Stone masonry in Boise, Idaho

Stone masonry in Boise is for people who want something that looks permanent because it is. Maybe you have a plain block wall you're tired of looking at, a fire pit that's coming apart, or a front entry that needs weight and character. Natural stone, set by hand, changes all of that.

I'm Kabe Hockema. I've been building landscapes since 2012, and stone is some of my favorite work. It's part of the landscaper services I offer across the Treasure Valley. Stone masonry simply means building with stone: walls, columns, fireplace and fire pit surrounds, veneers, caps and steps.

What I build with stone

• Short stone walls for seating, raised beds, or framing a patio.
• Stone fireplaces and fire pits as the center of an outdoor room.
• Stone veneer, a layer of stone set over a block or concrete core. It gives the look of solid stone on a wall, column, or kitchen base.
• Pillars and columns at an entry, a gate, or the corners of a patio.
• Caps and coping, the flat stones on top of walls and seat walls.
• Stone steps that tie levels together. See outdoor step construction.

Dry-laid or mortared

There are two main ways to set stone. The choice changes the look, the cost, and how the work handles our climate.

Dry-laid stone is stacked without mortar. Each stone is fitted by hand and held by its own weight and the stones around it. A dry-laid wall can move a little when the ground freezes and settle back without cracking. Water passes through the joints, so it drains well. It suits low garden walls, borders, and natural-looking work on a hillside.

Mortared stone uses mortar, a mix of cement, sand and water, to bond the stones together. It's stronger and cleaner, and it's what you want for a fireplace, a column, or anything carrying a cap or countertop. The tradeoff is that mortared work is rigid. If the ground under it moves, it cracks. So it needs a solid concrete footing.

Footings, water and freeze-thaw

Most stone work that fails here fails from the bottom. Our freeze-thaw cycles push and pull on anything sitting on wet soil, and clay holds water and swells. A mortared wall built on a thin bed of sand can crack within a few winters.

For mortared work, I pour a reinforced concrete footing set below where the ground freezes. For dry-laid walls, I dig down, place compacted gravel, and set the first row of stone partly below grade. Behind any wall that holds back soil, I add gravel and a drain so water doesn't build up and push. Mortar joints are shaped so water sheds off the face, and caps hang over slightly to keep rain and snowmelt out of the core.

Picking the stone

Stone color, shape and size change the whole feel of a project. Flat, layered stone reads clean and modern. Rounded river rock feels relaxed. Big, rough fieldstone looks rugged and belongs on a slope. I like stone that fits the colors of the Boise foothills and the outside of your home. We'll look at options together, and I'll explain how each one is laid and what it costs to set.

A stone project you can see

For an outdoor living room in Caldwell, I built a stone fireplace, a short stone wall and a fire pit with a paver patio and an Aquascape fountain, all set to face the sunrise. It's a good example of stone that has a job: it gives the space a back wall, a focal point, and a place to sit. If you want a fire feature at the center of your yard, see my fire features page.

What drives the cost of stone masonry

Stone masonry is slow, skilled work, and labor is most of the cost. Each stone is picked, shaped and fit by hand. The price goes up with height and length, how much stone face shows, the type of stone, and whether it's dry-laid or mortared. Footings, drainage and caps add to it. A veneer over a block core usually costs less than solid stone of the same size. I'll give you a clear number after we walk the site.

Stone with the rest of the yard

Stone usually sits next to other hardscape. It can cap a concrete masonry block wall, frame a paver patio, or anchor stone landscaping like boulders and flagstone paths. When a wall has to hold back more than a couple of feet of slope, it becomes a retaining wall, which is built differently from a garden wall. I plan these pieces together so the stone, block and paving all match.

Where I do stone work

I build stone walls, fireplaces and veneer in Boise, Eagle, Meridian, Nampa, Caldwell, Star, Middleton, Kuna, Garden City and Hidden Springs, and I take select projects in Sun Valley and Ketchum.

If you want stone masonry in Boise that's built from the footing up, schedule a consultation. Call (541) 961-7269 and you'll talk to me directly.