Kitchen remodeling
Bathroom remodeling
Home additions & ADU
Roofing
Windows & doors
Driveway & pavers
FenceFree written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
Unilock Construction in Palo Alto, CA | Seaside Contractors
We provide independent Unilock paver installation, repair, and replacement across Palo Alto – from Old Palo Alto bungalows to newer east-side infill lots. The thing that sets our Unilock work here apart is that we build and repair hardscape around the city’s tree canopy, drainage rules, and lot-coverage limits, not just around the pavers themselves. Glen Sorrento, our owner, has spent two-plus decades on Peninsula job sites, and he’ll tell you the same thing every time: “Let’s figure out what the job actually needs – then we’ll talk materials.” Call (833) 589-8103 for a free estimate.
Why Palo Alto Residents Choose Us for Unilock Service
Palo Alto homeowners deal with a specific set of hardscape problems that contractors in Mountain View or Menlo Park rarely see at the same intensity. Coast live oak and redwood roots push pavers up along the older streets. Winter rains wash joint sand out of driveways that slope toward the street without positive drainage. And the city’s planning process means every square foot of paver counts against lot coverage. We know these failure modes because we’ve fixed them, repeatedly, in neighborhoods like Professorville and Crescent Park. Our crews work with Unilock’s own facing units for Stanford Unilock service repairs so blends and face textures match existing courses. We don’t cut corners on base – quality aggregate and geotextile, not cheap fill. And we’re honest about what will last. On an aging driveway, a re-sand and relay may buy you a few years; if the base has failed, we’ll say so plainly and quote replacement instead. That’s the kind of straight answer Glen Sorrento built the company on.
Styles & brands we work with
Common Unilock Construction Problems We Solve in Palo Alto
- Root heave from coast live oak and redwood canopy. Professorville and Crescent Park streets run under dense tree cover, and those roots push Unilock courses up until the bedding layer cracks and pavers lip against each other. We remove the affected units, prune root intrusions where safe, and re-set the base with proper depth.
- Washed-out joint sand on sloped driveways. Winter rains hit driveways that pitch toward the street, and without positive drainage the open-graded sand between Unilock pavers erodes. Pavers stay put but joints fail, letting water under the course. We re-sand with polymeric or stabilized sand and re-grade the slope so water sheets off instead of soaking in.
- Settling over old buried hardscape and soft soils. Many older Palo Alto homes sit near pier-and-beam foundations with decades of buried debris and disturbed soil beneath their patios. Unilock pavers settle unevenly when the base wasn’t deep enough for what the rainy season demands. We excavate to proper depth, install geotextile and compacted aggregate, and re-lay for a stable surface.
- Efflorescence and damp staining on shaded patios. North-facing patios on Tudor and Spanish Colonial homes under heavy canopy never get enough sun to dry out. Mineral deposits and algae stain Unilock surfaces. We clean with appropriate techniques and adjust drainage so water doesn’t sit on the pavers.
- Driveway failure where old Unilock Town Hall units have reached end of life. The permeable Town Hall paver was common on older driveways and is largely discontinued. We match with current Unilock lines or rebuild entirely when the base is shot, always checking that the new surface still meets the city’s drainage expectations.
Unilock Service in Palo Alto: What Local Conditions Mean for Your Equipment
Here’s what most people don’t realize until they’ve gone through it: Palo Alto’s Single-Family Individual Review process and longstanding floor-area limits push projects away from big teardowns and toward rear-yard and side-yard additions. That sounds like a planning-department detail until you understand what it does to hardscape. Every added square foot of impervious paver patio or widened driveway counts against the lot’s coverage math and the drainage capacity the city scrutinizes during review. We’ve worked on enough Palo Alto properties to know that an oversized paver patio that looks great on paper can stall a permit or force a redesign, because it changes how the whole site drains. Before we excavate an inch, we check the FAR implications and slope requirements for the specific lot. In Old Palo Alto and Crescent Park especially, where additions hug lot lines, we size Unilock in Los Altos Hills and local Unilock hardscape to work with the planning rules, not against them. That’s the difference between a smooth permit path and a project that circles City Hall for months.
Unilock Models & Products We Service in Palo Alto
We work with the Unilock lines most common on Palo Alto properties. Brussels Block, the tumbled dimensional paver, shows up on driveways and walkways from the 94301 ZIP through 94303. Beacon Hill Flagstone, that rectangular flagstone-look unit, covers a lot of mid-century patios. Town Hall, the discontinued permeable paver, still sits on older driveways where replacement parts are scarce. Umbriano, the smooth-faced granite-look paver, is popular on newer east-side builds and infill lots along the El Camino corridor. For repairs we source Unilock facers so texture and color blend with existing courses. For bases, we use compacted aggregate and geotextile – never cheap fill that fails in two winters. We’re an independent contractor, not a Unilock authorized dealer, which means we recommend what actually works for your site rather than pushing a single product line. You can see our full brand range on our Unilock sales & service page.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterUnilock Service Pricing in Palo Alto
Pricing depends on the scope: whether we’re re-sanding existing pavers, repairing a section, or rebuilding from a failed base. Here’s what you can expect for common Unilock work on Palo Alto lots:
| Service | Typical Range |
|---|---|
| Paver Patio Installation | $3,500 – $11,000 |
| Paver Driveway Installation | $7,000 – $18,000 |
| Driveway Replacement | $5,000 – $14,000 |
| Driveway Sealing | $250 – $700 |
What drives the cost is base condition, site access, root intrusion, and drainage re-grading. A small patio re-sand is quick and affordable. A driveway with failed base and root damage from a mature oak is a different job entirely. Our free estimate includes an on-site look at what’s under the pavers, not just what’s on top. Call (833) 589-8103 to schedule yours – you’ll get a written line-item quote, not a vague number.
Serving Palo Alto, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re a Palo Alto General Contractor based in the 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 Palo Alto
Yes, potentially. Palo Alto’s Single-Family Individual Review looks at how much of your lot is covered by impervious surfaces, and a new paver patio adds to that number. If your project already sits near the floor-area or coverage limits for your lot size, a large hardscape addition could trigger a redesign or drainage revisions. We’ll size and slope the paver area to work within those limits before we excavate – call (833) 589-8103 and we’ll check your specific situation during the free estimate.
Because Emerald Lake Hills Unilock service properties, like Crescent Park driveways and patios, often slope toward the street or toward a corner where water concentrates, and every winter rain flushes the joint sand out unless the grade has positive drainage away from the pavers. The fix is usually a re-grade plus a stabilized joint sand, not just another top-dress. We’ll assess the slope and the base in one visit.
In most cases, yes. We match Unilock facing units to the existing course so color, texture, and blend align. Discontinued lines like Town Hall are harder, but our Palo Alto service area work regularly involves sourcing compatible current-model replacement units that read the same from street level. Bring us a photo or let us see it in person and we’ll tell you what’s realistic.
Yes, and it’s one of the most common issues we see in Professorville and elsewhere under the old canopy. Coast live oak and redwood roots grow toward moisture under pavers, lift the bedding layer, and create lippage at the joints. Repair means removing the affected section, addressing the root without killing the tree, and rebuilding the base with geotextile. It’s a standard job for us in Palo Alto neighborhoods with mature trees.
We’ll tell you the truth: if the base is intact and only the joints are washing out, re-sanding with stabilized sand is a solid fix. If the base has failed – you see consistent settling, pooling water, or pavers rocking – re-sanding just delays the failure. Call (833) 589-8103 and we’ll inspect what’s underneath before quoting either path.
Service Areas Near Palo Alto
We serve Palo Alto and the nearby Peninsula communities where Unilock hardscape work faces similar conditions – root pressure, winter drainage, and strict permit reviews. Unilock service in West Menlo Park covers the lots immediately north of the city, and Unilock service in Woodside extends the same paver repair and rebuild approach into the hills. Call us to check availability for your neighborhood.
Book Your Unilock Service in Palo Alto Today
If your Unilock patio is pooling water, your driveway is heaving, or you’re planning new hardscape as part of a remodel, we’ll look at the whole site first. Call (833) 589-8103 for a free estimate – we’ll tell you what the job actually needs, then we’ll talk materials.
Written by Glen Sorrento, Owner at Seaside Contractors, serving Palo Alto hardscape and remodeling projects across the Peninsula.