Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
Unilock Driveway & Pavers: The Los Angeles Owner’s Guide
If you have a Unilock paver driveway, walkway, or patio in Los Angeles and a section is failing, sinking, or separating, we install factory-matched Unilock pavers and typically complete most driveway paver repairs in one to two days. Full paver driveway installation in Los Angeles runs $8,260 to $21,240 depending on square footage, paver line, and base prep, while smaller repairs often land between $1,000 and $4,000.
Here’s how owners usually find us. They notice a low spot forming near the garage apron where the daily drive compacts the base underneath. Or they pull out of the driveway one morning and hear a paver pop and crack under the tire. Sometimes it’s a paver that started flaking on the surface, leaving a chalky patch where the color used to be, and the ad matching plant is right down the road. Whatever the symptom, the part is almost never just one brick. The problem is underneath it. We’ll get into that.
Which Unilock Models This Applies To
Unilock’s paver lines are not all interchangeable, and that’s the first thing to get right. We work with the full range commonly installed in Los Angeles driveways and patios, including Europa, Brussels Block, Richcliff, Umbriano, Courtstone, and Town Hall, plus newer lines like Beacon Hill and Seneca. Each line has its own dimensions, surface texture, and color blends, and a paver from one line will not sit flush next to a paver from another, even if the color looks close in a photo.
The reliable way to identify what you have is to pull one paver (carefully, from an edge) and check the underside. Unilock stamp marks the name on most pavers, though it can be faint after years of contact with sand and base material. If the stamp is gone, measure the paver in millimeters. A Brussels Block is roughly 240mm x 160mm. A Hollandstone is 200mm x 100mm. The thickness matters too: driveways in Los Angeles should have pavers at least 60mm thick, and some Unilock driveway pavers run 80mm. If your pavers are 50mm, someone installed a patio paver in a driveway, and that’s likely why it failed.
We order directly from Unilock’s distribution network so the color blend matches your existing installation, not just the color name. A “basalt” Brussels Block installed in 2018 will have faded under Los Angeles sun, and we account for that when blending replacement pieces. Penhallow Remodeling Los Angeles is an independent service provider and not affiliated with Unilock, but we source through the same regional supply chain most local masons use.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your Unilock Driveway & Pavers Is Failing
Unilock pavers themselves rarely wear out. What fails underneath is the base, the bedding sand, or the edge restraint. Here’s what that looks like in practice.
- Paver sinkage or a low spot. The most common sign, usually near the garage door or where the driveway meets the street. The compacted base has settled or washed out. You can feel it as a soft dip when you pull in.
- Standing water on the surface. A well-laid paver driveway sheds water. If you get a puddle that stays for hours after rain, the grade has been lost, and water is now working its way under the pavers, accelerating the problem.
- Pavers separating or shifting sideways. This points to a failed edge restraint. The plastic or aluminum edging along the driveway border has cracked or pulled away, and the pavers are slowly walking toward the gap.
- A single cracked or flaking paver. Surface flaking, called spalling, happens when moisture gets into the paver and Los Angeles’s heat-and-chill cycles expand it. It’s more common on the sun-facing side of the driveway.
- Weeds growing up through the joints, repeatedly. This means the joint sand has washed out or was never installed properly. Every weed root is a crack forming in your paver mat.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
For a full Unilock paver driveway installation in Los Angeles, the range runs $8,260 to $21,240. On a per-square-foot basis, that’s roughly $18 to $36 installed, depending on three things. First, the paver line itself: a Brussels Block costs less per square foot than a Richcliff or an Umbriano with its textured flagstone face. Second, the base depth: driveway pavers need 6 to 8 inches of compacted Class II road base minimum, and if the old base is degraded or contains clay, we remove it and start fresh. Third, access: a Los Angeles driveway with a long narrow side yard means wheeling material by hand instead of dumping it with a bobcat, and that adds labor.
Smaller repairs, like a 50-square-foot settled section or a failed edge run, typically land between $1,000 and $4,000 in Los Angeles. You get a written line-item price before we start, and the number on day one is the number on the invoice. Our paver work is covered under our 365-Day Done Right Promise: if the repair settles, shifts, or fails inside a year, we come back and fix it at no charge. No re-inspection fee, no service call. That’s written into every contract.
DIY or Call Us?
You can do a few checks yourself. Sweep the surface clean and look for missing or washed-out joint sand between pavers. If it’s just a few pavers that have shifted slightly, you might be able to lift and re-set them with a fresh layer of bedding sand under the specific stones. That’s within reach of a patient weekend.
What goes wrong with DIY is the base. If the pavers are sinking, lifting a few and adding sand is a temporary fix that will fail again, usually within a season, because the failure is eight inches down, not at the surface. And edge restraint work requires digging out the perimeter, resetting the edging, and compacting base in lifts. It’s not dangerous, but it is physically punishing and precision matters if you want the repair to hold. Every time we salvage a DIY repair in Los Angeles, we find sand dumped over an uncompacted base that was already failing. The fix that held would have been cheaper. If you’re unsure, call (213) 277-6578 and we’ll take a look. Give you a number first, then pick up the tools.
FAQs
How long should a Unilock paver driveway last in Los Angeles?
A properly installed Unilock paver driveway on a compacted 6-to-8-inch base should last 25 to 30 years in Los Angeles, and the pavers themselves can be reused and re-laid beyond that. What shortens that lifespan is a thin base, poor edge restraint, or water being allowed to pool on the surface. Call (213) 277-6578 if you want us to assess the base under your existing driveway before you plan a replacement.
Can a sunken section of Unilock pavers be repaired instead of replaced?
Yes, a settled section can usually be lifted, the base recompacted and regraded, and the same pavers re-set in place. This costs significantly less than full replacement, typically $1,000 to $4,000 depending on area size in Los Angeles. Call (213) 277-6578 for a written quote after we inspect the section.
How long does a paver driveway repair take?
Most repair sections and edge restraint replacements take one to two days including base compaction and joint sand. A full driveway installation typically runs three to five working days depending on access and square footage. We’ll give you a written arrival window before we start.
Do you stock Unilock pavers or do you order them?
We order Unilock pavers directly from the regional distribution network by line, size, and color blend, which means the new pavers match your existing installation as closely as the fading allows. We don’t stock every Unilock line on a shelf because blends change by production run, and we’d rather match your specific driveway than hand you a close-enough pallet. Call (213) 277-6578 and we’ll identify your paver line on the first visit.
Written by Trevor Nash, Owner, Penhallow Remodeling Los Angeles at Penhallow Remodeling Los Angeles, serving Los Angeles and nearby areas.
