CDM Masonry
Mason's Artistry Dwells in Detail
by Cecil Scaglione

While most folks view bricks and boulders and see rubble, Paul Gutweiler envisions eye candy.

"I'm just a stone mason," he shrugs. That's sort of like Donald Trump saying he buys and sells a few properties.

Masons are, by definition, people who build things with bricks and rocks. However, this 50-year-old Santa Monica native sees himself as someone whose devotion to detail cements soul into stone.

There are more than 200 testimonials of his work sprinkled throughout the San Clemente-Laguna Beach-Newport Beach corridor. He's worked with several celebrities in these communities, but he refuses to cash in on these contacts by citing names, giving them his due regard and respect for their privacy. And much of his work is out of eye shot. "We do a lot of work under the ground, working with the land to give it shape," he said.

Anyone wishing to view a sample of the work done by his company, CDM Masonry, Inc., should watch for the new face of Sonny's Pizza and Pasta at 429 N. El Camino Real in San Clemente. "We're doing an Old World Hobbit-style front for the restaurant," said Paul.

While growing up in southern California, he attended St. Bernard High in Playa del Rey and attended classes at Santa Monica City College for a couple of terms. He also managed to pick up a part-time job as a tender - helper - with local stonemasons.

But he was tugged by a rather exotic calling for a Southern Californian. He wanted to be a skier. So, when he was 18, he moved to Colorado, where he began earning a living as a cook. "I was a cook for 16 years. It paid for my skiing."

When not in the kitchen, Paul spent his time mastering mogul skiing, that over-the-top form of skimming downhill over bumps that threaten to shatter your ankles, knees, and hips at any moment. His roommates were world-class skiers.

During the summers, he picked up masonry jobs. "The Colorado masons are unbelievable," he said. "They're much more interested in and devoted to doing a good job rather than just working to make money. "The workers there are older and have much more of a tradition."

Paul started working on his own by building fireplaces. He built one in the Pine Grove Restaurant, where he also worked as a cook.

Because of the Colorado climate, stonemasonry work was seasonal. "Sometimes we'd have to work in zero-degree weather. That wasn't much fun, So, I'd cook when it was cold. "I just wanted to make enough money so I could ski all year."

Life was good. But, despite its lack of snow for skiing, -- "And maybe I grew up a bit" -- Southern California's lure pulled him back in the late '80s. And several things happened at once.

Shortly after launching his own masonry operation in Corona del Mar - the initials in his firm's name stand for that community -- he met Linda, his wife to be. "She lived just a block away and she worked at my bank," he said.

He asked her for a date, she assented, and they were married within a year. As vice president of CDM Masonry, "she still handles my money."

The couple has three daughters: Ashley, 16; Heidi Jane, 13, and Gabriela - "We call her Gigi" - who was born last June. With this newest addition to the family, Paul said, "I'll be hauling those stones around until I'm dead to keep supporting them."

He still hasn't given up hope of adding a son "because I still haven't got a Mason yet." The only other "Mason" in the household so far has been a family dog that was given that name. If he does have a son, and if he does teach him the business, Paul is going to pass on the Colorado tradition doused heavily with his own creative juices.

"Stone work lasts forever. It's quite an art to take a pile of junk and build something beautiful out of it. I hand-tumble every piece I work with. That includes rocks and bricks and scrap. I create my own combinations of materials and colors. We work with glass, stone, brick, metal, concrete -- everything. We do acid-stain work. I've even worked with pieces of broken city sidewalk. We've done a lot of stone houses and hardscapes - patios and driveways and things like that. And we're starting to get into landscaping," said Paul.

"Most of what I do is old-world stone and brick work. A lot of it is custom styling. And we do a lot of Italian Tuscan style. A few years ago, we did a house in old-world Tuscan style across from the Western White House in San Clemente."

His Colorado training taught him to dedicate and devote time to detail. Just as the devil is in the details in legal contracts, angels are in the angles of his artwork. That's what has propelled the quality of his product to the top in the highly competitive Southern California marketplace.

"Everybody thinks they're a mason," he said. "The worst thing that happened to this business is manufactured stone. Now everybody thinks they know how to lay stone."

He points out that some of his favorite work is underground. Solid and long-lasting structured ground works are especially important in this region because of "all the ground movement in California."

While masons work at the whim of the weather in Colorado, California climate is not a factor, so his six workers are busy year 'round. Which means Paul doesn't have to confine his cooking to any particular season. His favorite dishes are veal Marsala and sautéed mushrooms.

The 365-days-a-year construction climate also allows him be on the prowl constantly for eye-catching elements. "We get our material everywhere. We use used stuff. I check out construction sites." It's what helps him animate his work.

"When you see any of my work, you'll see veins of different colors. Those give it life."

Paul's artistic attention to the completed project can't be rushed. "Some jobs take two weeks and some jobs can take six weeks," he said.

For those who are serious about being a mason, Paul recommends: "Get a job as a mason's helper. Mix the cement. Watch how the work is done. And have a good back."

CDM Masonry, Inc.
949-291-5540
cdmdesign@cox.net

(Winter 2007)
Photos by Chet Frohlick