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Unilock Construction in Tiburon, CA | Toolbox Contractors
We install and repair Unilock segmental pavers and retaining-wall systems across Tiburon, and we do it as an independent crew, not as an authorized Unilock dealer. The thing that separates Unilock work here from anywhere else is the ground itself: Tiburon’s hillside lots rarely give you a flat, predictable base. Call (855) 382-3257 to have us look at your site, and we will tell you exactly what the slope, drainage, and view easements mean for your paver job before we touch a single unit.
Why Tiburon Residents Choose Us for Unilock Service
We have spent years building paver bases on grades where a flat-lot contractor’s standard detail fails within two winters. That matters more in Tiburon than almost anywhere on the Peninsula because nearly every patio, walk, or driveway apron here sits on cut-and-fill, above a retaining wall, or within sight of Richardson Bay. Norm Castellano grew up watching half-built houses get finished the hard way, then spent two decades doing framing, roofing, and full gut-and-rebuilds before running Toolbox Contractors. He is known for untangling work that a previous contractor left half-done, which describes a lot of hillside hardscape we walk into.
We use genuine Unilock units, manufacturer-spec edge restraint, and polymeric joint sand matched to the profile you already have. If you have a Unilock patio that is opening at the joints, we diagnose the subgrade first. Most failures we see in Tiburon are not paver failures. They are base and drainage failures, and we fix those properly so the field stops moving.
For full context on how we approach Unilock work across the region, see our Unilock sales & service page.
Styles & brands we work with
Common Unilock Construction Problems We Solve in Tiburon
- Base settlement on cut-and-fill pads. Hillside lots in Tiburon are almost never original grade. A patio or driveway set on uncompacted fill will heave, and the Unilock field above a retaining wall will open at the joints. We over-excavate, recompact, and separate the aggregate base with geotextile before a single paver goes down.
- Edge-restraint creep on driveway aprons pitched toward the bay. Plastic edge restraint does not hold on a grade. Pavers spread at the apron and along the downslope edge. We replace it with anchored, spiked restraint set into concrete, especially where the drive falls toward the water.
- Efflorescence and salt-driven staining on bay-facing surfaces. Marine fog off Richardson Bay keeps pavers damp, and salt air works into the surface. Joint sand washes out faster here than it does inland. We clean the surface and re-sand with a polymer that holds up to Tiburon’s fog cycle better than standard sand.
- Wall-cap and step-tread failure on hillside retaining walls. Caps loosen when wall drainage was never engineered for the slope load behind the wall. Above Bel Aire, ember exposure and moisture make it worse. We rebuild the drainage column, set the batter correctly, and anchor new Unilock caps.
- Drainage failures that show up as paver movement. When water cannot get out from behind a wall or under a patio, the field shifts. We route subdrains to daylight and set the surface to positive fall so water leaves the system instead of pushing against it.
Unilock Service in Tiburon: What Local Conditions Mean for Your Equipment
On the hillside streets off Lyford Drive and around Bel Aire, contractors deal with lots so steep that material staging, concrete pumping, and even getting a dumpster in require planning with neighbors and the Town. View-easement lines mean a hardscape terrace or wall that raises grade can trigger design review and a neighbor dispute before a single permit is pulled. For Unilock owners this is not a paperwork footnote; it is the reason paver layouts here get drawn around easements and staging access from the start. A patio that looks simple on a flat survey becomes a different project when the only place to land pallets is a neighbor’s driveway and the downslope edge runs along a view line someone has protected for forty years. We plan the access and the easement line before we plan the pattern.
We have been part of the Tiburon service area for long enough to know which hillside streets can take a full material truck and which ones need a transfer. That is local knowledge you cannot get from a showroom counter.
Unilock Models & Products We Service in Tiburon
We install and repair the Unilock lines that hold up on Tiburon’s slopes. Brussels Block and Brussels Dimensional work well for terraces where you want a tumbled face that does not look machine-perfect against a hillside. Beacon Hill and Town Hall suit the flatter sections of Bel Aire-Tiburon flats and Old Tiburon where geometry and a cleaner joint matter. When we repair an existing field, we source genuine Unilock units so the color and profile match; substitutions are how patios end up looking pieced together. We keep common Edge restraint, wall caps, and polymeric joint sand on hand for fast turnaround on Tiburon repairs, and we order full Unilock pallets direct for new installs.
See the difference
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AfterUnilock Service Pricing in Tiburon
Three job types cover almost every Unilock request we get in Tiburon:
| Service | Price Range |
|---|---|
| Paver Patio Installation | $3,500 – $11,000 |
| Paver Driveway Installation | $7,000 – $18,000 |
| Driveway Replacement | $5,000 – $14,000 |
What drives the spread on a Tiburon hillside lot is the subgrade work: over-excavation depth, how much fill has to be removed, whether we need a subdrain, and how far material has to be walked or pumped from the street. A flat Old Tiburon patio sits at the low end; a cut-and-fill lot above Paradise Cay sits higher. The free estimate includes a walk of the site, a look at the drainage, and a line-item scope so you can see what you are paying for before any work begins. Call (855) 382-3257 to schedule it.
Serving Tiburon, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Tiburon area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage — if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs – Unilock Construction in Tiburon
No. On most hillside lots in Tiburon, the Town requires geotechnical review for any hardscape that changes grade, adds load above a retaining wall, or alters drainage. We will not build a paver terrace on an engineered slope without that report, because the wall and the base need to be designed to the soil, not to a catalog detail. Call (855) 382-3257 if you want us to walk the site and tell you whether your project will need one.
Usually by staging on a neighbor’s driveway or flat street section with written permission, then transferring with a tracked carrier. Some Bel Aire streets cannot take a full material truck at all, so we pre-plan a transfer point and schedule deliveries in smaller drops. We have done this often enough that the Town and the neighbors know the drill, but it adds cost and lead time compared to a flat-lot delivery.
It does. The marine fog cycle keeps surfaces damp, and salt accelerates surface staining and joint-sand washout on bay-facing walks and patios. The fix is not a different paver; it is better joint sand, proper surface fall, and periodic cleaning. Call (855) 382-3257 if your joints are washing out faster than they should.
Very possibly, if it changes grade or blocks a protected view. The Town’s design review process and view-easement enforcement are both active here. We identify easement lines early and draw the layout around them so you do not spend money on a design that dies in review or starts a neighbor dispute.
Because the base was built like a flat-lot base on ground that is anything but flat. The fill under the pad has not drained, the aggregate was never geotextile-separated, and the edge restraint was never anchored. Water pushes the field apart. We over-excavate, recompact, add drainage, and anchor the downslope edge. Call (855) 382-3257 for an exact fix scope on your patio.
Service Areas Near Tiburon
We work across the Tiburon Peninsula and into the nearby hillside and flat-lot markets. If you are in Unilock service in Belvedere, Unilock service in Sausalito, or surrounding areas, the slope and drainage conditions are comparable to what we see off Lyford Drive every week. We also serve San Bernardino, Colton, and the wider Inland Empire for larger phased projects.
Book Your Unilock Service in Tiburon Today
If you have a Unilock patio opening at the joints, a wall cap letting go, or a new terrace you want built right on a Tiburon hillside, call (855) 382-3257. Tell me what you’ve got and I’ll tell you what it actually needs. Estimates are free, and we will give you a straight read on the subgrade before you spend anything.
Written by Norm Castellano, Owner at Toolbox Contractors, serving Tiburon and the surrounding Peninsula.