Premier Yakima Concrete and Masonry is a masonry contractor based in Yakima, WA. We repair chimneys, repoint old brick and fix foundations, and we build block, brick and stone walls for homes in Toppenish, WA.
Most of the masonry calls I get from Toppenish are on older houses inside city limits. That usually means a brick chimney that's started to leak, a block foundation with a crack someone's been watching, or front steps that have settled. Outside city limits there are farmhouses and shops on bigger lots, and there the work is more often a new block wall, a retaining wall or a walkway. It's the same mix of jobs we see in Union Gap, with more of it on older brick.
The age of the brick matters because older brick was usually laid in softer mortar, and repointing it with a hard modern mix can crack the brick around it. Irrigated lawns and gardens also keep the ground wet beside foundations and garden walls, and that's where most of the settling and flaking brick I see here starts.
When a block or concrete foundation cracks, we first find what's moving it, usually water from irrigation or downspouts. Then we decide whether it needs repair or just watching.
Explore serviceOlder chimneys usually start leaking at the crown and the top few courses. We rebuild what's loose and repoint what's sound instead of tearing down good brick.
Explore serviceIf you want an old brick front to look crisp again, we rake out the worn joints and refill them with matched mortar and a fine contrasting line.
Explore serviceFlaking, cracked or loose brick near steps and downspouts gets cut out and replaced with brick matched for size and color, not patched over.
Explore serviceWe lay paver driveways on a dug-out, packed base that's built for the weight of a car, because a thin base is what makes pavers sink at the apron.
Explore serviceA sloped yard or raised bed needs a wall with drainage behind it. The plan starts with how much soil you're holding back and where the water will go.
Explore serviceOn older brick homes we start with gentle cleaning and repair. We keep the original brick and match the soft mortar instead of tearing out what can stay.
Explore servicePlanning a new masonry fireplace starts with the firebox size, the chimney height and whether your floor can carry the weight. We check all three before anything gets drawn.
Explore serviceStone veneer gives a plain block or stucco wall a stone face. It holds up when the moisture barrier and drainage behind it go in right.
Explore serviceWe build block walls for privacy and property lines on a proper footing, with rebar and grouted cells wherever the height calls for them.
Explore serviceFor additions, garages and shops, we lay block foundation walls to the plans, square and level, so the framers start on something true.
Explore serviceWe build the block base, counters and brick or stone facing for a grill station, laid out around your prep space and where the gas line runs.
Explore serviceA walkway from the driveway to your door comes down to its width, enough slope to shed water, and your pick of brick, pavers or stone. All of it goes down on a packed base.
Explore serviceWe lay garden walls, columns and low brick fences to a string line on a real footing, and top them with caps that shed water off the top.
Explore serviceNatural stone steps, walls and columns take more fitting than brick. The plan depends on the stone you pick and how tight you want the joints.
Explore serviceWhen the mortar is crumbling but the brick is sound, we rake out the joints and repoint with mortar softer than the brick, so the brick stays whole.
Explore serviceIn Toppenish, building permit applications go to the city's Development Services, Building and Land Use Permits office, which handles general building, demolition and fence permits, among others. Whether your wall, chimney or foundation job needs a permit is the city's call. Before we start, I check with the office that covers your address, and if the job needs a permit, we do the paperwork with you. That can add time up front. Under the city's proposed code changes, the building official would first check with other agencies, and any permit one of them requires, such as the Yakima County health district's for a septic system, would have to be issued before the city's.
Homes just outside city limits can fall under a different office, which is one more reason I check the address first. Toppenish is a straight run down US 97 from Yakima, and we're in the lower valley regularly for jobs in Sunnyside and Grandview, so getting a crew and a load of block here is routine.
Tell us what's going on, whether it's a leaky chimney, crumbling joints or a wall you want built. We'll get back to you within one business day to set a time to come out. The estimate is free, it's done at your property and there's no obligation, and if the job can wait, I'll tell you so.
(509) 452-1015Yes. Toppenish requires a business license for every business located in or doing business within city limits, and that includes contractors based somewhere else. The city handles licensing with the state Department of Revenue, and the license is bought online through the state's Business Licensing Service.
Look up your address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which Yakima County's flood map page points residents to. Enter your address with the city and ZIP code, then check the interactive map. It's worth doing before you add a new wall or outbuilding, because the city's proposed rules would require a building permit for one-story detached structures of 200 square feet or less in the floodplain.
Probably not under the city's proposed code changes, which would ban open burning and recreational fires. Those changes define a recreational fire as an outdoor fire whose fuel sits outside a barbecue grill used for cooking, so a wood-burning masonry fire pit would fall under the ban. Check with the city before we build one, or think about a grill station in an outdoor kitchen, where the fire stays inside the grill.
We work out of Yakima and take jobs in the cities around it, including the ones listed here. If you don't see your city, call and ask.
We answer until 10 PM on weekdays and 9 PM on weekends, so call (509) 452-1015 or use the form after work.
If you're not sure your brick needs work yet, send a quick note and I'll give you a straight answer.
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