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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Pacific Grove has been a city since July 1889, and the housing still shows it. The City counts over 1,200 historic homes, and says a large share went up before 1939. The Pacific Grove Retreat and the First through Fifth Additions sit on a tight grid. Parcels are small and side yards are narrow.
Aguilar and Sons Construction is a family construction company based in Salinas, and we drive over for the work. We build paver patios and walkways, flagstone paths and landings and poured concrete here. Masonry, outdoor kitchens, fire features, pergolas, fences, gates and redwood decks go under the same contract. Estimates are free and done on site, so call or text (831) 262-9943.
Tell us about the job. We will get right back to you.
The City of Pacific Grove keeps a Historic Resources Inventory of more than 1,350 structures. Under state law, a structure 50 years or older has to be evaluated for its historic significance first. That evaluation comes before exterior alterations, unless the property is already listed. The City's Initial Historic Screening form says so, and the Historic Resources Committee hears those screenings.
That reaches site work too. The City's guidelines for historic assessments name retaining walls, fences and trellises as period defining site features. Unpermitted work on an inventory property can bring a stop work order and fines under the municipal code. On an older Pacific Grove home, the approvals come first and the concrete comes second.
We are builders, not historic consultants. Your review stays between you, your consultant and the City. We build what the City has approved, from the plans and conditions you already hold. If the review is still open, we hold the schedule until the approval is issued.
Pacific Grove is its own city, so the City permits the work rather than the County. Building permits run through the Community Development Department and its Building Division. The department sits at 300 Forest Avenue, and the Planning Division is in the same building.
The City publishes a planning permit chart by project type for R-1 lots outside the coastal zone. It lists hardscape, new impervious surface and new paving as its own line. That line calls for a counter determination from Planning. Landscaping with no new hardscape is shown as exempt, so the trigger is the paving itself.
The California Coastal Commission certified the City's Local Coastal Program on March 11, 2020. Inside the coastal zone the permit path runs differently. The Architectural Review Board grants architectural approval where the zoning code calls for it, to protect the City's architectural heritage. The City Arborist handles tree permits, and tree work tied to a project rides with the planning permit. Ask Community Development which approvals your lot and your project need.
Two kinds of ground turn up in this town. Federal soil records describe the coastal dune belt as sand or loamy sand all the way down, drained fast. A state geology report for this coastline found dune deposits in cut banks running from loose to weakly cemented sand. Sand like that has almost no cohesion, so the compacted base under a patio is what keeps it flat.
The same report says the granodiorite of the Salinian Block comes to the surface on the Monterey Peninsula. So a footing trench can dig like a beach on one lot and hit rock on the next. We dig test holes and price each site for what is actually under it.
Caltrans treats structures within 1,000 feet of the ocean as a marine atmosphere for corrosion. It raises the concrete cover over the reinforcing steel for that exposure. Lots along Ocean View Boulevard and Sunset Drive sit well inside that line. We keep good cover on the rebar there, and we use coated or galvanized hardware.
Small lots set the shape of the job. A back yard behind an older cottage in the Pacific Grove Retreat holds a patio and a path. A low wall for the grade change fills the rest. Access is usually a side yard gate, so material moves by wheelbarrow or comes in over a pump line.
Replacing old concrete is a steady part of the work here. Walkways poured decades ago crack, lift at pine roots and settle at the edges. We break the old slab out, rebuild the base and pour new. Pavers are the other route, and the same goes for a cracked concrete driveway.
The ground rises away from the shoreline toward Hillcrest and Country Club Heights. Low retaining walls hold those grade changes, with a footing, steel and drainage behind the wall. Stone veneer or a stucco finish ties a wall back to the house. Past the exemption line a wall is an engineered structure, built to the engineer's plans and inspected.
Communities and areas we serve around Pacific Grove: Pacific Grove Retreat, Asilomar Dunes, Beach Tract, Country Club Gate, Country Club Heights, Del Monte Park, Pacific Grove Acres, Hillcrest, Seaview, Sunset Drive, Lovers Point, Point Pinos.
Pacific Grove ZIP codes served: 93950.
Free estimates throughout Monterey 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 Pacific Grove. 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.