We work all over Tarpon Springs

Sand and rain can sink a driveway

A lot of Tarpon Springs sits low, close to the Anclote River, the bayous and the Gulf. The ground under most yards is sand, and near the water it stays damp long after a storm. Sand drains well, which is good for pavers. It also moves when water runs across it or through it. Summer rain here comes hard most afternoons, and all of that water has to go somewhere.

When the base under a driveway is not dug out and packed down properly, the sand shifts and the pavers go with it. You see it first as a low spot where a tire sits every day. Sometimes a row along the edge leans out into the grass instead. Water pools in the dip and carries more sand out from under it, so the dip gets deeper with each storm. Fixing a sunken driveway means pulling the pavers up and building the base again.

So the work starts below the surface. Before we dig, we look at where water runs across your lot. We grade the area so rain moves away from the house and off the pavers. The base gets packed down in layers, and the edges get locked in so the outside rows stay put. On a low lot near a bayou, that grading matters more than which paver color you pick.

• Walk the lot to see where rain runs
• Grade so water moves away from the house
• Dig out soft ground and pack the base down
• Set edges that keep the outside rows from spreading
• Take up sunken pavers and rebuild the base

Older downtown houses need careful paver work

The streets around downtown and Spring Bayou hold the oldest houses in Tarpon Springs. Many are wood frame, with front porches and big live oaks in the yard. Plenty of those lots were laid out before most families owned a car, so space for a driveway can be tight. Front walks are often old concrete that has cracked and settled over the years. A new walk has to fit that kind of house.

Live oaks are a big part of why these streets look the way they do. Their roots run shallow and spread wide, and they push up whatever sits on top of them. A concrete walk cracks when a root lifts it. Pavers handle it better: when a section rises, we take those pavers up and fix the base, then lay the same pavers back down. One Google reviewer wrote: "Citrus Pavers did an great job fixing my pavers."

On an older house, the walk and driveway should look like they have always belonged there. We start with a consultation and a look at the site, and we talk through colors and patterns with you before any work starts. Reviewers mention custom walkways and color matching by name. One wrote that the paver design on their circular driveway "complements the architectural style of our home."

Salt air wears on waterfront pool decks

Homes on the bayous and the canals out toward the Gulf live with salt in the air. It settles on a pool deck as a fine film and pulls moisture back into the surface overnight. Add shade from oaks and a long humid summer, and green growth starts in the joints and along the low edge. A slick deck around a pool is a real safety problem.

For pool decks, travertine pavers are one of the options we install. Whatever you pick, the deck needs enough slope that rain and splash run away from the pool and the house. The surface matters too, since wet feet and smooth stone do not mix. Tumbled travertine has a textured face, so it gives some grip when it is wet. One review of a hot tub job mentions "ensuring safety with non-slip surfaces."

Most of the upkeep on a deck by the water is washing and sealing. We pressure wash to get the salt film and the growth out of the surface and the joints. Then the deck dries before any sealer goes on. Sealer helps keep stains from soaking in, and it helps hold the joint sand in place when rain hits it. One customer wrote: "They did an awesome job sealing our pool deck! It looks fantastic."

Getting a price in Tarpon Springs

Call us at (813) 330-4403, or send us a short note about the job through this page. We come out to Tarpon Springs and look at the ground and how water drains on your lot. Then you get a written estimate before you agree to anything. We also offer online estimates if that is easier for you. We are open seven days a week, from early morning into the evening.