Concrete Contractor in Los Gatos, CA - Driveways and Patios Built for the Slope
D&L Santa Clara Concrete Construction is a concrete contractor building driveways, patios, steps, retaining walls and slabs in Los Gatos, CA, on everything from the flatter streets to steep lots in the southern hills.
Get a concrete estimate for your Los Gatos home
I walk the lot with you, measure, and show you where water runs today.
Los Gatos: flat streets below, steep lots above
Los Gatos is really two kinds of job for us. On the flatter streets, the calls look a lot like the ones we get across the valley, usually a cracked driveway that's started to sink or a patio that holds water after a storm. Head south into the hills and the work changes. Homes there sit among brush and trees on steep, heavily wooded slopes, and those slopes carry on toward Saratoga.
On those hillside lots, the ground decides most of the job. Water runs downhill fast in a winter storm, so where a slab drains matters as much as how it looks, and a level patio or parking pad often needs a wall to hold back the slope behind it.
How a concrete job comes together in Los Gatos
Permit questions here go to the Town of Los Gatos Building Division. The division reviews plans for all new construction, additions and remodels, so a slab or foundation for an addition waits on that review before we can pour. For a driveway or patio on its own, the division's permit list doesn't spell it out, so I check with them about your address while I put your estimate together, and when we're the ones pulling the permit, we handle the paperwork and the inspections. You can check us out too. A contractor here needs a California contractor's license and a current Town Business License, which they must have to get a permit. That business license is required even for a contractor based outside Los Gatos, like us in Santa Clara, and it runs out every December 31, so make sure the one you're shown is current.
In the hills, the roads up are steep, narrow and full of turns, so I look at how a concrete truck will reach your place. Sometimes we pump the concrete up from the street, which costs more than pouring straight from the truck. Beyond access, the price moves with the slope, how much old concrete comes out, how deep we dig, whether a wall goes in, the size and the finish you pick. The schedule mostly turns on permit review and the weather. Flatter jobs down toward Campbell usually run simpler, and your written estimate shows where each part of the cost sits.
Services in Los Gatos, CA
Concrete driveway building
Steep Los Gatos driveways need a packed base and a slope that sends water away from the garage. We dig out, compact and set the grade before the truck arrives.
Concrete retaining walls
Hillside yards often need a wall to hold back soil for a level patio or parking spot. When a wall needs an engineer, we build from their plans.
Concrete steps construction
Sloped lots here usually mean steps up to the door, and uneven ones trip people. We form every rise the same height and give the treads a grippy finish.
Concrete floor installation
Los Gatos homeowners often add a studio, shop or storage room on a new slab. Our concrete floor installation starts with packed ground underneath so the floor stays flat.
Concrete patio construction
Warm, dry summers put the backyard to work, and older patios here have often settled or cracked. We tear out the old slab, rebuild the base and pour in the cool morning.
Foundation installation
Additions on sloped lots need a foundation shaped to the hill and to the approved plans. We work from the engineer's drawings and set every form before the truck comes.
Your written concrete estimate for Los Gatos
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set a time, then I come out to your Los Gatos property myself to look at the job and measure. The estimate is free, done on site and comes with no obligation. It's written out so you can see exactly what you're paying for.
- Phone
- (669) 281-0773
- Location
- Santa Clara, CA 95050
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–11 PM
- Credentials
- Licensed and fully insured.
What Los Gatos homeowners can count on
We've been pouring concrete since 2013 from our base in Santa Clara, CA, and we offer 16 services across 12 service areas, Los Gatos among them. Every job starts with a free on-site estimate.
- Based in
- CA
- Santa Clara
- Services
- 16
- Service areas
- 12
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- We reply within 1 business day.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a new concrete driveway cost in Los Gatos?
There's no single price for a Los Gatos driveway, because the slope, the access and the digging change from lot to lot, so I price yours after I've seen it. Your written estimate breaks out the tear-out, the base, the concrete and the finish so you can see where the money goes. If something has to come out of the budget, take it from the finish and keep the base. A plain broom finish, a light swept texture that keeps feet and tires from slipping, can be dressed up later, but a thin base can't be fixed without starting over.
When does a concrete contractor in California need a state license?
The Contractors State License Board requires a license when a project needs a building permit, uses additional workers, or comes to $1,000 or more in labor and materials. A larger job can't be split into smaller bills to get under that line, so a driveway billed in pieces still counts as one job. We're licensed and fully insured.
How long will I be without my driveway after a new pour?
You'll be able to walk on it well before you can drive on it, and I'll give you both dates for your slab before we pour so you can plan around the garage. The mix and the weather that week change those dates, which is why I set them for your job and not from a chart. If the driveway is part of an addition, the plan review comes before any of this.
What causes concrete to crack on hillside lots in Los Gatos?
Most cracks start with what's under the slab. When the base is only raked smooth and not dug out and packed, it settles with the dirt, and on a slope, water running underneath washes it out faster. We dig to firm ground, pack the base and steer water off the slab, then cut control joints, shallow grooves that give the slab a planned place to crack. I won't tell you concrete never cracks, but that's how we keep the cracks in line.
What is the best way to pour concrete in Los Gatos summer heat?
Pour early, with everything ready before the truck shows up. Summers here run warm, dry and often windy, and that pulls water out of the top of a slab too fast, which leaves a weak, dusty surface later. I worked restaurant lines before concrete and it's the same lesson, so the forms, the base and the crew are set first thing, and we keep the slab damp while it cures and gains strength.
How do I build a concrete driveway on a steep lot in Los Gatos?
Start with grade and drainage, because on a steep lot the water decides where trouble shows up. We set the slope so runoff heads to the street or a drain and not toward the house, add rebar, steel bars that hold the slab together if it does crack, and plan a wall or steps where the hill needs them. If the slope calls for an engineer, we bring one in and build from their plans.
Plan your Los Gatos concrete project
Call (669) 281-0773 or use the form, and the person who measures your job will be there on pour day.