Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
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AfterFast, Reliable Driveway & Pavers Across Kensington
Driveway and paver work in Kensington costs more and fails differently than the same job in El Cerrito or Albany. A paver driveway here runs $7,000 to $18,000, a concrete driveway $4,500 to $12,000, and sealing $250 to $700. The difference is the fog, the hills, and the county. Kensington sits high enough in the East Bay hills that marine air lingers against the slopes, and that moisture does things to paver bases, concrete, and steel edging that flatland contractors don’t plan for. We do. Call Barrett & Sons Construction at (877) 610-1318 for a free estimate on any paver or driveway job in Kensington.
Why Barrett & Sons Construction Is Kensington’s Preferred Driveway & Pavers Company
Tom Barrett founded Barrett & Sons in 1998, and he still answers his own phone. That matters in a place like Kensington, where the permits don’t go through a city hall and the hills don’t forgive lazy base prep. Homeowners here have our name, our license number, and our work history available to check before they sign anything. We like it that way.
The crews are Tom’s sons and their teams, not strangers from an out-of-state dispatch board. They drive up Arlington Avenue, Colusa Avenue, and the winding streets off the Arlington grade on a regular basis. Kensington homeowners see the same faces on the driveway, the same truck in front of the house, and the same phone number on the invoice.
Every price change arrives as a written change order before work moves. Every eligible job gets its permits pulled and inspections signed. And every completed paver or concrete job carries our 90-Day Done Right Promise, written on the contract. If it’s not right, Tom comes back and makes it right. That’s the whole promise.
Our Driveway & Pavers Services in Kensington
Our Driveway & Pavers team handles the full scope, from new paver driveways to concrete replacement to drainage work that keeps a hillside driveway where it belongs. Here’s how that breaks down for Kensington homes.
Paver Driveways
Paver driveways in Kensington need a base that can take hillside runoff without washing out. We spec open-graded crushed rock, not sand, and we design the cross-slope so water sheets off instead of pooling under the pavers. The typical paver driveway here runs $7,000 to $18,000, with engineered retaining edges on steeper grades.
Concrete Driveways & Concrete Work
Concrete on a fog-soaked Kensington slope spalls if the slab can’t breathe or the drainage isn’t right. We pour with proper control joints, cured properly, and we add drainage details most bids skip. Concrete driveway installs typically run $4,500 to $12,000. Stamped concrete and resurfacing are available too.
Asphalt Driveways & Resurfacing
Asphalt works on flatter Kensington lots, but the same fog and shade that rot redwood siding also shortens asphalt life if water gets under the binder. We prep the base, compact in lifts, and slope for drainage. Asphalt paving in Kensington generally falls between $3,500 and $9,000, with resurfacing on the lower end of that range.
Driveway Repair & Replacement
Kensington’s 1920s to 1950s homes often sit on post-and-pier foundations, and the driveway approach is usually a separate slab that has settled or cracked near the garage. We replace failing approaches, add French drains where fog-driven runoff cuts under the slab, and match the new work to the old home’s look. Replacement jobs run $5,000 to $14,000 depending on slope and access.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Kensington
We install pavers from Techo-Bloc and Cambridge Pavers, and we use Quikrete products for concrete base and bedding where the spec calls for it. These are brands you can look up yourself, not mystery pallets from the back of a distribution yard. For Kensington’s wet, salt-tinged air, we recommend polymeric sand in paver joints and hot-dip galvanized or stainless steel edging. The cheap steel edge restraint rusts out in a few foggy winters and leaves a stain line across your pavers. We’d rather install the better product once.
Common Driveway & Pavers Problems We See in Kensington Homes
- Fog-driven moisture under unsealed paver joints. Kensington’s hilltop fog settles into paver joints and seeps into the base. Within two wet seasons, the base washes out and the pavers heave. We seal joints and install a base that drains instead of holding water.
- Hillside storm runoff cutting rills through patios. Water coming downhill during a winter storm follows the path of least resistance, which is often right through a sand-set paver patio. The low side of the base erodes and the edge restraint gives way. We add swales and French drains before we lay the first paver.
- Rusting steel edging and iron driveway gates. Salt air and fog accelerate rust on steel paver edges and decorative iron gates. The rust streaks stain the pavers below and the edging eventually fails. We use aluminum or stainless edging where rust is a known problem.
- Spalled concrete from trapped moisture. The same hillside fog that rots redwood siding also soaks into concrete slabs. When water gets into the surface and the concrete can’t dry, the top spalls off. We pour with the right mix and add drainage so the slab stays dry.
Pricing for Driveway & Pavers in Kensington, CA
Here’s the plain version. Kensington’s slopes, fog, and county permit requirements add to the cost of a driveway job compared to a flat lot in El Cerrito, but cutting corners on base prep or drainage costs more within a decade.
| Service | Typical Kensington Price Range |
|---|---|
| Paver Driveway Installation | $7,000 - $18,000 |
| Concrete Driveway Installation | $4,500 - $12,000 |
| Driveway Sealing | $250 - $700 |
What moves the number? Slope and access are the big ones. A steep driveway on a narrow Kensington street needs smaller equipment and more hand work. The geotechnical report the county sometimes requires for hillside grading adds cost and time, but it also keeps your driveway from sliding downhill three years from now. We give written, line-item estimates. Every change order is on paper before any work moves. That’s not a sales pitch; it’s how we’ve done it since 1998.
We Also Serve Cities Near Kensington
Barrett & Sons Construction serves Kensington and the surrounding East Bay communities, including El Cerrito, Albany, Richmond, and Berkeley. If you’re a couple miles down the hill, we still answer the phone. It’s the same crew, the same license, and the same written promise.
Serving Kensington, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Kensington 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 - Driveway & Pavers in Kensington
Because Kensington is unincorporated Contra Costa County, not a city, and the county reviews hillside grading differently than a city hall does. Any paver installation over a steep slope often triggers a geotechnical report from the Contra Costa County Department of Conservation and Development in Martinez before a permit is issued. A flat driveway in El Cerrito typically goes through the city, no geotech needed. The report tells the county the slope is stable enough to hold the new driveway and defines the drainage requirements. Call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll tell you whether your project likely needs one.
We seal the joints with polymeric sand and pitch the patio so water runs off instead of soaking through. Kensington’s fog settles into every low spot, and a flat paver patio turns into a shallow pond. We also add a drainage layer under the base and an edge restraint that can’t wash out. A patio that drains stays flat; one that doesn’t heaves within two winters. We’ll show you the drainage plan before we lay the first paver at your Kensington home.
Figure about 15 to 25 percent more for the coastal-spec version. The difference is in the materials: stainless or aluminum edging instead of painted steel, polymeric sand instead of loose joint sand, a crushed-rock open-graded base instead of a sand base, and sometimes a French drain or swale for hillside runoff. The inland-spec quote looks cheaper up front, but the steel rusts, the base washes, and you pay again in six or eight years. In Kensington’s fog, the cheap spec is the expensive one.
Yes, in most cases. Replacing a driveway in unincorporated Contra Costa County is a permit trigger, especially if the new paver driveway changes the grade or expands the footprint. The permit comes from the county’s Department of Conservation and Development in Martinez, not from any city hall. We pull the permit, schedule the inspections, and make sure the final grading gets signed off. If a geotechnical report is required, we’ll tell you before you sign anything.
We treat the driveway and the house as two separate structures. Kensington’s Hayward Fault proximity means the ground moves, and a driveway approach that was poured as one monolithic slab with the garage apron often cracks at the joint. We install an isolation joint between the driveway and the house, add a properly compacted base, and design the slope so the driveway can move independently without pulling on the house. If the original approach is spalled and cracked beyond repair, we replace it. Call (877) 610-1318 for a free estimate
Kensington’s unincorporated status, hillside lot lines, and foggy microclimate mean driveway and paver work here takes a contractor who has dealt with the county in Martinez and the moisture on Colusa Avenue. Barrett & Sons Construction has been handling both since 1998. Tom Barrett puts his name on every job, and the 90-Day Done Right Promise is written into the contract. Call (877) 610-1318 or stop us on Arlington Avenue and ask for a free estimate. We’ll walk your property, look at your drainage, and write a line-item scope in plain English before you spend a dime.
Written by Tom Barrett, Owner at Barrett & Sons Construction, serving Kensington and the East Bay since 1998.