Landscaping & hardscape
in Concord

Faster here than anywhere else we work, because we are based in Concord. We reply to every enquiry within one business day and can usually walk the property the same week.

It generally comes down to height. California’s building code exempts retaining walls up to four feet, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall — above that, or where the wall is holding back a slope or a driveway, a permit is normally required. Concord applies the state code, but what your lot needs depends on your lot, so we confirm with the city’s building division before we design anything and we handle the paperwork.

Usually replace, and usually because the problem is underneath rather than on the surface. Sixty-year-old concrete that is lifting is telling you the base has moved. Resurfacing hides that for a season. We would rather dig it out, build a base that absorbs the clay’s movement, and pour something you do not have to look at again.

It swells when wet and shrinks when dry, and anything rigid sitting on it moves too. We excavate deeper than the slab needs, compact a base that takes up that movement, and place control joints where the concrete is going to want to crack anyway — so it cracks where we decided, not across the middle.

Both, and on plenty of properties here the drainage is the job. French drains, surface drains, dry wells, regrading where water sits against the house, and hardscape built to shed rather than trap. Drainage done after the patio is finished costs far more than drainage done underneath it.

It depends on scope, access and how much earthwork is involved, which is why we will not quote a timeline before walking the property. What you get at the consultation is a written schedule alongside the written price — both fixed before we start.