Can you give me an estimate for brick only, without the stone veneer?

What does leaving the stone veneer off actually save?

On most Rutherford County mailbox and step jobs, dropping the stone veneer saves somewhere between a few hundred dollars and about a third of the quote. Stone veneer on our published price table runs $18 to $35 per square foot of face installed, and a brick mailbox rebuilt to the street spec runs $1,100 to $1,800 against $1,800 to $3,000 for a custom unit with a cut stone cap and address block. The spread between those two mailbox rows is almost entirely the stone and the hours to set it.

What does not move is everything underneath. The footing, the demolition, the debris haul, the brick itself, the mortar match, and the mobilization cost the same whether the finished piece is wrapped in stone or not. That is why a split estimate never shows the brick only version at half price. The table shows how the common jobs break apart.

Ranges come from our own 2026 table. Every mailbox and set of steps is different, so the exact split for your job comes from a look at the site, and we quote both versions in writing when you ask.

Is brick only cheaper than stone veneer on steps and a mailbox?

Per square foot of finished face, yes, brick only is cheaper almost every time in this market. Common brick is a lower cost unit than manufactured stone, and much lower than natural fieldstone or Crab Orchard, and a mason lays running bond brick faster than he fits irregular stone. The Brick Industry Association’s technical notes are the standard reference for how brick veneer, flashing, and caps are supposed to be detailed, and a plain brick unit has fewer of those details to get right.

Where the math flips is matching. If the house already carries a stone water table or stone columns, a brick only mailbox can look like it belongs to the neighbor, and a buyer notices that on resale. Some Murfreesboro HOAs, in subdivisions off Veterans Parkway and along Blackman Road especially, write the mailbox design into the covenants, cap stone included. Check the architectural guidelines before you cut the stone to save money, because a rebuild to match later costs more than the stone did.

Why did the mason quote them together in the first place?

Because the stone is cheapest while the crew is already there. A mailbox and front steps on the same lot share one mobilization, one mortar batch, one dumpster or trailer load, and one inspection of the footings. Veneer on the cheek walls of the steps takes an extra half day when the mason is already set up, and a full extra trip if it is added next year. A combined quote is not a trick; it is usually the lower total. The split estimate just shows you what each piece is worth so you can decide with real numbers instead of a feeling.

How do I ask for a brick only estimate the right way?

1. Ask for two lines, not two quotes. One sheet, with the brick only price and the stone veneer as a separate add line. The shared costs stay on the base line so neither version is padded.
2. Name the scope on both. Demolition, footing work, debris removal, the mailbox insert, and cleanup should appear on the brick only line exactly as they do on the full one.
3. Ask what the stone is. Manufactured veneer, natural thin veneer, and full bed fieldstone are three different prices. The line should say which.
4. Ask whether the brick only version changes the cap. A brick mailbox with no stone cap still needs a cap, usually a rowlock course or a precast concrete cap, and that belongs on the brick line.
5. Check the license threshold. In Tennessee a contractor license is required when a project is $25,000 or more, per the Board for Licensing Contractors. Most mailbox and step jobs sit well under that, but a column, wall, and fireplace package can cross it, and the split estimate tells you whether the brick only version stays below.

When brick only is the better call, and when it is not

Brick only wins when the house is all brick, the HOA spec is brick, the budget is fixed, or the piece is a mailbox a car is likely to find again. Manufactured stone veneer also takes freeze and thaw cycles harder than fired brick when water gets behind it, and Middle Tennessee gets enough of both to matter on a horizontal cap. Stone wins when the house already shows stone, when the mailbox or columns are the first thing a visitor sees, or when the design calls for a wide cap that brick cannot span cleanly. Either way, the mason who quotes the job should be the one who lays it. Our guide to subbed masonry work explains why that matters more than the material, and the brick mailbox page shows what a rebuild to spec includes.

Keep reading: the 2026 price table, the hiring guide, and the full list of masonry articles for Murfreesboro, TN.