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Serving Cerritos, CA and surrounding areas. (562) 586-9264
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Cerritos Concrete & Masonry is a masonry contractor serving Artesia, CA, with crews experienced in stone veneer installation, concrete repair, and brick work on the city's 1950s and 1960s ranch homes. We have replied to every estimate request within one business day since 2018.
Artesia's postwar ranch homes have plain stucco and concrete block exteriors that respond well to a stone veneer upgrade - adding visual weight and curb appeal without a full rebuild. Our stone veneer installation work is applied directly to existing exterior surfaces using the correct substrate prep and waterproofing for Southern California's wet winters, so the new surface stays bonded for the long term.
Artesia driveways from the 1950s and 1960s have been through 60-plus years of clay soil movement and hot, dry Southern California summers. When a slab starts heaving in multiple sections or cracking across the full width, patching extends the problem rather than fixing it. We remove the failed concrete, prepare a compacted subgrade, and pour a properly reinforced replacement designed for the soil here.
Brick accents on Artesia ranch homes - front planters, low garden walls, and decorative entry features - have mortar joints that have been exposed to decades of wet-dry cycles and, in this earthquake-prone area, occasional seismic movement. Repairing cracked or missing mortar before it opens far enough for water to enter the wall cavity is far less expensive than the structural fix that follows later.
The clay soils throughout Artesia and the broader Los Angeles Basin expand and contract with rainfall and drought, and homes built in the postwar decades on slab foundations show the results - cracks, settling, and doors or windows that no longer operate smoothly. We assess the cause before recommending a fix, because the right repair method depends on whether the movement is still active or has stabilized.
Artesia's small lot sizes mean any usable yard space is valuable, and retaining walls that separate grade changes or define property boundaries need to be built to handle the hydrostatic pressure that Artesia's clay soil generates after the winter rains. A wall without proper drainage built in from the start will lean or fail within a few years in these conditions.
Chimneys and brick walls on Artesia homes from the 1950s and 1960s have original mortar that erodes well before the bricks themselves become a problem. Tuckpointing removes the degraded material from the joints and packs in fresh mortar, restoring a tight seal that keeps rain and moisture out during the heavy winter downpours that Southern California gets in concentrated bursts.
Artesia covers less than 2 square miles, but about 16,500 people live there, making it one of the more densely populated small cities in Los Angeles County. Nearly every home was built between the early 1950s and the late 1960s as part of the postwar suburban expansion of the LA Basin. That puts the housing stock squarely at 60 to 70 years old today - an age at which original concrete flatwork, masonry mortar, and stucco finishes are regularly past their service life. The expansive clay soil under most of Artesia accelerates wear on concrete and masonry by moving seasonally with the wet-dry cycle, which no amount of high-quality initial construction prevents over six decades.
Artesia also sits in one of the more seismically active parts of the country. The city is within range of several active fault systems, and even moderate earthquakes open mortar joints, crack stucco at window corners, and shift chimney courses. Southern California's winter rainy season delivers rain in heavy concentrated bursts rather than steady drizzle, which means any open crack or failed mortar joint can let in significant water during a single storm. A masonry contractor who understands both the seismic exposure and the clay soil conditions in Artesia can help you prioritize repairs in the right order and build new work that holds up to both.
Our crew works throughout Artesia regularly, and we understand the local conditions that affect masonry work here. Artesia is bordered by Cerritos to the east and northeast, Norwalk to the north, Hawaiian Gardens and Lakewood to the west, and Long Beach to the south. The clay soil and postwar ranch home stock are consistent across all of those neighboring cities, so our crews see the same patterns again and again - the same slab cracking sequences, the same mortar erosion on chimney courses, the same driveway heaving from tree roots planted when the neighborhoods were new.
Pioneer Boulevard, the main commercial corridor running north to south through Artesia and known throughout the region as the heart of the South Asian commercial district, gives the city a distinctive local identity. Most of the residential streets run east to west off Pioneer, and the housing on those blocks is typical of the era - single-story ranch homes on compact lots with concrete driveways, stucco exteriors, and small front yards. We know those streets well. For permit requirements and city-specific approvals, we work directly with the City of Artesia's building department and know what the city expects before structural masonry work begins.
Homeowners in Norwalk just to the north and Cerritos to the east encounter the same housing vintage and soil conditions as Artesia, and we serve all three cities with the same crew. If a neighbor or a friend nearby needs a masonry referral, we cover the whole area.
Call us or fill out the contact form and tell us what you are dealing with - a cracked driveway, deteriorating mortar, a chimney that needs work, or a stone veneer project you want to price out. We reply to every request within one business day.
We visit your Artesia property and inspect the work in person. You receive a written estimate with itemized costs for materials and labor before we ask for any commitment. There are no verbal estimates that change later on the invoice.
We schedule the job around your availability. Most masonry projects in Artesia can proceed without the homeowner needing to be present the entire time, though we ask someone to be available at the start to walk through any final details with the crew.
When the work is finished we clean up all debris and walk you through what was completed so you can inspect the result before we leave. Any questions about care or maintenance get answered on the spot.
We serve all of Artesia. Written estimate before any work begins. No pressure, no obligation.
(562) 586-9264Artesia is one of the smaller incorporated cities in Los Angeles County, covering less than 1.6 square miles with a population of roughly 16,500 people. It is bounded by Cerritos to the east, Norwalk to the north, and Long Beach and Lakewood to the west. Despite its compact footprint, Artesia has a distinct identity driven largely by Pioneer Boulevard, its main commercial corridor, which is recognized throughout Southern California as a center of the South Asian community. The street is lined with Indian restaurants, specialty grocery stores, sari shops, and jewelry stores that draw visitors from across the region.
The residential streets running off Pioneer Boulevard are made up almost entirely of single-story ranch homes on small lots, most built in the 1950s and 1960s when the city was developed as a suburban community. The homeownership rate in Artesia is notably higher than in many surrounding Los Angeles County cities, and long-term owners tend to invest in keeping their properties well maintained. Neighboring Cerritos to the east shares a similar housing vintage and is where our home base is located, making Artesia one of the most convenient markets we serve. Students attending John Glenn High School come from neighborhoods throughout the city, and many of the families in those same neighborhoods are the homeowners we work with on driveway replacements, stone veneer upgrades, and concrete repairs.
Restore structural integrity with expert foundation crack and settling repairs.
Learn MoreBuild strong retaining walls that control erosion and shape your landscape.
Learn MoreUpgrade your home's exterior with natural or manufactured stone veneer.
Learn MoreBuild lasting concrete block walls for privacy, security, and structure.
Learn MoreInstall solid block foundation walls built to support your structure for decades.
Learn MoreCreate the perfect outdoor cooking space with custom masonry construction.
Learn MoreDesign beautiful, durable walkways using quality stone, brick, or concrete.
Learn MoreConstruct classic brick walls that add beauty and lasting durability.
Learn MoreCall us or request a free estimate online. We serve all of Artesia and reply within one business day.