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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Santa Cruz sits on old marine terraces that step down to the bay. The ground climbs from those coastal terraces toward the UC Santa Cruz campus and the Santa Cruz Mountains. The older neighborhoods run to small parcels, while the post-war ranch houses sit on larger lots. So a yard project here usually means tight access and a grade that has to be held.
Aguilar and Sons Construction is a hardscape contractor based in Salinas, and we drive over to Santa Cruz. We build paver patios and walkways, flagstone, stamped and plain concrete, and walls that hold a sloped lot. Stone veneer, outdoor kitchens, fire pits, pergolas, fences, decks and custom iron come off the same contract. Call or text (831) 262-9943 for a free estimate.
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Much of the housing here is old. The city's own planning documents describe older neighborhoods of small bungalows and historic houses. Upper Seabright was its own town until Santa Cruz annexed it in 1904. Lower Seabright is still mostly places built as summer homes, and Beach Hill mixes Victorian houses with Mission Revival apartments.
Concrete from that era is usually done. We tear out a cracked driveway and re-pour it on a rebuilt base, and sunken walkways get the same. On a narrow Westside lot every yard of material moves through a side gate. Access gets planned before demolition starts.
Outside those older pockets, the city runs to post-war ranch houses on larger parcels. Those yards take a full concrete or paver patio with steps down to the lawn. Newer homes around here often hand over a bare dirt back yard. Out toward Pleasure Point, larger new houses keep going up beside the smaller beach cottages.
The San Lorenzo River splits the Eastside from the Westside. Ground level climbs from the coastal terraces toward the campus and the mountains behind it. Escalona Drive marks one of those steps, with steep hills right behind the street. Branciforte Creek runs through the east side in a deep concrete channel.
Summers here are cool, foggy and close to rainless. The rain arrives in winter, and hard freezes are rare this near the coast. That makes drainage the thing that decides how long hardscape lasts. Every slab we pour gets a slope that carries water away from the house.
Behind a retaining wall we place clean gravel, perforated pipe and weep holes. Under a patio we compact the base in lifts before anything goes down. On a sloped lot near Escalona or DeLaveaga we also check where the runoff lands. Water pushed onto the lot below becomes a problem that comes back.
Inside the city limits, permits come from the city's Building and Safety Division. It sits inside the Santa Cruz Community Development Department. The city describes its job as administering the California Building Standards Codes as adopted and amended by local ordinance. The 2025 edition of that code took effect on January 1, 2026.
Planning is a second counter. The city's Current Planning division reviews coastal permits and design permits under the Local Coastal Program. In the coastal zone, work generally cannot start until a coastal development permit is issued. The Coastal Act defines development broadly, so a patio near the water is worth a call to planning first.
Live Oak is the unincorporated stretch between the city and Capitola, and it takes in Pleasure Point. Those addresses permit through the County of Santa Cruz at its Unified Permit Center. The city itself also runs a Storm Water Ordinance and an Excavation and Grading Ordinance. Either one can reach a large patio or a cut on a slope.
Homes near the water get a harder version of the same job. Caltrans treats structures within 1,000 feet of the ocean as a marine atmosphere exposure. Its own guidelines change the minimum concrete cover over reinforcement for that condition. That is a bridge specification, and a fair guide to what salt air does to steel.
So we keep cover over the rebar, and we pick hardware that lasts in that air. Galvanized or stainless fasteners go into anything near the water. Iron gates and railings get a hot-dip or a powder coat before they ever see fog. Stone veneer, block and stucco want their steel set back from the face too.
Fog and winter damp also shorten the life of untreated wood. A redwood deck here wants footings clear of standing water and a finish that gets kept up. The local air district discourages wood smoke and runs Spare the Air days in the San Lorenzo Valley. That is one reason many of these yards end up with a gas fire pit.
Communities and areas we serve around Santa Cruz: Westside, Upper Westside, Eastside, Upper Eastside, Seabright, Downtown, Beach Hill, Beach Flats, King Street, Mission Hill, DeLaveaga, Live Oak.
Santa Cruz ZIP codes served: 95060, 95062, 95064, 95065.
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 Santa Cruz. 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.