We are currently using seven manufacturers. All of them make wonderful products. All of them make a variety of products and all of those come in a variety of colors.
Paver manufacturers include:
- Calstone - Most of our pictures and a majority of our work is Calstone.
- Mc Near - Many of our clients prefer the thorough mix colors of this manufacturer.
- Pacific Interlock - This South Bay company has been a primary source for us since our beginnings. They have grown with the market and have some offerings not found in other companies. Their website is quite good and they have a great selection.
- Basalite - This company offers a little different color system that you may like.
- Pavestone - This nationwide company is not yet well known in this market.
- Belgaard - This nationwide company has a new plant in Stockton. They have some molds that other manufacturers do not have. We are working with them at the Home and Garden show at the Cow Palace this year (07).
- Ackerstone - This company started the paver revolution in Northern California. Now they have concentrated on the market in Southern California. But, they still offer some products that we like to use now and again.
The relationship we have enjoyed with these manufacturers is a historical story of our industry. Calstone opened their first paver plant and promoted it with pictures that we provided of their cobblestone, a driveway we installed in Atherton, and their circular pavers were promoted with our picture of a driveway we built in Danville. These were the basis of their advertising campaign for several years, before they began to produce their booklets. Basalite featured a picture we provided that showed a custom feature of a dolphin in a driveway in Lafayette. Mc Near promoted their cobblestone line for many years with a picture of a driveway we built in Oakland. We have also developed a relationship with the other manufacturers.
The plants that make pre-cast concrete pavers are amazing. They combine modern material handling with the ability to make amazingly strong zero slump concrete in computer controlled color batches with admixtures to improve performance. I have no problems using any of the products from these manufacturers.
There is no best product, except the product that you like the best. We will be happy to discuss the face mix process v the through mix, as well as other characteristics of the machines employed by the various manufacturers. All of these have passed the engineering tests as well as the tests of time.
There are other manufacturers available. These tend to cost more than the seven listed above, because of shipping costs from outside of our market area. If you are interested in some product that is not available from the list of our regular manufacturers, we are happy to try something new.
We are particularly proud of our relationship with Brickyard Building Materials in their Concord store on Bates Boulevard. They represent most of the seven manufacturers and they have better product knowledge and displays than any other yard in the Bay Area. We encourage you to see the displays there and start your search for the perfect paver.
To simplify the vast choices, we have developed a system. Most of our bids are based on what we call standard pavers. Upgrades are then offered for categories or special patterns.
- Standard pavers include most cobbles from most manufacturers. Additionally, Hollandstone (brick shaped), Mission, and other specialty shapes which may have differing names. Most of our work continues to be standard cobbles in standard laying patterns.
- Tumbled pavers include most cobbles that have been distressed by use of a tumbler. The use of manual labor to re-stack the pavers onto the pallets accounts for the most of the increase in costs. Cobbles are the most popular tumbled pavers, but some other styles may be offered as tumbled as well. Manufacturers may use a clever name for these styles, like River Rock in the Calstone system.
- Premium pavers include most of the pavers that have a stone texture and are also tumbled. Usually the colors are blended to coordinate with natural stone. Calstone has their Quarry Stone. Basalite has their Renaissance series. Mc Near has Slatestone and Belgian, which are two different stone textures. The colors are usually named with a clever name. But all of the colors will be variegated with two or more colors. We generally offer to mix colors on the job. This results in custom balances of color that are sure to meet your vision of perfection. We will guide you through color selection and balancing at every step. Don’t stress out over these decisions, we will help.
- Some other styles of pavers may not fit in these three categories. Sometimes a simple paver will be special order with those limitations and costs that will be passed along without a markup, by Hanna Pavestone.
- Some pavers have limitations that are associated with the way that they are packaged. You do not want to pay for pavers that you cannot use and must be hauled off the dumps, if we can avoid it, so we will help you sort out those options, if they are discussed.
- Circles can be used for features and European Fans. The cutting and the waste increase charges for this work. But, if you are interested, we can show you how to make the most of these.
- Laying Patterns and layout offer a wide variety of choices. Most of these do not cost extra. Old Town patterns and random patterns using jumbos are favored. In the premium pavers, we like the four stone patterns that make good use of the variety of stones to achieve a random appearance. We also install any other pattern offered by the manufacturers with only a few exceptions.
- There are only a few things that precipitate extra charges related to extraordinary time for cutting and diamond blade wear. Forty five degree layouts cause our craftsmen to have to make cuts on a saw at a diagonal that requires extra time and extraordinary blade wear. This is seldom used, except for herringbone patterns. It is important to note that our trade does not assume a 45 degree layout for a herringbone. A 90 degree layout (perpendicular to the street, or house) is a typical herringbone layout and without extra charge.
- Banding is a feature where a soldier (side by side) course feature is used to break up the monotony of a pattern. Usually these precipitate some labor charges, but sometimes they are used to re-set the layout of a pattern for the benefit of the site.
- Special features may be requested. There are few limits to what we can do. We have done some custom designs within paved areas. We once installed a template from a picture of a dolphin provided by our customer. That image was used in the Basalite advertising for many years.
Borders
Virtually all paver installations benefit from the installation of a border. The cuts are set back away from the edge for a neater appearance and the border is free to outline the shape of the installation. This also gives us a good basis for our bond beam. The border is set into the bond beam making the border a part of the mass that holds the installation.
Soldier course border is a side by side installation of rectangular pieces. This is by far the most effective and popular border for all installations.
Variations include a sailor course (end to end) double border (may be soldier and sailor) or all squares. Random runners can also be used. This would best apply to pavers delivered in a mixed pallet (more than one shape).
We sometime use a raised border. We do not charge extra for this. The uses of a raised border usually imply that we need to help control water on an installation or we want to be able to 'feel' the edge of the driveway with a tire. A raised border is not any assurance against a runaway on a steep hill, but more an aid to keep out of the landscape when backing up.
Retaining walls
Keystone, Versa Loc, Alan Bloc, Anchor wall, and some others are nationally franchised retaining walls of the gravity friction system. They are manufactured locally by the same paver manufacturers listed above. Each of these has variations within the system they offer. For instance, Basalite manufactures locally for Keystone, which offers County Manor, which is our most popular wall. For a little less money, we offer Versa Loc, which is manufactured by Mc Near. Versa Loc is a split face wall unit that has a nice clean appearance and is available in variegated colors. Versa Loc also offers Mosaic which is a tumbled block and is priced comparably to the Country Manor. Alan Bloc offers a split face block and a tumbled block, Europa. These are open cell, as opposed to the pin systems above. (Are you confused yet?)
All of these can find their best use in one or another application. One size does not fit all and your should seek our advice on the best block for your application. Sometimes the best block is not a block at all. For instance, we do not like the steps involved in a retaining wall next to the steps that we build for walking. Typically we will use a dry stack wall in those applications. We prefer not to build walls of rock when they are expected to hold a steep hill or a structure.
I will not attempt to educate you on the uses of engineering for permit and non permit applications. There are not simple rules. Each simplicity is complicated by surcharges, geotextile fabrics, backfill, embedment, and other issues. Of course a simple wall may be simple. We warn you, that experience may be needed to properly diagnose you retaining wall needs.
We are trained and experienced in the installation of pre-cast block retaining walls. We specialize in the integration of walls with our paver installations. We excel in applications where topography demands stairs, walls and hardscape to enjoy the use of a hillside property. We will adapt your design, or we can develop a design with you in our "Design As You Go" program.
Our design style tends to be natural and fitting to your topography. Our stairs tend to be of a watercourse style with landings, and variable widths designed to give grand appearance, with an eye to the budget that demands more of the steps to be less wide. This increases the opportunities for planting anyway.
Our patio and pool deck designs tend to be in flowing organic lines that favor good areas of use closest to the most used areas of your home. We love to design multiple use areas in pool decks. But, our designs will always offer good opportunities for planting where planting is indicated.