Walkway construction in El Dorado Hills CA - a path that stays flat and solid
Tired of a cracked, tripping walk or a muddy shortcut across the lawn? We build a new walk on packed ground so it stays put.
Ask us about your new walkway
Call (916) 260-2151 any day until 11 PM, so you can talk through your walk after work instead of squeezing a call into your lunch break.
Should your new walkway be pavers or poured concrete?
Walkway construction in El Dorado Hills means digging out a route, packing the soil and a base layer firm, and then setting pavers or pouring concrete on top, so you get a path that stays put instead of sending you around through the mud. At P&J El Dorado Hills Concrete & Masonry we build both kinds, and we put most of our care into the ground work you won't see once it's finished.
Most folks who call us have a worn track across the lawn, a cracked old slab or a front door you can only reach by cutting across the driveway. The price moves with how big the walk is, whether it's pavers or concrete, how plain or decorative the finish gets and how much digging and leveling the ground needs before anything goes down. The schedule mostly turns on the material you pick and on whether the county or the community services district has to sign off first, and the written estimate I send after my visit puts your own figures on all of it.
Why El Dorado Hills homeowners call P&J for a new walkway
The owner prices your walk
I come out myself to look at the ground and the route, and I write the estimate. The person who priced your walk checks on the crew while they build it.
Based in El Dorado Hills since 2013
We started here in 2013 and work across El Dorado, Sacramento and Placer counties. Finding the right county or city office for your address is routine for us, not a scramble.
Our own licensed, insured crew
We're fully licensed and insured, and our own crew does the digging and building under a lead mason. You deal with one outfit from the first visit to the final walk-through.
If you'd like the job explained before it starts, send us a message or call (916) 260-2151.
How we handle walkway construction
Before anyone digs, we call to have the buried lines marked, so a shovel doesn't find a gas or water line the hard way. When I come out, I lay out pavers and poured concrete side by side for your walk, including how each one wears and what fixing it later looks like, so you're choosing with your eyes open. For pavers, our crew digs out the route, packs the soil down, spreads and packs a base layer, builds the edges, levels a bed of sand and lays the pavers on top. That packing is the part nobody sees and the part that counts, because firm, well-compacted ground keeps settling to a minimum. For concrete, we dig out and level the route with the same care before the pour.
A new walk often meets a planting bed, a border or a set of steps, and it looks best when they're built together. We handle brick wall installation for low walls along the path and stone masonry for steps, borders and accents that tie the walk to the rest of the yard.
Interlocking pavers
A good fit if your route curves or you want a pattern or a mix of colors. The pieces can come back up, which helps if you ever need to get under the walk.
Poured concrete
Suits a straight, simple route and anyone who wants a clean, even surface. You can keep it plain or add color or texture to match the house.
Permeable pavers
Worth a look if rain already sheets across your yard, since the open joints let water soak through. A paver maker recommends this kind of paving for home patios, walks and driveways.
How do you know it's time for a new walkway?
A worn dirt path
A bare strip across the lawn means everybody already walks that way. Left alone it turns to mud every wet season and gets tracked inside, and it's usually the right route to build on.
Cracked or lifted slabs
Concrete that cracks or rises at the joints usually means the ground settled or roots pushed up. The lip gets a little higher each year until somebody catches a toe on it.
Pavers sinking or spreading
Pavers that dip or drift apart usually point to a soft base or edges that gave out. The gaps grow, weeds move in and the pavers around them start working loose too.
Water sitting on the walk
Puddles that hang around after rain mean the walk sits low or was set without enough slope. Standing water stains the surface, grows moss and can soften the ground underneath.
What happens after you call about a walk?
Call and walk the route
You call or send a message, and I come out myself to walk the route with you and talk it over. Afterward you get a written estimate.
Permits first, then we build
We handle any permit first, and in the El Dorado Hills Community Services District's architecturally controlled area the district approves plans before it's issued. Then our lead mason and crew build it.
Walk the finished path together
I check in on site while the crew works, and when they're done we walk the finished path together so you can see the edges and finish up close.
Walkway questions we hear most
Here are straight answers to what El Dorado Hills homeowners ask about new walks. If your route has a twist these don't cover, ask me about it when I come out.
How much does walkway construction cost in El Dorado Hills?
Installed pavers or poured concrete usually cost about $6 to $30 per square foot across the US. That's a national figure for finished work, not our price, and where your walk lands depends on the size, material and finish choices covered up top. Your written estimate gives you your own number.
Are pavers or concrete easier to keep up?
Pavers are usually easier to live with, since they're fairly low maintenance and a cracked one can be pulled and replaced by itself. You may need to clear weeds or moss from the joints now and then. A crack in poured concrete is harder and costlier to fix, because you can't swap out one piece of a slab.
Do I need a grading permit to build a walkway in El Dorado County?
El Dorado County requires a grading permit when a cut is more than 5 feet high or a fill is more than 3 feet high, and its list names grading work rather than walkways, so it comes down to how much ground your route needs cut or built up. You can check the county's grading permit page or call its building office at (530) 621-5315. Only the landowner or a licensed contractor acting for them can apply, and that contractor needs an active California contractor's license and a current county business license, so when a permit is needed we handle the application and inspections for you.
How do I build a walkway myself, or should I hire a contractor?
One national cost guide says someone who has mixed and poured concrete before may manage a straight walk on ground that needs no leveling. It suggests leaving any leveling, curved walks and paver walkways to a contractor. If you're on the fence, I'll tell you honestly which side of that line your walk falls on.
How long does a new concrete walkway take before I can walk on it?
Plan on staying off it for several days, because poured concrete usually goes in quickly once the route is dug out and leveled but needs several days to cure. The curing, not the pour, sets when you can use the walk, so line up another way to the door for those days.
What is the best edging to keep a paver walkway from shifting?
Skip the thin plastic or metal edging sold for flower beds, and skip timber too. Paver industry guidance says bed edging gives too little side support to hold pavers tight, and timber warps and eventually rots. We build a proper edge restraint along a paver walk, because the edges are what keep the pavers from creeping apart.
Get a walkway estimate at your home
Tell us the route, pavers or concrete, and whether you're in the district's architecturally controlled area. We reply within one business day, and I come out for a free estimate at your property with no obligation.
Walkway ideas to look through
Work that goes with a new walk
Brick wall installation
A low brick wall beside your new walk can hold back a planting bed and give the path a clean edge that frames the front of the house.
Learn moreStone masonry
Stone steps, borders or a landing where the walk meets the porch help the path handle a change in grade and match stonework already in your yard.
Learn more