barbecue designed for that purpose is allowed. That is why a lot of Vancouver outdoor fireplace work is masonry around a listed gas or propane unit, not a wood firebox. Other Metro Vancouver cities have their own fire bylaws, so don't copy a Coquitlam backyard onto a Vancouver lot.

City of Vancouver outdoor fire safety page banning wood-burning fire pits and chimineas:

https://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/outdoor-fire-safety.aspx

Yes, if fuel piping is involved. Richmond lists gas permits separately from building permits. The masonry surround is one scope. The gas line, valve, and appliance hookup belong to a licensed gas fitter and a gas permit.

City of Richmond building approvals FAQ listing gas permits and wood-burning chimneys:

https://richmond.ca/business-development/building-approvals/faqs.htm

Often no for a simple on-grade patio on private property. Coquitlam says sidewalks or patios on private property do not require a building permit. Port Moody says landscaping, including patios and independently supported decks less than 600 mm above grade, does not require a permit. The catch is what the patio connects to. If it loads a retaining wall, changes grade next to a neighbour, sits in a streamside setback, or becomes a raised structure over 600 mm, other rules kick in.

Then you may need an encroachment agreement, not just a building permit. Coquitlam says hard, permanent landscaping such as stone or concrete retaining walls of any height on city-owned land requires a permanent encroachment application. Surrey says a retaining wall must sit on your property and is not permitted in a right-of-way, easement, or covenant area. Building on the city's side of the line is how a nice entrance becomes a removal order.

City of Coquitlam permanent encroachment page for stone or concrete walls on city land:

https://www.coquitlam.ca/611/Permanent-Encroachment-Agreement

They can. Cities look at whether the terraces act as one system. Port Moody treats a series of landscape walls spaced closer than two horizontal to one vertical as a retaining wall. Burnaby requires a permit for a group of terraced walls if any of them is greater than 1.2 m, or if they are terraced steeper than 1 in 1. Three 3-foot walls stacked tight on a hillside are not three free-pass walls.

City of Burnaby fences and retaining walls guide on terraced walls:

https://www.burnaby.ca/sites/default/files/acquiadam/2021-08/Fences-and-Retaining-Walls-Informational-Guide.pdf

Read the local definition before you assume the tape on the exposed face is enough. New Westminster measures from the bottom of the foundation to the top of the retaining structure. Richmond measures height above the adjacent lower grade. If you only measure the part you can see from the patio, you can undershoot the permit trigger. We measure the way the local bylaw writes it.

City of New Westminster retaining walls guide on how height is measured:

https://www.newwestcity.ca/database/files/library/Guide_Retaining_Walls_Jan_2020.pdf

Sometimes, and the fence rules are separate from the wall permit. The BC Building Code requires a guard at walking surfaces where the drop is more than 600 mm. Vancouver zoning is stricter on combined height: if you put a fence on a common-boundary retaining wall, or within 1.0 m of one, the maximum fence height is reduced by half the height of the wall. A wall that is legal can still create an illegal fence.

City of Vancouver Zoning By-law section 10.10 on fences above retaining walls:

https://bylaws.vancouver.ca/zoning/zoning-by-law-section-10.pdf

Yes. Commercial and multi-unit buildings are usually Part 3 buildings under the BC Building Code, which means more professional design and fire and life-safety review. Burnaby says interior or exterior alterations to commercial, industrial, and multi-residential buildings need a building permit, and exterior alterations are called out specifically. A stone feature wall in a shop or a commercial plaza retaining wall is not permitted like a backyard garden wall.

City of Burnaby tenant improvement permit guide for commercial and multi-residential buildings:

https://www.burnaby.ca/sites/default/files/acquiadam/2021-08/Tenant-Improvement-Permits-Informational-Guide.pdf

You might. Surrey's retaining-wall application asks for trees on the lot and nearby boulevard or neighbour trees, and tree barriers may be required. If a large tree sits on the footing line, the wall design has to work around the roots or you need tree permission first.

City of Surrey retaining wall application guide asking for tree locations:

https://www.surrey.ca/sites/default/files/media/documents/BP_Retaining_Wall.pdf

It can. Vancouver character-house guidance asks that original materials be retained and repaired where practical, and that replacements match. Pointing with the wrong hard grey cement on a pre-1940 Kitsilano or Mount Pleasant wall can hurt both the brick and a future review. If the house is on a heritage register or in a character zone, say so at the estimate.

City of Vancouver RM-1 guidelines on retaining original exterior materials:

https://guidelines.vancouver.ca/guidelines-rm-1.pdf

It depends on the city and the contract, but the owner is usually the person the city holds responsible. Provincial letters-of-assurance guidance says the owner retains the registered professionals when those schedules are required. We can help assemble drawings and work under the permit, but a verbal "you handle it" does not replace the owner's name on the application.

Province of B.C. letters of assurance guide on owner responsibilities:

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/farming-natural-resources-and-industry/construction-industry/building-codes-and-standards/guides/2018guideloa.pdf

You should still treat the site like a workplace. WorkSafeBC says homeowners have owner duties on a construction site and recommends getting a clearance letter for each contractor to confirm they are registered and in good standing.

WorkSafeBC residential construction guide on homeowner duties and clearance letters:

https://www.worksafebc.com/resources/health-safety/books-guides/safe-work-practices-in-residential-construction?lang=en&direct

Water and sequence. Where rain lands, who owns the flashing, and whether we're building before or after the yard is a finished garden. A fireplace quoted without a chimney and fuel plan is half a quote. A wall quoted without a drain outlet and a permit check is a face waiting to lean.

The water. Drainage, flashing, mortar type, movement, roots, or a missing weep system. Then we repair the whole structure, not just the face. Sand at the base, hollow brick, and a ceiling stain are symptoms. The source is often a crown, a clogged gutter, a patio pitching the wrong way, or hard mortar that locked moisture into old brick.

Sometimes. If the thickness, corners, and dye lot are right, you might save $400 to $3,500 in material. If the stone is the wrong bed depth, missing corners, or from two batches, you can lose that savings in extra cuts. Have Chris see the material before you dump a pallet in the driveway.

For fireplaces, hearths, and interior stone, yes if you want clean edges. For exterior veneer, book it against flashing, windows, and scaffolding, not against the kitchen installer. The worst sequence is finished floors, then masonry demo.

Grinding joints and demolition are noisy and dusty. Cutting stone is louder than laying it. We protect adjacent finishes and clean daily. You should still plan for a construction day, not a silent one.

Usually no for a 2 to 5 day residential job. Keep kids and pets out of the room and accept dust control instead of dust-free. Outdoor fireplaces are easier because the mess stays outside.

We'll protect what we can. Roots against walls and patios may have to go. Irrigation lines along a footing need to be marked before we dig. If the landscaping is already in, say so at the estimate so protection is in the number.

A tiny face repair might be $380 to $1,400. We'll still tell you if water is coming from somewhere else. Replacing two face bricks while the chimney crown is split is how a small bill becomes a $2,800 to $6,500 chimney job.

Yes. A hearth extension might be $700 to $2,800. An interior stone feature wall often lands $2,400 to $14,000 depending on height, stone, and corners. New construction is the time to get the wall plumb and the hearth height locked to the finished floor.

Yes. A hearth or small stone top might be $750 to $3,600. Full kitchen tops get quoted from the actual slab because the stone, edge, and cutouts change the number more than the setting labour does.

Generations, if water is managed and joints are maintained. BC Housing describes masonry veneer as a very durable cladding whose maintenance is cleaning and occasional repointing. Ignore water and you can ruin good masonry in a handful of Vancouver winters.

BC Housing Maintenance Matters bulletin on masonry cladding care:

https://www.bchousing.org/publications/Maintenance-Matters-08-Cladding.pdf

Make every quote say whether it's new construction or a rebuild. Then list scaffolding, flashing, drainage, reinforcement, caps or crowns, demolition if any, haul-away, cleanup, and whether permits or engineering are in the number. Ask what mortar is being used on heritage brick. Ask where the retaining-wall drain outlets.

Call (778) 985-6780, the Vancouver department at (604) 359-3241, or email chris@bricked-masonry.ca. Hours are Monday through Sunday, 7:00 am to 7:00 pm. Send drawings if you have them. Walk the site with Chris so the quote is for the house you're actually building.

Those are different products. An indoor rebuild on an existing opening often sits in the $1,500 to $8,000 range already covered higher up. A small outdoor fire pit or kit install can be $850 to $3,500, and even that may not be legal as a wood fire in the City of Vancouver. A custom masonry outdoor fireplace with a real firebox, chimney, and weatherproof base is often $5,500 to $19,000.

Every opening is cutting, flashing, corners, and sills. Move a window and you move the labour and the waste. That change alone can add $800 to $6,500. Lock openings before the stone is ordered if you can.

It can. Mortar and stone work need protection from hard rain and frost. On a messy winter site, protection and extra time can add about 10 to 20 percent compared with a clean summer sequence.

You can try. If your patio pitches toward the new landing, water runs under the door and into the step structure. A fix after the fact can be $1,400 to $5,200. It's best to finish the water path as one plan.

No. A new chimney on a new roof leaks at the same joint an old one does if nobody owns the flashing. The BC Building Code also cares about chimney height and clearance to combustibles. Bundling flashing with the masonry is cheaper than opening a finished roof later for $900 to $2,800-plus.

BC Building Code Appeal Board decision on masonry chimney height and combustible clearance:

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/construction-industry/building-codes-standards/building-code-appeal-board/building-code-appeal-board-decisions/bcab-1602

Yes when access is open, dumpsters are already there, and we can work before landscaping. No when the lot is steep, the schedule keeps changing, or every trade is using the same driveway.

Ask whether drainage, reinforcement, permits, haul-away, and flashing are in the number. Ask how they treat mortar hardness on old brick. Ask if a wall over the local height trigger includes engineering and a Schedule B. The cheap quote often skips the parts the city and the rain will test.

Often yes on the face cost. A block wall might sit in the lower half of that $3,200 to $22,000 residential window. Natural stone can add 25 to 80 percent in labour because every piece is chosen and fit. Both still need a compacted base, drain rock, and a pipe that outlets. Coquitlam also cares about height and separation between terraces.

Not like masonry. Timber is cheaper on day one and a regular replacement item after rain and roots get in. Replacing failed timber with masonry is often $7,000 to $22,000. If you're building new and the slope needs holding, spend the masonry money once.

Engineered walls that tall often need reinforcement, a proper base, and drainage that matches the design. That is why permits show up at about 1.2 metres in most of the region, and at 1 metre in Richmond. Geogrid and extra excavation can add $1,600 to $8,500 depending on length and height.

City of Burnaby fences and retaining walls guide requiring an engineer on permit walls:

https://www.burnaby.ca/sites/default/files/acquiadam/2021-08/Fences-and-Retaining-Walls-Informational-Guide.pdf

Usually. Matching and the right mortar can add $800 to $4,800, sometimes more if the brick is scarce. Grey cement slapped into a 1912 joint is cheaper today and expensive later. Shaughnessy, Kitsilano, Dunbar, Kerrisdale, Mount Pleasant, and Strathcona jobs live in that matching world.

Extra cutting, edging, and tight access. A skinny side path can sit at $35 to $55-plus per sq. ft. even when a wide backyard patio is cheaper per foot.

Yes. The masonry finish might add $1,800 to $7,500 depending on area, on top of the heat system itself. Ask for that as its own line.

Mixing up products and mixing up cities. A $850 fire pit is not a $1,500 to $8,000 indoor rebuild, and neither one is a $5,500 to $19,000 custom outdoor masonry fireplace. A $3,200 garden wall is not the $9,000 example of a 4 ft by 25 ft wall, and that example is not a $22,000 engineered hillside wall. Vancouver, Richmond, Burnaby, Surrey, Coquitlam, Port Moody, and New West do not use one identical permit script. Use the ranges as context, then walk the actual house and the local rulebook with Chris.

Yes. Bricked Masonry has workers with pressure washers who can schedule maintenance cleaning to keep your new masonry looking new all year round. Chimneys, brick walls, stone siding, retaining walls, pillars, steps, and patios all take a beating from Metro Vancouver rain, moss, pollen, and city grime. A planned wash is cheaper than waiting until the joints disappear under growth and then paying for pointing you could have delayed.

Carefully, and not like a driveway cowboy. BC Housing tells building owners that masonry should be cleaned with water or masonry cleaning solutions and that pressurized water can damage mortar joints. We agree with the warning and still wash when the surface needs it, because Chris already recommends pressure washing as part of chimney, patio, and wall maintenance. The difference is technique. We keep the pressure in a controlled range, use a fan tip, stay off fresh joints, and don't drive water up under flashing or into weeps. New work waits until the mortar has cured. Failing walls get assessed before they get blasted.

Brick and stone walls, chimney faces you can reach safely, retaining walls, gate posts, steps, and patio or walkway surfaces. We can also rinse salt and organic staining on stone siding. What we don't do is strip paint, etch a heritage lime joint into sand, or stand on a steep roof with a wand and no plan. Roof-level chimney washing is a scaffolding or access conversation, not a casual add-on.

For most homes, once a year is a solid rhythm, ideally in late spring after the wet season when moss and winter dirt are visible and the joints can dry. Shady North Vancouver and Kitsilano walls may want a look twice a year. High-traffic commercial entries pick up grime faster and can be put on a scheduled route. Pair washing with the sealing habit Chris already recommends for chimneys and exterior brick that must stay waterproof, about every two years.

A simple single-surface wash, such as a front patio or a small garden wall, often lands $180 to $450. A house-level package that includes reachable brick or stone walls and a patio commonly lands $350 to $900. Add chimney access, storeys of scaffolding, or a large commercial face and you're often $700 to $1,800. Those are planning windows. The visit is cheaper when we can combine it with a pointing or sealing trip already booked.

Yes. That is the point of having crew and washers ready instead of treating cleaning as an afterthought. We can book seasonal visits so the stone at a Port Moody entry, a Burnaby strata courtyard, or a Vancouver commercial storefront stays clean instead of turning green every November. Call (778) 985-6780 or (604) 359-3241, or email chris@bricked-masonry.ca, and ask to schedule masonry maintenance washing.

Yes. Bricked Masonry can come back after the install and reseal the work so rain does not keep soaking into brick, block, chimney faces, and porous stone. Chris already treats sealing as part of keeping chimneys and exterior brick waterproof in Metro Vancouver, about every two years. We do not slap a shiny coating on everything and call it done. The right product is a breathable penetrating sealer, usually a silane or siloxane, that soaks into the pores, sheds liquid water, and still lets the wall dry out. Film-forming paints and plastic coatings can trap moisture, then peel, then hide freeze-thaw damage. If the joints are already open, we point first. Sealer on a crumbling joint just seals the leak path in place.

For chimneys and exterior brick that have to stay waterproof, plan on about every two years. That is a wet-coast schedule, not a desert one. Wind-driven rain here can soak a chimney on five sides all winter, then a cold snap freezes the water in the pores. A house wall that stays wet and shaded in North Vancouver or Kitsilano may want the same two-year look. A dense, well-detailed stone veneer on a sunny south wall can often go longer, more like three to five years, if water still beads and the wall is drying between storms. Do not wait for white staining, flaking faces, or wet interior drywall. Those are late signs. A sealing visit is often $280 to $750 depending on height, access, and how many faces we treat. Add scaffolding on a tall chimney and the number climbs with the access, not with the bottle of sealer.

Porous stuff that drinks rain. That is most clay brick, concrete brick, concrete block, parging, many sandstones and limestones, some slates that are still thirsty, concrete pads and steps, and chimney masonry above the roof. Those materials have capillaries. Rain gets in, salts ride out as efflorescence, and freeze-thaw blows the face off if the wall stays saturated. A penetrating sealer cuts how much liquid water those pores take on. Chimneys are the highest-priority item because they are fully exposed and they also have to let combustion moisture leave through the brick. That is why the sealer has to stay vapor permeable. Exterior brick wainscots, gate posts, and the first few feet of a wall that get splash from a driveway are next. A brand-new wall can wait until the mortar has cured and the masonry is in service. Sealing a wet, uncured wall is a waste of product.

Dense, low-absorption stone often does not need it, and the wrong product can make it look fake. Tight granite, many quartzites, and some well-densified slates already shed a lot of water. If a drop sits on the face and does not darken the stone, you may be buying colour change, not protection. Polished stone countertops and hearths are a different product than an exterior wall sealer. Historic lime-mortar brick should never get a waterproof film. It can take a breathable penetrating sealer after the joints are sound, but hard coatings and paint are how old Vancouver walls start spalling. Do not seal over active leaks, failed flashing, or open joints. Do not seal the inside face of a cavity wall just because the outside looks dry. And do not seal a retaining-wall drainage path shut. The wall needs to shed rain on the face and still drain behind the face.

Look at colour and suction. After a dry spell, sprinkle a little clean water on the brick or stone. If it darkens and soaks in within a few seconds, the surface is still thirsty and a penetrating sealer can do useful work. If the water sits there in a bead and the colour barely changes, either the material is already dense or an old sealer is still working. Do not seal during a rain week, on a frozen wall, or when the brick is cold-soaked from November storms. We want a clean, dry face, no moss film, and no loose sand in the joints. If you can rake mortar out with a key, that wall needs pointing, not a spray day.

We look at the whole water path first: caps, crowns, flashings, weeps, and the base of the wall. Then we clean so the sealer can enter the pores instead of sitting on dirt. That may be a controlled wash if the surface is filthy, then dry time. We apply a penetrating silane or siloxane to the faces that need it, keep it off windows and nearby plants, and treat the chimney, brick, or stone so the look stays natural instead of glossy. You should not get a wet-look plastic shine unless you asked for a topical stone enhancer on a patio, which is a different product. Aftercare is simple. Keep sprinklers off the wall, give it the cure window the product needs, and book the next visit on the two-year chimney and brick habit if that is the assembly we just treated.

Yes, and that is usually the smart way to spend the trip. Wash first if the wall is dirty, let it dry, point anything that is open, then seal. Sealing over moss or open joints wastes money. A combined maintenance visit for a typical house chimney plus reachable brick often lands $450 to $1,200 depending on access and how much pointing shows up. Call (778) 985-6780 or (604) 359-3241, or email chris@bricked-masonry.ca, and ask to schedule masonry resealing.

If you have more questions we're honestly not surprised because we do everything from granite patio tiles to large commercial quartz countertops and a lot of that information that people might ask isn't yet included in our FAQ. We're always recording questions customers ask so that our FAQ can continue to grow and we can answer questions more thoroughly next time they come around. If you have any more questions feel free to call us any time during open hours, or ask us via our contact form.