San Mateo paving contractor
Yes, we lay pavers throughout San Mateo
San Mateo is the crossroads of this part of the county. US 101 runs along the bay side, Interstate 280 runs along the hills, El Camino Real goes straight down the middle, and CA 92 cuts across all three on its way from the San Mateo Bridge out toward the coast. Wherever your house sits in town, we have a road that gets a loaded truck to it without a long detour.
The town also grew in waves, and you can read them off the front yards. There are streets of 1920s and 1930s homes with narrow drives and brick entries, whole neighborhoods that filled in after the war with a single car drive and a straight concrete path, and newer work west of El Camino as the ground starts to rise toward the hills. Different eras, same problem: the original surfaces are old, and the ground under a lot of them is clay. Our crew replaces those surfaces properly, from the base up, and pavers and natural stone are all we lay.
What makes a San Mateo job different
Two things, and they pull in opposite directions. The first is age. On the older streets, the drive is narrow, the entry is often original brick or stone, and there are mature plantings and neighbors close on both sides. Getting material in and old surface out without wrecking a lawn or a curb is half the job, so we bring smaller equipment and plan the access before we plan the paving. Matching into an old brick entry so the new work does not look bolted on is the other half.
The second is the ground. Out toward the bay the lots are flat and the soil holds water, so the fall across the surface and the depth of the base do all the work. Toward the west the land starts to climb, so you get level changes, low walls and steps instead. Either way we build the same way: excavate to depth, compacted aggregate base in layers, screeded bedding sand, pavers set tight with a proper edge restraint, then joint sand and a final compaction. That sequence is the ICPI specification, and it is why the surface is still flat years later. Book a free estimate and we will show you what is under yours.
What we handle here
What we build in San Mateo
Driveway Paving
Most San Mateo drives we replace are original to the house and have been patched at least once. We take the old surface out, dig to depth, rebuild the base and lay the pavers with a border that holds the edge where the tires turn. On the narrow older streets we bring equipment that fits, and we keep the site tidy because the neighbors are three feet away. Our driveway paving in San Mateo is built to carry daily traffic.
Patio Paving
Back gardens here are mostly flat and mostly clay, which means the pitch away from the house and the compaction underneath are the whole job. We set the levels so water leaves the slab door and the foundation alone, then finish with a border course that locks the field. Our patio paving in San Mateo can be laid in a running bond, a herringbone or a large format slab, depending on how the house looks.
Paver Installation
Pattern is not just a look. A 45 degree herringbone interlocks far better than a stack bond, which is why it is the pattern we use where cars drive. We lay Belgard, Calstone and McNear, and Todd is a Belgard Master Craftsman, so we can match a new field into an existing brick or stone entry without it looking patched. This is our paver installation work in one place.
Drainage Solutions for Driveways
A flat lot on clay gives water nowhere to go, and water sitting on a driveway is the thing that ends it. We build the fall into the surface, drop a trench drain across the apron at the garage and set catch basins where the low points actually are, not where they look like they should be. Our driveway drainage in San Mateo is part of the base, not an add on.
Why San Mateo calls us
Why San Mateo homeowners call Exterior Designs
Because we are two towns south and we are not going anywhere. Exterior Pavers Designs is family owned and operated out of San Carlos, and Todd Chandler is on the job rather than behind a desk. On the older San Mateo streets that matters: access is tight, the neighbors are close, and you want the person who promised to keep it tidy actually standing there.
It matters again in twenty years. Todd is an ICPI Certified Paver Installer and a Belgard Master Craftsman, we are an Allan Block Certified Installer, and every installation is built to ICPI specification with a 20 year warranty behind it. A warranty is only worth what the company behind it is worth, and we are a few minutes down El Camino Real. We only work in interlocking pavers and natural stone, estimates are free, and you can book one for your address today.
Where you will see us around San Mateo
San Mateo is where the Peninsula roads all meet. US 101 runs along the bay side, Interstate 280 runs along the hills, El Camino Real goes straight down the middle with the Caltrain line beside it, and CA 92 cuts across all three on its way from the San Mateo Bridge out toward the coast. San Mateo Creek runs down through town toward the bay, and the ground on either side of it behaves the way creek ground always does.
The town grew in waves and the front yards show it. There are older streets with narrow drives, brick entries and mature trees, whole neighborhoods that filled in after the war with a single car drive and a straight path to the door, and newer work as the land starts to rise west of El Camino Real toward Hillsborough. Different eras, same job for us: take the tired surface out, rebuild the base to depth, and lay paving that suits the house instead of fighting it.
Where we work
Paver work we build in San Mateo
We cover San Mateo from the bay side neighborhoods across to the streets that climb west of El Camino Real, and our crews are up on the older streets of Burlingame and over the line in the Hillsborough hills most weeks.
Ask a paver installer
Straight answers about paver installation on the Peninsula
Do you work in San Mateo often?
Every month. We are two towns south in San Carlos, straight up El Camino Real or US 101, and CA 92 gets us across town quickly once we are there. Estimates are free and there is no travel charge.
Can you get equipment into a narrow older San Mateo driveway?
Usually yes. We look at the access first and bring smaller equipment when the gate, the street or the neighbor calls for it. If a site genuinely cannot be worked safely we will tell you that up front rather than starting and stopping.
Can you match new pavers to an old brick entry?
Often, yes. We lay Belgard, Calstone and McNear, and McNear brick in particular is common on older San Mateo homes, so there is usually something that reads right next to what you already have. We will bring samples to the estimate and hold them against the existing work.
How deep does the base go under a driveway?
Deeper than it goes under a patio, and deeper again where the soil holds water or the drive takes heavy vehicles. There is no single number that is honest for every San Mateo lot. We dig, look at what is there and build the base to suit it, all to ICPI specification.
Will weeds grow up through the joints?
Not from below, if the base and the joint sand are done right. Anything that does appear has blown in and sits on the surface, and it comes out easily. The joints are what lock the field together, so they get filled and compacted properly, not just swept once.
How long is the work guaranteed?
Twenty years on the installation, and every job is built to ICPI specification. We are family owned and operated, we do this work ourselves, and we are a short run down El Camino Real from San Mateo if you ever need us back.