My name’s Tom Reilly, and I’ve spent close to twenty years laying brick and stone around New Haven, Connecticut. A few winters back my brother-in-law…
Stone Veneer on a New England Foundation Wall
The ugliest thing about the front of my house for the first few years I owned it was the exposed concrete foundation wall — about…
Natural Stone vs Manufactured Veneer: Cost and Longevity
A couple in East Rock had me over last fall because they were split right down the middle on their entry wall. He wanted real…
Flagstone Walkways: Materials, Cost and Care
A client out in Buda called me last spring because the pea-gravel path to her front door kept washing into the flower beds every time…
Curb Appeal With Stone in the Austin Hill Country
The first time I pulled up to a client’s place off Bee Cave Road in Westlake, the house was fine but it disappeared into the…
Choosing Stone That Handles Central Texas Heat
I’m a home inspector who spends a good chunk of every summer on rooftops and in crawlspaces around Cedar Park and the rest of Williamson…
When a Retaining Wall Needs an Engineer’s Sign-Off
Last spring a homeowner in Westlake called me out to look at a two-tier limestone wall that was leaning toward her pool deck. The crew…
Stone Steps and Terracing on a Sloped Yard
Half the lots I dig into out in Westlake are cut into a hillside, and I mean cut hard — folks buy for the view…
Segmental Block vs Poured Concrete Retaining Walls
There’s a stretch of New Dorp, on Staten Island, where the yards run back uphill off the street, and I’ve spent years building and fixing…
Retaining Walls on Staten Island: Codes and Costs
I’ve spent most of my working life as a mason around New Haven, Connecticut, but a retaining wall is a retaining wall no matter what…