Cracked, sunken or puddling driveway? We plan where the water goes first, then lay pavers on a base built to carry your cars.
Driveway pavers in Antioch, CA, are interlocking concrete units set on a packed base, and when that driveway sits on ground that drains well, it can give you many years of service.
Most people call us when the old driveway has cracked across the middle, sunk in one spot or holds a puddle every time it rains. Usually the surface isn't the real problem. Water got under it, the ground softened and the slab moved. A paver driveway only fixes that if the base and the drainage are planned first, so that's where I start.
The price mostly comes down to the size of the driveway, how much old concrete and soil we haul out, how deep the base has to be, whether the ground needs drain pipe, the pavers and pattern you pick, and whether the work reaches the curb or sidewalk. The schedule turns on the weather and on any city permit. Your written estimate spells out what we'll do and what we won't.
A paver driveway looks simple from the top, but most of the work is under it and along its edges. These are the parts I'd ask any installer about.
Pavers are only as flat as what's under them. We dig out the old driveway and any soft soil, build up a gravel base in layers and pack each one hard, then set the pavers on a thin bed of sand. Skimp on the base and ruts show up where your tires roll.
Trade guidance uses thinner pavers on driveways than on streets and industrial yards, which take thicker ones. The right thickness for yours depends on what parks there, a daily car or a heavy work truck, so ask any installer which they plan and why. I'll tell you mine at the estimate.
Pavers hold each other in place by pressing against their neighbors, so the outside row needs something solid to push against. We set a firm edge along every side that isn't already against concrete or a wall, because a loose edge lets the pavers creep apart and the joints open up.
From the first call to the final walk, you deal with me. Here's how a paver driveway job goes with us, step by step.
Call (925) 503-1025 or send the form with your driveway's rough size and whether the work reaches the sidewalk. Most of the time it's me who gets back to you, and we set a time for me to come look.
I come out myself, walk the driveway, watch where the water runs and check whether the job reaches the curb or sidewalk. Then I send a written estimate that spells out what we'll do and what we won't.
If you go ahead, we take care of any permit the job needs. I'm on site while our crew tears out the old driveway, builds and packs the base, and lays and locks the pavers.
When the last joint is filled, we clean up and walk the driveway with you. Look it over with me, ask whatever you want and tell me then if anything doesn't sit right with you.
Before a single paver goes down, I work out where the water goes. I look at which way the driveway falls, where the downspouts empty and where the runoff ends up, because water sitting under a driveway is what makes it sink and rut. Then we set the grade so rain runs off toward the street or a spot that can take it, not back toward your garage or house.
If the job reaches the curb or the sidewalk, I bring it up at the estimate so it's planned from the start. That part sits on city ground and has its own rules, so I'd rather you hear about it on day one than halfway through the tear-out.
Driveways often run into other masonry. If yours is cut into a slope, the wall holding the hill back has to drain too, and that's retaining wall construction we can plan alongside it. If the brick steps, planters or porch beside the driveway are worn or loose, masonry restoration can bring them back so the old work sits right next to the new.
Herringbone sets pavers in a zigzag so each one locks across its neighbors, and it holds up best where tires turn and brake. It takes more cuts at the edges, but for most driveways it's what I'd pick.
Running bond lays rows offset like brick in a wall and reads clean on a straight driveway. A border row in a contrasting color frames it and keeps the field looking square along the edges.
Send the form with your driveway's rough size and whether the work reaches the sidewalk or adds a new curb cut, and we'll reply within one business day. I'll set a time to look at it in person and send you a written estimate. It's free, and there's no pressure to book.
(925) 503-1025Once a driveway reaches the sidewalk, curb or street, that part of the job is on public right-of-way, and the City of Antioch Engineering Division issues an encroachment permit for it, including curb cuts and driveway changes. A new driveway apron, the sloped piece where the driveway meets the street, goes through the city's general encroachment application, which asks about every area you plan to work in.
The city gives these permits only to the owner of the property next to the work or to a contractor licensed by the state, and every contractor and sub on the job needs a current state license and a City of Antioch business license. When a job needs a permit, we pull it and line up the inspections. If yours stays on your lot and you're not sure, we check with the right office before work starts.
We're based in Antioch and do this work in the cities around it, from Concord and Walnut Creek out to Brentwood and Rio Vista, with Pittsburg and Oakley in between. A lot of the driveways I look at are the original concrete poured with the house, cracked across the apron or low near the garage where water sits.
I come out to look at every job myself, and I'm on site with our crew when the pavers go down, so the person who planned your drainage is the one watching it get built. I started as a helper on a small masonry crew, mixing mortar and hauling block, and opened this business in Antioch in 2023. That's three years on our own.
We're licensed and insured. If your driveway needs less than a full tear-out, I'll tell you that, because I'd rather fix why it failed than sell you a bigger job. Satisfaction guaranteed on every job.
Call (925) 503-1025 or send the form and we'll set a time to look at your driveway.
When a driveway is cut into a hillside, a wall that drains and stays put keeps the slope from pushing soil and water onto your new pavers.
Worn brick steps, crumbling planters or a tired porch look worse next to a fresh driveway, and restoring them brings the whole front of the house together.
Antioch is home base, and we lay paver driveways across the nearby cities listed below. If your city isn't listed, call and ask, because we likely work there too.
It needs one when any part of the work is on public right-of-way, the sidewalk, curb or street in front of your house, including a new curb cut or a changed apron. The city's Engineering Division issues it. For work that stays on your lot, we check with the right office before we start.
Trade guidance recommends a CMHA Certified Concrete Paver Installer, someone who has taken the paver industry's training and shown they know its guidelines, materials and methods. California's Contractors State License Board licenses paving work under its C-12 earthwork and paving class. When you compare bids, ask whether the crew on your job holds the certification.
Yes. Trade guidance recommends drain pipe under driveways on clay or other slow-draining soils that carry cars, because it adds years of service and the small extra cost comes back many times over. If I find slow-draining ground at the estimate, I'll put drain pipe in the plan, and you can ask for it.
Any stretch without heavy rain is a good time. The trade's guide specification calls for laying the sand and pavers outside heavy rain, so we watch the forecast and book the laying for a dry spell. That keeps the job moving instead of stopping halfway with your driveway torn up.
I give you a figure after I've seen the driveway, because I won't guess at a price for ground I haven't looked at. A herringbone pattern, a border row, drain pipe or curb work raise the price, and reusing a sound apron or keeping a simple pattern lowers it. The written estimate lists each part.
Clear the driveway of cars, bins and anything stored along its edges, and plan where you'll park while it's torn up. Point out sprinkler lines and any spots where water collects, so we can plan around them before the old driveway comes out.
Call (925) 503-1025 or send the form, and if water pools on your driveway after a rain, send a photo of it so I know what to look for when I come out.
