Why homeowners call us for masonry
The wall and the paving are one job
Most of our masonry starts as a paving job. The Peninsula is not flat, so the patio needs a wall to hold one side of it, the wall needs steps to get up past it, and by the time the levels are worked out you have a masonry job wrapped around a paving job. Doing both with our own crews is what keeps the heights honest, because every step and every wall cap is set off the finished paving level rather than guessed at afterward.
The building method is the same across all four of these services. A compacted aggregate base under everything, block laid in courses for the structure, drainage stone and fabric behind anything holding back soil, and a stone, brick or paver face on the outside so it matches what is already there. We only work in pavers and natural stone, no concrete and no stamped concrete, which keeps the whole yard in one family of materials.
Exterior Designs is family owned and operated in San Carlos. We are an ICPI Certified Paver Installer, a Belgard Master Craftsman shop and an Allan Block Certified Installer, and every installation is built to ICPI specification and backed by a 20 year warranty. Estimates are free, so ask us to come out and look at the ground.
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What we build
Masonry services in San Carlos
Retaining Wall Construction
A retaining wall is a drainage structure that happens to look like a wall. It starts below grade on a compacted base, the first course is set dead level because every course above it copies that one, and behind the block goes clean drainage stone with a fabric separator and a pipe at the bottom so water leaves instead of pushing. Get that part wrong and the wall leans in a few winters no matter how good the face looks. We build segmental block walls and stone faced walls, both to the manufacturer's specification, with geogrid tied back into the soil where the height calls for it. That is how we build retaining walls on the hillier lots around here.
Outdoor Steps
Steps are the most unforgiving thing in a yard, because people feel an uneven one before they see it. The rise has to be the same on every step and the run has to be the same on every tread, which means the finished heights at the top and the bottom are settled before anyone starts building. We set them off the paving levels, cut them into the slope rather than stacking them on top of it, build each step on compacted base, and pitch the treads slightly so water runs off instead of sitting. Bullnose pavers or a cut stone tread give you a nose you can see in low light. Here is how we build outdoor steps.
Fire Pit Construction
A fire pit is simple to build and easy to build badly. The core is block, the inside face wants a material that takes heat, and the whole thing sits on the patio base rather than on the paving itself, so it does not settle away from the surface around it. We size it for the space it is going in, because a pit that is too big pushes the seating out to where nobody can talk, and we usually run a seat wall around part of it in the same stone so the seating is built in. Gas units get their line sleeved in at the base stage like everything else. That is how we build fire pits and fire tables.
Outdoor Kitchen Construction
An outdoor kitchen is a low wall with a counter on it, and building it that way is what keeps it straight. Block core, faced in veneer stone or the same paver family as the patio, on the same compacted base as the paving, with a solid deck across the top so the counter is supported along its whole length instead of just at the ends. The grill opening is cut to the unit you actually bought, with its clearances and ventilation built in rather than drilled after. Gas and power go in as sleeves before the paving closes over them. That is how we build outdoor kitchens.
Free estimate on your masonry
Walls, steps, fire pits and outdoor kitchens across the Peninsula. Every installation carries a 20 year warranty.
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Straight answers about paver installation on the Peninsula
Do you build in concrete?
No. We only work in interlocking pavers and natural stone, plus the block that forms the structure behind a stone face. No poured concrete, no stamped concrete and no asphalt. If a job genuinely needs one of those, we will say so.
How high can a retaining wall go?
It depends what is behind it, how steep the slope is and what sits above it. Past a certain height a wall needs engineering and a permit, and in towns with design review that takes time. We tell you which category yours falls into.
Can you match masonry to my existing paving?
Usually. The easiest match is a veneer or a paver from the same range, and we bring samples out and hold them against what is already there in daylight. Older paving has weathered, so we look at the tone it is now.
Do walls and steps need drainage behind them?
Anything holding back soil does. Clean drainage stone, a fabric separator so the soil does not wash into it, and a pipe at the base to take the water somewhere useful. It is the part that decides whether the wall stays plumb.
Can masonry be added to a yard we already paved?
Yes, and pavers make it easier than most surfaces because they lift and reset. We take up the stones in the footprint, build on the base underneath, and put the paving back around the new work. The join is neater than cutting a slab.
Which towns do you build masonry in?
San Carlos and the rest of the Peninsula: Belmont, Redwood City, San Mateo, Burlingame, Hillsborough, Menlo Park and Atherton, with jobs in Foster City, Los Altos, Pacifica and Fremont as well.