Hardscape Contractor
Complete outdoor living spaces from one licensed contractor: pavers, flagstone, concrete, retaining walls, masonry, outdoor kitchens and fire features, built on a proper base with drainage.
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Aptos sits between Monterey Bay and the Santa Cruz Mountains. The ground changes fast across town. Near the water, Rio del Mar, Seacliff and Seascape sit on old coastal terraces stepping down to the bay. Those beach communities grew out of subdivisions laid out in the 1920s, so the yards there are not new. Head inland past Aptos Village and the lots climb into oaks and redwoods. Day Valley, Aptos Hills and Larkin Valley run steeper still. The USDA even names a soil series after this town. Aptos soils are mapped on uplands at slopes of 15 to 75 percent. They form from weathered sandstone, mudstone and shale. The survey calls them well drained with rapid to very rapid runoff. Winter rain moves fast on ground like that. Hardscape here starts with where the water goes.
Aguilar and Sons Construction is a family construction company based in Salinas. We drive over to Aptos for the work. Aptos sits inside the area we cover, within about 45 minutes of Salinas. We build retaining walls and steps on slopes, paver patios and walkways, flagstone, stamped and plain concrete. We also build stone veneer and block walls, outdoor kitchens, fireplaces and fire pits. Pergolas, patio covers, fences, iron gates and redwood decks are on the list as well. One licensed general building contractor handles the concrete, the masonry, the carpentry and the iron work. We hold CSLB license #787101, classification B General Building, active since 2000. Estimates are free and we come out to the property to measure. Call or text (831) 262-9943.
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Go uphill from Soquel Drive and Trout Gulch Road and the yards start to tilt. Aptos Creek and Valencia Creek cut through the area. Behind them the hills run up into second and third growth redwoods. That is The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park. A flat, usable yard on that ground has to be built. That means a wall, a bench cut, steps and a place for the water to go.
We build concrete and concrete block retaining walls on footings with rebar. We build the drainage behind them as well. Gravel backfill, a perforated drain line and weep holes keep water from loading the back of a wall. Walls get a stucco or stone veneer finish where the wall is in view. Steps, landings and a low seat wall often come with the job. Past the permit exemption line a wall becomes an engineered structure. It is designed for the soil and the seismic loads at that site. The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake was centered in these mountains. We build those walls to the engineer's plans.
The county sets real limits on moving dirt. Santa Cruz County requires a grading permit for excavation or fill over 100 cubic yards. It also requires one for a cut slope over five feet high. Fills deeper than two feet need one. So do fills placed on natural terrain steeper than 20 percent. Grading is generally not approved between October 15 and April 15, so dirt work gets planned for the dry months. On an Aptos Hills lot those rules shape the whole plan. We check them before we draw a layout.
The beach side of Aptos is a different build. Seascape County Park sits on the coastal bluff at the end of Sumner Avenue. The streets behind it run flat across the old marine terrace. Terrace soils here, like the USDA's Watsonville series, run loam over a heavy clay subsoil. The survey calls that ground somewhat poorly drained, with very slow permeability. Water perches above the clay in a wet winter.
Slow ground changes the plan more than the finish. We set the fall away from the house first. Then we build a base that holds it. A poured concrete patio gets a compacted base, rebar on chairs and saw cut joints. Pavers get excavation, compacted base rock, bedding sand and an edge restraint so the field stays flat. These yards have been in use since the 1920s. Much of the work is replacing a cracked slab or rebuilding a failed wall.
Driveways here often drop on a grade toward the garage. A concrete driveway is poured thicker than a walkway and jointed for vehicle loads. Where a drive meets a county road, the approach usually needs its own encroachment permit. That comes from public works, and we plan for it before the forms go in.
Aptos is unincorporated, so the County of Santa Cruz permits the work instead of a city. The department is Community Development and Infrastructure, and the counter is the county's Unified Permit Center. Building work follows the California Building Standards Code, and the 2025 edition is the one in force.
Some small work is exempt from a building permit under the state list. A retaining wall can be exempt at four feet or less. That height is measured from the bottom of the footing, and the wall cannot carry a surcharge. The measurement starts below grade, so a wall showing three feet of face can already be over the line. Fences are exempt under seven feet, and zoning height limits still apply. A deck is exempt only when it meets four tests at once. Under 200 square feet, under 30 inches high, not attached to the house, and not serving the required exit door. Most finished decks fail at least one of those tests.
Property near the water can also sit inside the California coastal zone. There a coastal development permit can apply on top of the building permit. The county treats grading and most new structures as development. Smaller items can be exempt. The county says work near a bluff or a beach usually still needs the permit. We confirm the parcel with the county before we price a job. Confirm your own project there too.
Summers in Aptos are cool and foggy, and the rain arrives in winter. Freezing is rare here. The local problems are water and salt air. The January 2023 storms are the reminder. California State Parks says Seacliff and New Brighton state beaches took tremendous damage that winter. Most of the Seacliff pier had to be removed by that May.
Salt carries further inland than people expect. Caltrans treats structures within 1,000 feet of the ocean as a marine atmosphere exposure. For that condition it increases the concrete cover over the steel. That is a bridge specification, not a patio code. We apply the same thinking near the bay. More cover over the rebar, and galvanized or stainless hardware. Hot dip or powder coated finishes go on iron gates and railings.
Drainage carries the rest of the job. Patios pitch away from the house. Downspouts and area drains get somewhere to run. On a wooded lot we keep footings and slabs clear of the worst root zones. Joints get cut where the slab wants to move.
Communities and areas we serve around Aptos: Aptos Village, Rio del Mar, Seacliff, Seascape, Aptos Hills, Larkin Valley, Day Valley, La Selva Beach, Soquel Drive, Trout Gulch Road, Aptos Creek Road, The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park.
Aptos ZIP codes served: 95003.
Free estimates throughout Santa Cruz County and the surrounding area.
(831) 262-9943 Complete outdoor living spaces from one licensed contractor: pavers, flagstone, concrete, retaining walls, masonry, outdoor kitchens and fire features, built on a proper base with drainage.
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We set paver patios, walkways and driveways on excavated, compacted base rock with edge restraint on every open side. We lay tumbled, large-format and permeable concrete pavers, cut and fitted to the shape of the yard.
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We build concrete and concrete block retaining walls, low garden walls and planter walls with steps. The footing, the steel and the drainage behind the wall come first, then the stucco or stone veneer finish.
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We build outdoor kitchens as masonry: a block or framed island finished in stone veneer or stucco, with a stone, tile or poured concrete counter. The patio and footing under it come with the job, and we coordinate the gas, electrical and water runs.
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Stamped concrete gives a patio or walkway the color and texture of cut stone in one poured slab. We form it, set the steel, stamp the pattern and seal the finish.
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We build natural flagstone patios, walkways, steps and landings across the Monterey Bay area. The stone goes down mortar-set on a concrete slab or dry-laid on compacted base, with fitted joints and a cut stone border.
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Concrete block walls, stone veneer, columns, planters and masonry steps for homes across the Monterey Bay area. Footing, steel and drainage go in before the first block is laid.
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We build masonry outdoor fireplaces and gas or wood fire pits, set on a footing sized for the weight. Stone veneer or stucco finishes, cut stone caps and seat walls, with free estimates across the Monterey Bay area.
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We build wood pergolas and solid roof patio covers, freestanding or attached to the house. Posts land on poured footings and masonry column bases, and the frame is cut on site.
Learn MoreA few of the questions we hear most around Aptos. If yours is not here, call or text and ask.
Call or text (831) 262-9943, or send the form with a few details about the project. Photos of the area help, and we will set a time to come out and measure.
Tell us about the job. We will get right back to you.