E&M Brownsville Concrete and Masonry is a masonry contractor working in Port Isabel, TX. We repair worn mortar and cracked brick, and we build block walls, walks, pavers and outdoor kitchens for homes near the Laguna Madre.
Port Isabel is a small city on the Laguna Madre, and most of the houses we work on here sit close enough to the water to feel it. You've got older block and brick homes, newer builds, weekend places, and the shops and restaurants that serve the fishing and visitor crowd, many of them on tight lots where the crew and the materials have to fit down a narrow side yard. The work runs differently than it does inland in San Benito, because the air and the ground out here treat masonry harder.
Salt air gets into soft mortar and rusts any steel it can reach, and sandy ground shifts under anything set on a thin base. That's why the calls we get here are usually worn joints, cracked block, and walls or walks that have settled.
Cracks in a slab or pier-and-beam foundation near the bay usually trace back to soft, wet ground, so we find the cause before we fix the crack.
Explore serviceChimneys take the worst of the wind and salt on a roofline, so we rebuild loose crowns, reset brick and repoint joints before water works down inside.
Explore serviceTuckpointing is grinding out tired mortar and packing in fresh, color-matched mortar with a crisp joint line, so an older brick front sheds water and looks sharp again.
Explore serviceGot a cracked or spalled brick, where the face has popped off? We cut out the bad ones and lay in matched brick so the wall stays sound.
Explore serviceWe set driveway pavers on a packed base with a solid edge holding them in, because sandy ground lets pavers drift and sink when the base is skimped.
Explore serviceWant to hold back a slope or raised bed? We build retaining walls with drainage behind them, because trapped water pushes over more walls than weight does.
Explore serviceOn older brick and stone that's weathered from years of salt air, we clean, repoint and replace only what's failed, so the house keeps its original look.
Explore serviceA fireplace here is mostly about the look and a few cool nights, so we plan the firebox, hearth and chimney around how you'll actually use the room.
Explore serviceWe hang stone veneer, a thin facing of real or cast stone, over proper backing and a water barrier so damp coastal air doesn't rot what's behind it.
Explore serviceOur block walls go up on a real footing with steel and grout in the cores, because a hollow wall is asking for trouble in coastal wind.
Explore serviceFor a crawlspace or raised house, we lay foundation block walls on a footing sized to the load, with vents and drainage so damp air doesn't sit underneath.
Explore serviceWant a grill station built for bay weather? We build outdoor kitchen bases in block, brick or stone, with counters and caps that shed rain.
Explore serviceWalkways get walked every day, so we build them on a firm base with a slight slope that sheds water instead of leaving puddles by the door.
Explore serviceWe lay new brick walls, from garden walls to additions, with full mortar joints and weep holes, gaps at the base that let trapped water out.
Explore serviceNatural stone steps, borders and walls need every stone fitted by hand and set in a full bed of mortar, which is slow work that lasts.
Explore serviceWhen only a few joints are cracked or sandy, brick pointing fixes just those spots, and I'll tell you straight if the rest of the wall can wait.
Explore serviceBuilding permits in Port Isabel come from the city's Building Department, which also keeps contractor registration for the city, so you can ask them whether whoever you hire is registered. We're licensed and fully insured. If your job needs a permit, the work waits until it's issued and the inspections decide when each stage moves ahead, so the permit is usually the first thing that sets the schedule, with the weather second. Before we start, we check what the department asks for on your job, and when a permit's needed we pull it and call for the inspections. Price comes down to how much bad brick or mortar has to come out, what we're building with, how much the ground needs before it'll carry a wall or walk, and how easy the spot is to reach, and you get it in writing after I've seen the job.
We come out from Brownsville, the same as we do for Los Fresnos and the other cities along the way, and I'm on site running our crew. Being this close to the Laguna Madre changes how we build, and these are the things we plan for from the start.
Tell us about the wall, the joints or the yard project, and we'll get back to you within one business day. I'll come out, look at it in person and give you a written price for the work we talked about, free and with no obligation.
(956) 505-5518It depends on the job, and the city's Building Department makes that call. Its posted permit list doesn't name masonry, but it does name fences and work on existing or altered wall openings, and the city says the list isn't complete. If your block or brick wall works as a fence, or you're cutting into or closing up a wall, ask before anything gets built.
You apply online through the city's permit portal, which homeowners and contractors both use. If you need help with an application or want to know whether your job is on the list, call the Building Administration line at (956) 943-0715.
The city's posted ordinance text adopts the 2018 International Building and Residential codes, plus the 2018 versions of the codes that go with them, like plumbing, mechanical and energy. The latest change it lists passed in June 2023. For masonry, the building and residential codes are the ones that set how walls and footings get built.
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, and we take jobs in others nearby too.
An open joint or a loose brick lets wind-driven rain get behind the wall, and patching it now costs a lot less than tearing out and rebuilding later, so call (956) 505-5518 or send us the form.
If you've got a wall, a walk or a chimney in Port Isabel you're not sure about, send us a message and I'll come take a look.
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