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Unilock Construction in Los Gatos, CA | Framework Contractors
We install and repair Unilock paver patios, driveways, and retaining walls across Los Gatos as an independent contractor, not a manufacturer-authorized dealer. What makes our Unilock work different here is that we’ve built on the shrink-swell clay of the 95033 hillsides and the tight lots of the downtown flats, so we know which failures are local soil problems and which are product issues. Call (844) 681-3590 for a free estimate on your Unilock project.
Why Los Gatos Residents Choose Us for Unilock Service
We’ve laid Brussels Block driveways off University Avenue and rebuilt U-Cara walls up near Redwood Estates, and we also offer Lexington Hills Unilock service for hillside properties. That range matters. Los Gatos isn’t one construction market; it’s two. The flats demand tight lot coordination and design-review patience. The hills demand drainage engineering and retaining-wall work that doesn’t shift when the clay does.
Noel Carbajal, our owner, grew up patching stucco and reroofing porches in Santa Ana. He spent three decades building across Orange County before expanding north. The lesson he carried with him: paver systems fail at the base, not the surface. So our crews re-compact and re-base before they re-set. We’re also a Los Gatos General Contractor, which means the same team that handles your paver patio can pull permits for the drainage correction behind it. One contractor, every system.
Styles & brands we work with
Common Unilock Construction Problems We Solve in Los Gatos
- Joint-sand loss on Brussels Block driveways after atmospheric-river winters. Heavy rain scours sand from between pavers, then the blocks shift and edges spall. On older Los Gatos lots where the original base wasn’t engineered over expansive clay, this gets worse every wet season. We re-set, re-base, and re-sand with Unilock’s own joint sand.
- Tilting or bulging U-Cara and Town Hall retaining walls on steep 95033 lots. The culprit is almost always undersized drainage behind the wall. Winter groundwater builds up, the clay swells, and the wall leans. We cut back the saturated soil, add proper drainage, and rebuild the courses level.
- Efflorescence and surface staining on Beacon Hill Flagstone patios. Hard Bay Area water and clay-heavy subgrade wick moisture upward, leaving white mineral deposits on the paver surface. We clean it properly and address the moisture path so it doesn’t return in six months.
- Settlement and rutting under pavers on driveways. Where the compacted base depth wasn’t matched to shrink-swell soil movement, pavers sink and create ruts. Common on century-old Los Gatos lots where original driveways were poured thin. We rebuild the base to the depth the soil demands.
- Edge restraint failure along paver borders. When edge restraints pop loose, the outer pavers spread and the whole field loses tension. We re-set with proper steel or concrete edge restraint and fresh joint sand so the pattern holds.
Unilock Service in Los Gatos: What Local Conditions Mean for Your Equipment
Up on the 95033 side along and above Highway 17, steep lots plus shrink-swell clay routinely push retaining walls and pier-and-grade foundations out of level after a wet winter. So when we get a spring call about cracked patio pavers or a leaning wall in Redwood Estates, we’re not just looking at the hardscape. We’re looking at the hillside behind it. Any rebuild up there has to clear Los Gatos planning review and the Santa Cruz County-side WUI fire code, which means drainage plans, defensible-space considerations, and sometimes fire-resistant material choices. A paver project in Los Gatos is rarely just a paver project. That’s why our estimates include the site work questions other paver installers skip: where does the water go, what does the clay do when it’s wet, and what will the town want to see on the permit drawings.
Unilock Models & Products We Service in Los Gatos
We work with Unilock’s core residential lines: Brussels Block from the Dimensional Series, Beacon Hill Flagstone, U-Cara Multi-Face Wall System, and Town Hall pavers and retaining-wall blocks. When repairs call for new material, we use Unilock’s own matching block, cap, and joint sand so courses, color, and edge restraint stay consistent. We also keep common joint sand and edge restraint material stocked locally for faster Los Gatos turnaround. For repairs, we’ll re-set and re-base sound existing pavers rather than sell a full tear-out. But the honest call is this: failed base or wall overturning means rebuild the system, not patch the surface. Learn more about our broader Unilock sales & service work.
See the difference
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After
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AfterUnilock Service Pricing in Los Gatos
Cost depends on what’s failing below the surface. A simple patio re-sand runs on the low end. A driveway with base failure runs higher. Here’s what Los Gatos homeowners typically see:
| Unilock Service | Typical Cost Range |
|---|---|
| Paver Driveway Installation | $7,000 – $18,000 |
| Paver Patio Installation | $3,500 – $11,000 |
| Driveway Replacement | $5,000 – $14,000 |
Every estimate includes a written line-item quote, fixed pricing with no change orders, and a workmanship warranty. We pull permits where Los Gatos requires them and coordinate inspections. Call (844) 681-3590 for your free estimate.
Serving Los Gatos, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Los Gatos area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage — if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs – Unilock Construction in Los Gatos
Yes, if the base is engineered for it. Unilock pavers themselves handle movement well because they flex at the joints. What fails is the base underneath. On Los Gatos clay, we compact a deeper aggregate base and often install geotextile fabric to keep the clay from migrating up. Call (844) 681-3590 for an exact assessment of your lot.
Yes. Retaining walls over a certain height (typically 3 to 4 feet, depending on current code) require permits and engineering in Los Gatos. Paver patios generally don’t, but any drainage modifications might. We handle the permit drawings and submittals as part of the job, so you’re not stuck navigating the town’s planning department alone.
Efflorescence is mineral salt wicking up through the paver from moisture below. You can clean the surface, but it returns unless you fix the moisture path. We address drainage and base drainage, then clean the pavers with the right chemical treatment so the white haze stays gone. Call (844) 681-3590 and we’ll take a look.
Sometimes. If the wall blocks are still sound and the tilt is minor, we can cut back the saturated clay behind it, install proper drainage, and re-stack the courses level. If the wall has rotated past a certain point or the base has failed, rebuilding is the safer call. We’ll tell you which one you’re looking at before any work starts.
Because the base under the pavers wasn’t deep enough or well-drained enough for Los Gatos’ expansive clay. When the clay gets wet, it swells and softens, and the pavers above it sink and rut. The fix is re-compacting a deeper base, often with better drainage. Call (844) 681-3590 for a free estimate on the repair.
Service Areas Near Los Gatos
We serve Los Gatos and the surrounding communities: Santa Ana, Tustin, Orange, North Tustin, Garden Grove, and Fountain Valley. We also take on hillside projects near Unilock service in Boulder Creek and Unilock service in Monte Sereno. Full Los Gatos service area details are on our coverage page.
Book Your Unilock Service in Los Gatos Today
Up in Redwood Estates off Highway 17, our crew rebuilt a U-Cara retaining wall behind a driveway that had bulged after a January atmospheric river. We cut back saturated clay, added proper drainage, re-set the owner’s Brussels Block driveway pavers on a re-compacted deeper base, and finished with fresh joint sand and edge restraint. A system repair, not a replace-and-upsell. Call (844) 681-3590 to schedule your free estimate in Los Gatos. Build it right the first time – the second time costs twice as much and nobody’s happy.
Written by Noel Carbajal, Owner at Framework Contractors, serving Los Gatos and the wider Bay Area since 2005.