Masonry contractor in Harlingen, TX - brick, block and stone built for Valley ground

E&M Brownsville Concrete and Masonry repairs and repoints brick, fixes cracked walls and builds new block walls, walks, pavers and outdoor kitchens for homeowners in Harlingen, TX, with our own crew and me running the job.

Get an estimate (956) 505-5518

A wide light-gray paver driveway leads to a white house with wood-tone garage doors, palms, and flowering garden beds.

Gray paver patio and tiered retaining walls with broad steps connect a sloped yard and two sheds.

What we find on Harlingen jobs

Harlingen's a short run up the expressway from us in Brownsville, and the calls we get there look a lot like the ones at home. The older streets near downtown have solid brick houses with mortar that's taken decades of sun and rain, while the newer subdivisions on the edges of the city are mostly brick fronts, block garden walls and paver drives on fresh lots. The Arroyo Colorado winds through the middle of it all, and houses that sit low near it or on lots sloping toward it can take on more water after a storm than the ones a few blocks back. We see the same mix of older brick and newer building west of here in Mercedes.

Under all of it is clay that swells when it's soaked and shrinks in a dry spell. That's why we plan the footing, the base and the drainage before we lay the first brick or block in Harlingen.

Masonry services in Harlingen

Foundation repair
When clay ground shifts under a house, cracks show up in the brick first, so we find where it's moving before we decide what to fix.
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Chimney repair
Loose bricks, a cracked crown on top or a chimney leaning off the house let water in, so we rebuild what's failed and recast the crown.
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Tuckpointing
Tuckpointing fills worn joints with mortar matched to the brick, then runs a thin contrasting line down the middle so old joints look crisp again.
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Brick repair
Got a few spalled or cracked bricks, the faces popping off from trapped water? We cut them out and set matching brick so the patch doesn't stand out.
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Driveway pavers
A paver driveway is only as good as the base under it, so on this ground we dig deep, pack crushed rock in layers and edge it tight.
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Retaining wall construction
Lots that drop toward the arroyo need a slope held back. We set retaining walls on a gravel footing with drain rock and a pipe behind them.
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Masonry restoration
Restoration brings an older brick or stone house back to sound shape without making it look patched, so we match brick, sand color and the mortar's softness.
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Fireplace installation
We build masonry fireplaces indoors and out, sized to the room or patio, with the firebox and flue laid so smoke goes up instead of into the room.
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Stone veneer installation
Stone veneer is thin stone set over a wall, and we put a water barrier and metal lath behind it so water drains and the mortar grips.
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Concrete block walls
For a privacy or property-line wall, we lay block on a poured footing, run steel up the hollow cores and grout them where the height calls for it.
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Foundation block wall installation
An addition or a raised floor sits on a block stem wall, so we size the footing and steel for the load before the first block goes down.
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Outdoor kitchen masonry
You want a grill island that holds up to Valley sun. We build the base in block, then face it in brick or stone.
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Walkway construction
We build walks from the drive to the door in brick, pavers or poured concrete, on a packed base pitched so rain runs off instead of puddling.
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Brick wall installation
If you want a brick garden wall, mailbox column or entry pillars, we lay them on a real footing with full joints and steel where it's tall.
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Stone masonry
Stone masonry is laying natural stone, cut or rough, into walls, steps, columns and planters, fitting each piece so the weight sits on stone and not just mortar.
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Brick pointing
When mortar's sandy and crumbling but the brick is sound, we rake out the joints and pack in fresh mortar, which costs far less than rebuilding the wall.
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Working in Harlingen: permits, schedule and what sets the price

Before we start a job in Harlingen, we check what the city or county office for your property asks for on that work, and when a permit's needed, we pull it and call for the inspections. That's on us, not you. If there's a permit, the start date waits on it, and after that the schedule turns on weather and on giving mortar and concrete the time they need before the next step goes on. We're licensed and fully insured, and I'm the one who comes out to look at the job, so the man who wrote your price is the one on site running our crew.

Harlingen is straight up the expressway from Brownsville, and we work in San Benito and La Feria too. What moves the price is the work itself: how much brick or mortar has failed, how hard the old brick is to match, how tall and long a wall runs, how much digging and base the ground needs, and whether we can get equipment to the spot or have to carry everything in. Once I've seen it, you get a written price for the work we talked about.

Older brick here was laid in softer mortar, so we mix repair mortar to match it, because hard modern mortar can crack the old brick around it.
A lot of older brick around here isn't made anymore, so we hunt down the closest match or pull sound brick from a hidden spot to use up front.
Summer heat dries mortar and concrete too fast, so we start early, keep fresh work damp and shade it until it cures.
Newer lots often have loose fill dirt over the clay, so we dig below the soft layer and compact the base before a footing goes in.
I'll tell you straight when a cracked wall can wait, because tearing out sound work costs you money for nothing.

Get a free written price for your Harlingen masonry job

Tell us what you're seeing, whether it's a cracked wall, worn mortar or a yard project, and we'll reply within one business day. I'll come out, look at the job in person and give you a written price for the work we talked about, free and with no obligation. Rather talk it through? Call (956) 505-5518.

(956) 505-5518

Questions we get in Harlingen

Who licenses electricians for an outdoor kitchen in Harlingen, TX?

The State of Texas does, through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which lists electricians and air conditioning contractors among the trades it regulates. If your outdoor kitchen needs outlets or lights, look up whoever does the wiring on the department's license search, which shows whether a person or business holds a current license it issues. We build the masonry, and I'll leave room in the block for the conduit so nobody has to cut into finished work.

How do I find out if my house in Harlingen is in a flood zone?

FEMA's Flood Map Service Center is the official place to find it, and it holds the flood map for each community. FEMA counts any area with a 1% or higher chance of flooding in a year as high risk, which works out to at least a one-in-four chance of flooding over a 30-year mortgage. If your lot falls in one, tell me at the estimate, because it changes how we plan drainage and footings for walls and foundation work.

Does a cracked brick wall on my Harlingen house need to be rebuilt?

Usually not. Hairline cracks in the mortar are often just old joints wearing out and can be repointed, while stair-step cracks that keep widening, or brick that's bowing out, mean something underneath moved, and that cause gets fixed first. I'll look at it in person and tell you which one you've got.

Service areas

We're a masonry contractor based in Brownsville, TX, and we work across the Rio Grande Valley cities around it. These cities have their own pages, but we take jobs in other nearby cities too, so call if yours isn't listed.

Open joints let rain into the wall, and the longer that goes on, the more brick we end up cutting out instead of just repointing, so call (956) 505-5518 or send the form.