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 Los Gatos, CA | Moreno Valley Builders
We provide independent Unilock construction and repair services across Los Gatos and nearby communities like Monte Sereno, from downtown flats to the steep lots above Highway 17. What sets our Unilock work apart here is that we engineer every paver project around Los Gatos grading, drainage, and WUI fire rules before a single stone goes down. We’re not a manufacturer-authorized dealer. We’re a general contractor who installs and repairs Unilock pavers to spec while handling the entitlement and site-work realities that make Los Gatos different from every neighboring town. Call (877) 752-3154 to schedule a free estimate.
Why Los Gatos Residents Choose Us for Unilock Service
Unilock pavers show up on a lot of Los Gatos driveways and patios, and we’ve torn out enough failed installations to know exactly where they go wrong on this terrain. The hillside clay, the winter storm runoff, the review process at Town Hall. Noel Trevino, our owner and GC, grew up in the Inland Empire and spent nearly three decades rebuilding homes that other contractors got wrong, so when he sees a paver job failing, he looks at the sub-base first, not the surface. We specify Unilock-compatible polymeric joint sand, edge restraints, and geotextile. We don’t substitute generic materials to save a few dollars. For Los Gatos homeowners, that means a patio or driveway that holds grade through atmospheric-river winters and doesn’t trigger a redo two years later.
Styles & brands we work with
Common Unilock Construction Problems We Solve in Los Gatos
- Efflorescence bloom on pavers. The white chalky haze on Unilock surfaces isn’t a manufacturing defect. It’s mineral salts migrating through the paver as moisture moves. On Los Gatos hillsides, where winter storms saturate the soil and the clay holds water against the pavers, efflorescence is more common and more persistent than in flat, dry parts of the valley. We clean and re-seal affected areas and correct the drainage feeding the moisture problem.
- Base failure and rutting on sloped driveways. When pavers get laid directly over compacted clay without a proper aggregate sub-base, they will rut and shift. We see this constantly on hillside driveways in Los Gatos where graders cut corners. The fix isn’t more sand on top. It’s pulling the pavers, cutting a real aggregate base to grade, and re-setting. Otherwise you’re paying twice.
- Joint sand washout and loose edge restraints. Driveways graded toward the street take the full force of winter storm runoff. If the edge restraint isn’t pinned and the joint sand isn’t polymeric, the sand washes out, the edges spread, and the driveway starts moving. We rebuild these with pinned aluminum or concrete edge restraints and polymeric sand that sets firm and stays put.
- Scorching and ember intrusion at the hardscape edge. Los Gatos sits in a WUI zone, which means defensible-space rules apply to hardscape too. Where Unilock pavers meet combustible bark mulch or juniper plantings, embers from a wildfire can ignite the fuel right at the edge of your patio. We design paver layouts with noncombustible borders and clearance so the hardscape itself doesn’t become a fire pathway.
- Heaving concrete aprons and transitions. Where a paver driveway meets a concrete apron, sidewalk, or garage slab, differential movement cracks and heaves the transition. We’ve rebuilt these junctions across Los Gatos with proper expansion joints and compacted stone transitions so the two surfaces stop fighting each other.
Unilock Service in Los Gatos: What Local Conditions Mean for Your Equipment
Because so much Los Gatos work sits in the hills and the Historic District, a new paver driveway or patio often needs design review approval and defensible-space clearance before a permit issues. That’s true in the flats around downtown and in neighboring Cambrian Park too, where designated historic properties trigger exterior review even for hardscape changes. Practically, that means hardscape layout, edge restraint, drainage, and material color all have to be settled on paper before a single paver goes down, and the plan has to survive staff comments and sometimes a hearing. A contractor who treats your Unilock driveway like a weekend DIY project in a subdivision will get stopped at the permit counter. We prepare plans that meet Town of Los Gatos review standards the first time, including drainage calculations for sloped lots and ignition-resistant material notes for WUI zones.
Unilock Models & Products We Service in Los Gatos
We install and repair the Unilock lines most common on Los Gatos properties, including Brussels Block, the tumbled interlocking paver that works well on driveways and courtyards, and Beacon Hill, a smooth traditional paver used often for patios and walkways. We also work with standard 60mm concrete pavers and Techo-Bloc-style slab and plank pavers where a homeowner wants a wider module or a different finish. Our approach to parts is straightforward: we use Unilock-compatible polymeric joint sand, edge restraints, and geotextile specified to the paver system, not whatever is cheapest at the supply yard. We replace only pavers that are cracked, spalled, or structurally damaged. Sound pavers get lifted, cleaned, and re-set on a corrected base. We’re an independent contractor, not a Unilock sales & service center, which means our loyalty is to the installation holding up, not to selling you new product.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterUnilock Service Pricing in Los Gatos
Here’s what Unilock construction and repair work typically runs in the Los Gatos market.
| Service | Typical Range |
|---|---|
| Paver Driveway Installation | $7,000 – $18,000 |
| Paver Patio Installation | $3,500 – $11,000 |
| Driveway Replacement | $5,000 – $14,000 |
| Concrete Driveway Installation | $4,500 – $12,000 |
| Driveway Sealing | $250 – $700 |
What drives the cost in Los Gatos is usually the sub-base work and the site access. A hillside lot with a steep grade and clay soil needs more excavation and a deeper aggregate base than a flat downtown lot. If the existing base is failed, the repair cost climbs because we’re rebuilding structure, not just resurfacing. Every estimate we write is a line-item quote with no change orders unless you change the scope. Call (877) 752-3154 to schedule yours.
Serving Los Gatos, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Los Gatos area and know this community well, including Lexington Hills. 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, but the plan has to address exterior review standards up front. In the Los Gatos Historic District, exterior changes including hardscape can require design review approval before a permit is issued, and the town looks at material type, color, pattern, and how the driveway reads from the street. Submitting a plan that ignores those standards gets it bounced back. We prepare plans that anticipate the review comments, which saves weeks of back-and-forth. Call (877) 752-3154 for an exact quote on your specific property.
Almost always it’s the base, not the paver. Los Gatos hillside soil is heavy clay that expands when wet and shrinks when dry. If a paver driveway is laid over compacted clay without a proper aggregate sub-base, the pavers will heave in winter and rut under vehicle load. The paver itself is just following the base. We cut a real aggregate base to grade, compact it in lifts, and add geotextile where the soil is unstable. Then we re-set the pavers. The surface repair alone won’t hold.
No, efflorescence is mineral salts surfacing through the concrete, and it’s driven by moisture moving through the paver. On Los Gatos hillside lots where winter storms saturate the clay soil, it’s common. It’s cosmetic, not structural. We clean the surface, correct any drainage issue feeding the moisture, and apply a breathable sealer that reduces recurring bloom.
In Los Gatos and nearby Saratoga, yes, WUI building-code requirements apply to many properties, especially those in the Santa Cruz Mountain foothills. Ignition-resistant materials and ember-resistant details are often required, and defensible-space rules affect how hardscape edges meet combustible mulch or plantings. We design paver layouts with noncombustible transitions at the edges so the hardscape meets code instead of fighting it.
Usually, yes. If the base is sound and the pavers are just cracked or spalled, we pull the damaged units and set in matching replacements. If the base has failed, replacing pavers alone is wasted money. The new pavers will fail the same way the old ones did. We’ll tell you which situation you have before you spend a dollar. Call (877) 752-3154 for a free estimate.
Service Areas Near Los Gatos
We serve Los Gatos and the surrounding communities including the Los Gatos service area foothills down into Saratoga, Campbell, Monte Sereno, and the hills above town. We also handle Unilock work in Unilock service in Alum Rock and Unilock service in East Foothills. If you’re on the edge of our coverage zone, call and ask. We’ll tell you straight.
Book Your Unilock Service in Los Gatos Today
If the details aren’t right on paper, they won’t be right in the wall. Or in the base. Call (877) 752-3154 to schedule your free estimate, and we’ll walk the site, check the grade, and tell you what your Unilock project actually needs in Los Gatos.
Written by Noel Trevino, Owner & General Contractor at Moreno Valley Builders, serving Los Gatos and the surrounding foothills.