Masonry in Delémont

Are you looking for a mason in Delémont, or a masonry contractor for a wall, a slab or a stone repair? As the capital of the canton of Jura, the town combines an old town overlooked by its castle with more recent districts spread along the Birse and the Sorne. Building sites therefore differ greatly from one district to another.

On sos-travaux.ch, you describe your works online: the request is passed on to tradespeople and companies in the region, who contact you to prepare a free, no-obligation quote.

Common masonry work in Delémont

The mason’s trade (CFC qualification, the Swiss federal vocational certificate) covers walls, openings in load-bearing or non-load-bearing walls, foundations, slabs, low walls, small extensions and the repair of concrete or stone. In Delémont, this work takes many forms:

• In the old town: repointing, replacing damaged stones, strengthening an old wall, opening a door or a window in thick masonry.
• In rental buildings and co-owned properties: creating a passage between two rooms, repairing a concrete balcony, reworking a stairwell or a cellar wall.
• In villas and houses in residential districts: a small extension, a patio slab, a boundary wall, a retaining wall, repair of a damp plinth.

The municipality lies in a valley, but the areas around the Birse and the Sorne are not all flat: on sloping ground, a low wall or a retaining wall requires proper foundation and drainage work, far more than simply stacking blocks.

Old town and castle: working with old stone

The historic centre of Delémont is one of the old towns of Jura, alongside those of Porrentruy and Saint-Ursanne. An old stone wall is not treated like a concrete one. A mortar that is too hard or an unsuitable waterproof render can trap moisture in the stone and worsen the very problem you wanted to solve.

If your property is within this area, three habits are worth adopting:

1. Ask the municipality whether the building is subject to protection or appearance rules.
2. Choose a company that can describe its method for stone: type of mortar, treatment of joints, replacement of individual elements.
3. Have the quote specify what is repaired like for like and what is replaced.

These rules are not always the same from one building to the next: only the municipality or the competent cantonal department can tell you what applies to your address.

Opening a wall in Delémont: calculation and permit

Opening a wall is the most requested masonry job in apartment renovation, for example to connect a kitchen to a living room. Everything depends on the nature of the wall.

Non-load-bearing wall: the opening is simpler, but you must make sure it supports nothing and that no duct or pipe runs through it.

Load-bearing wall: this requires a structural engineer’s calculation, temporary propping, the installation of a properly sized beam or lintel, and then often a permit. In the older buildings of Delémont, walls are sometimes thick and poorly documented; the engineer may ask for investigative probing before reaching a conclusion.

Never have a load-bearing wall cut through on the strength of an estimate made by eye alone: a calculation error affects the safety of the whole building.

Jura winters, damp and ground conditions

The canton of Jura has cold, snowy winters, especially on the heights of the Franches-Montagnes; the Delémont valley is milder, but frost remains a real factor. What this changes for a masonry site:

• concrete and mortar tolerate frost poorly while setting, which leads to planning structural work outside the cold season;
• freeze-thaw cycles crack low walls, outdoor steps and poorly drained slabs;
• close to watercourses, rising damp in plinths and cellars deserves a diagnosis before any repair.

For an extension or a slab, the condition of the ground and the slope matter as much as the concrete itself. Mention in your request if the plot is sloping, if access for a machine is narrow, or if the site is in an old-town lane where equipment is hard to bring in.

Permits and consents to obtain before the work

In the canton of Jura, the building permit is issued by the municipality or by the canton depending on the scale of the project. For masonry, the question arises mainly in these cases:

• an extension, even a small one, or a new low wall on a property boundary;
• a change to the façade, or the opening of a load-bearing wall;
• any building located in the old town.

If the project also affects insulation or energy, the cantonal energy section and the cantonal subsidy programme may be involved: find out before starting, because the conditions are checked beforehand. In every case, confirm with the municipality of Delémont or the competent cantonal department what applies to your project.

As for owners and tenants: a tenant does not touch a wall without the landlord’s written consent, and, in co-ownership, load-bearing walls, the façade and the foundations are often common parts that go through the owners’ meeting.

Preparing your request and comparing quotes

The more precise your description, the more comparable the quotes. Remember to state:

• the type of work (opening, slab, low wall, extension, stone repair) and where it is;
• the type of building: old town, apartment block, villa;
• the material of the existing wall, if known, and its visible condition (cracks, damp, hollowed joints);
• site access and any slope of the ground;
• whether you are an owner, a tenant or a co-owner, and whether the necessary consent has been obtained;
• the preferred period, taking frost into account.

A good quote itemises the work: preparation and propping, demolition, materials, labour, removal of rubble, finishes. It also states what is excluded, such as the engineer’s calculation, the permit applications or painting work afterwards.

The cost depends mainly on the nature of the wall and its structure, accessibility, the volume of rubble, the materials chosen, whether an engineer is involved and the season. Two quotes that seem far apart often cover different scopes: compare the content before comparing the total.

Ready to move forward? You can request a quote by describing your works; the request is passed on to tradespeople and companies in the region.

Further reading for Delémont

• The trade page: masonry
• The municipality: works in Delémont
• The canton: canton of Jura
• A masonry site often involves other trades: thermal insulation in Delémont, plumber in Delémont, roofing in Delémont