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CGI Driveway & Pavers: The Los Angeles Owner’s Guide
New CGI driveway and paver systems installed in Los Angeles typically run $8,260 – $21,240, with the spread driven by paver thickness, pattern, drainage work, and how much of the existing base we can save. Most full tear-outs and replacements wrap up in 3 to 7 days. The owners who call us usually discover the problem the same way: a paver that wobbles under foot, a low spot where water pools after a rain, or a section that’s settled so badly the edge of the driveway looks like a shelf. By that point the base underneath has already failed, and no amount of re-sanding the joints will fix what’s really going on under those pavers.
Quick version of the answer: if your CGI driveway pavers are shifting, sinking, cracking, or separating, the base layer beneath them has likely washed out or compacted unevenly. We replace the pavers and rebuild the base the right way, and we put the price in writing before any work starts. Call (213) 277-6578 and you’ll get a real person.
Note: Penhallow Remodeling Los Angeles is an independent service provider and is not affiliated with CGI or its parent companies. We work with CGI-compatible pavers and systems, sourced through our standard trade suppliers.
Which CGI Models This Applies To
CGI driveway and paver systems found around Los Angeles homes generally fall into two buckets: interlocking concrete pavers (the classic 60mm and 80mm units used for driveways) and thinner 40mm pavers used for walkways and patios. The most common driveways we see in neighborhoods from Mid-City to the Valley are the 80mm interlocking units, which are rated for vehicle weight. The 60mm ones work fine for foot traffic and light vehicles, but we’ve pulled up more than a few 60mm driveways where repeated parking of a full-size SUV cracked the edges.
The compatibility gotcha nobody tells you about: CGI pavers are sized to a specific joint tolerance. If you mix a CGI paver with a generic big-box paver that’s off by even 3mm in one dimension, the pattern opens up over time and the edges start catching tires and heels. We saw exactly this on a Silver Lake driveway where a previous contractor had “matched” the paver visually but not dimensionally. It looked fine for about a year, then the joints started creeping apart like a slow-motion zipper.
How to identify your paver: flip one over. Most CGI units carry a mold stamp or code on the underside, usually a two- or three-digit designation plus a date wheel. If the stamp is gone or unreadable, measure the unit in millimeters, length, width, and thickness. That alone gets us 90% of the way to the right match.
OEM vs aftermarket on CGI pavers: We recommend OEM-match units whenever they’re available, even if a quality aftermarket equivalent is technically compatible. The reason is dimensional consistency. OEM pavers come off the same molds year after year, which means the paver we install next to the ones already in your driveway will fit without shaving or shimming. Aftermarket equivalents from reputable manufacturers can work, but we always verify actual measurements before ordering, because “compatible” on a spec sheet does not always survive contact with a ten-year-old installation.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your CGI Driveway & Pavers Is Failing
- A paver rocks or tips when you step on it. This means the bedding sand beneath that unit has washed out or compressed unevenly. One loose paver is usually a localized problem. Six loose pavers in a cluster means the base is going.
- Low spots where water pools for more than a day after rain. Los Angeles doesn’t get much rain, but when it does, it finds the weak spots. Standing water on a paver driveway means the drainage slope has flattened, and that usually traces back to base settlement, not the pavers themselves.
- Widening gaps between pavers, especially near the driveway edges. Edge restraint failure. The pavers at the border of the driveway start leaning or sliding outward because the plastic or concrete edging has cracked or pulled loose.
- Cracked or chipped pavers in the wheel tracks. The two stripes where your tires roll take the heaviest abuse. Cracks there mean the pavers aren’t fully supported from below, and the units are flexing under load. Concrete pavers don’t flex much before they snap.
- Sand between joints washing out after every rain. Polymeric sand should lock in and stay put for years. If it’s disappearing regularly, water is moving underneath the pavers, carrying sand with it, and that’s a base drainage issue, not a paver issue.
Here’s what I tell owners when I walk a driveway with these symptoms: the pavers are the part you can see, but they’re rarely the part that failed. The failure is underneath. And in Los Angeles’s clay-heavy soils, especially after the cycles of drought and sudden rain we’ve had, that base layer takes a beating. Fixing the paver on top without fixing the base below means you’ll be looking at the same problem in two or three years.
Replacement Cost & What’s Included
CGI driveway and paver replacement in Los Angeles runs $8,260 – $21,240 for a typical residential driveway. Smaller paver patio areas fall in the $4,130 – $12,980 range. Where your project lands depends on four things: total square footage, the depth of base rebuild required, paver thickness (40mm vs 60mm vs 80mm), and whether we’re pulling permits for any drainage or access modifications.
| Scope | Installed Price Range (Los Angeles) |
|---|---|
| Paver driveway installation, new | $8,260 – $21,240 |
| Paver patio installation, new | $4,130 – $12,980 |
| Concrete driveway installation | $5,310 – $14,160 |
| Asphalt driveway paving | $4,130 – $10,620 |
| Full driveway replacement (tear-out, base rebuild, new surface) | $5,900 – $16,520 |
| Driveway sealing | $295 – $825 |
Every price we give is written and includes the parts, labor, materials, base work, and hauling. The number on the written estimate is the number on the invoice. If we find something unexpected once we open the ground, we stop, show you what we found, and give you a revised written price before we do anything else. You’re never on the hook for a surprise line item at the end.
The workmanship is covered by our 365-Day Done Right Promise. If a paver settles, a joint opens, or an edge restraint fails within the year, we come back and make it right at no charge. That promise is written into every project agreement.
See the difference
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AfterDIY or Call Us?
Here’s an honest split on what a homeowner can handle and what’s better left to a crew that does this every week.
Safe to check yourself: Walk the driveway after a rain and mark low spots with chalk or tape. Flip up one loose paver and look at what’s underneath, if it’s sand and gravel, that’s normal. If it’s dirt or mud, the base is gone. Check the edge restraints for cracks. None of this requires tools or risks injury.
Where DIY goes sideways: Replacing more than a few pavers means lifting a wider section, re-grading the base, re-compacting with a plate compactor, and re-setting every unit to the same plane. Skip the compaction step and you’ll have a wavy driveway in six months. Handling 80mm concrete pavers also means moving forty-plus pounds per unit, hundreds of times, in the heat. It’s not a weekend job for one person with a rubber mallet. And when the base has failed, touching only the surface is wasted effort.
If what you’re seeing is more than a couple of loose pavers, call us at (213) 277-6578. We’ll come look, tell you what’s actually wrong, and give you a number first. Then pick up the tools.
FAQs
A properly installed interlocking concrete paver driveway in Los Angeles should last 25 to 40 years before the pavers themselves wear out, though the sand joints will need refreshing every 3 to 5 years. The bigger variable is the base, which can fail in as little as 5 to 10 years if drainage wasn’t handled correctly or tree roots have moved in. If you want an exact assessment of your driveway, call (213) 277-6578 and we’ll walk it with you, free.
Usually, yes, if the damage is localized: a single low spot, a few cracked pavers, or a section of failed edge restraint can often be repaired without redoing the whole driveway. We’ll tell you honestly if a patch repair will hold or if the base failure is widespread enough that you’re better off replacing the whole surface. Call (213) 277-6578 for a free assessment and a written price either way.
A typical single-car CGI paver driveway replacement in Los Angeles takes 3 to 7 working days from tear-out through final compaction and joint sanding, weather permitting. Larger driveways, or jobs where we’re rebuilding a deep base or adding drainage, can stretch to two weeks. We’ll give you a defined arrival window before the job starts, and the same crew stays on it until it’s done.
We source pavers through our standard trade suppliers based on the exact dimensions and color profile of your existing installation, so we don’t keep a warehouse of CGI units sitting on shelves. What we do keep is a running relationship with local Los Angeles suppliers who carry CGI-compatible units, which means we can usually confirm a match and lock pricing within a few days of measuring your driveway. Call (213) 277-6578 and we’ll start the match process the same week.
Contact Penhallow Remodeling Los Angeles
If your CGI driveway or paver system is showing cracks, settling, loose units, or drainage problems, don’t wait until the base is completely shot. The sooner we look at it, the more options you have. Call (213) 277-6578 for a free estimate. You’ll get a written price before any work starts, a defined arrival window, and a 365-Day Done Right Promise on everything we install. A live person answers the phone, day or night.
Written by Trevor Nash, Owner, Penhallow Remodeling Los Angeles at Penhallow Remodeling Los Angeles, serving Los Angeles and nearby areas.
