Concrete Paver Driveway Repair Costs in Winnipeg
The repair of concrete paver driveways is close to the same process as with repairing patios and walkways, but there are some differences.
Because driveways are built to support heavier weights from vehicular traffic, driveways are generally less susceptible to the minor shifting that we see in pedestrian only patios. The 12” to 18” of base stone typically used for a well-constructed driveway for Winnipeg’s conditions is very effective at isolating the driveway surface from the movement of Winnipeg's clay sub-soil, which is often a problem on patios and walkways which tend to have a shallower base.
But, even a well-built driveway can develop shallow ruts or dips in the surface in places where vehicles repeatedly follow the same path, such as in front of garage doors.
Another common issue that we see with both concrete paver driveways and those made with poured in place concrete, is sinking next to the garage slab.
Whether the problem is isolated ruts, a broader sunken area near your garage, or an entire driveway that has become uneven after years of use, the repair is fairly simple.
Repair process
- remove and clean the pavers
- re-level the stone base to eliminate the unevenness
- reset the pavers, using polymeric sand to seal out dirt and weeds
Costs
In general, driveway repair costs will range from $12.00 to $24.00 per square foot. While the best finish will be achieved by rebuilding your entire driveway, this isn’t always necessary, so the square-foot cost only applies to the section of the driveway that you choose to have repaired.
This is obviously a very wide range of per-square-foot cost. Repair costs for driveways can vary widely depending on size, location and condition. To help you estimate the potential costs of your repair, I can offer a few examples.
Example 1: Old unistone driveway has sunk and developed ruts
A small unistone driveway leading up to a single car garage has developed a 4-inch bump at the entrance to the garage as the pavers settled over the 45-year life of the driveway. This is common in Winnipeg.
There are also some minor ruts where the homeowner’s vehicle followed the same path each day into the garage.
For the last few years they have used a makeshift wooden ramp in front of the garage door to smooth that transition, but have now decided it is time for a more permanent fix.
Considering there is a 4-inch rise from the paver surface to the garage slab, we would plan to remove all the pavers within about 6 feet from the garage. This allows us to create a gentle rise up to the garage slab level.
Fortunately, in this example, this 6-foot area also encompasses the worst ruts.
The width of the driveway is roughly 12 feet so the total repair area is 72 square feet.
Cost: $20.00 to $22.00 per square foot, roughly $1500 to $1600 total cost of repair.
Example 2: Ten year old suburban driveway with connected walkway
This is an average Winnipeg suburban driveway, roughly 20’ wide and about 35’ long. Connected to the driveway is a 6’ by 12’ walkway to the front door.
The driveway was built in the early 2000s. This is just a little before polymeric sand was in widespread use.
Since polymeric sand was not used, they have a minor problem with some grass and weeds getting into the crack between the Roman pavers, but the main issue is minor settling by the garage, and some shifting and ruts around a manhole cover on the right side of the driveway.
In addition, the walkway has settled significantly by the front door, so that will be included in the repair.
To keep the budget manageable, we will leave the left side of the driveway as it is. It is still in very good shape. It has seen less traffic over the years since the homeowners mainly used the right side of the garage.
The right half of the driveway is roughly 10 feet by 35 feet. With a little extra along the front of the garage, and with the addition of the front walkway, the total area we will be working on is just under 450 square feet.
Cost: $14 to $15 per square foot, roughly $6300 to $6800 total cost of repair.
Duration: This would be 1.5 to 2 days of work for our four-man crew.
Example 3: Long narrow driveway built in the 1970s in Windsor Park
A long narrow driveway in Windsor Park was built in the early 1970s, using the long discontinued Unidecor paver.
This driveway had been rock solid for many years, but over the last 10 years has begun to deteriorate badly.
Sections of the driveway developed significant ruts, and there were several broken pavers in need of replacement.
Fortunately, we had a small stock of Unidecor pavers left over from a previous demolition project. They were the wrong color, but the homeowner agreed to use them in an inconspicuous corner of the driveway.
Because of the deep ruts, we discussed the possibility of digging out a section of the driveway to replace and recompact the stone base, since that would be the only way to guarantee a truly long lasting repair. Unfortunately, the extra $6000 to do that exceeded the budget, so we agreed on a more superficial repair, with the understanding that the most rutted area might shift again in the coming years.
The driveway was over 60 feet long and about 11 feet wide over most of that length, but increasing in width to 18 feet in front of the garage. The total area was just over 800 square feet. Most of the repair was fairly routine, though the heavily rutted areas required a little more time and materials.
Cost: $14.50 per square foot, almost $12,000 total cost of repair
Duration: This job took us about 3 days to complete. Three years later, the repair is still looking good with no evidence of ruts reappearing.
Example 4: Very large repair project in East St. Paul
We recently worked on a large repair job in East St Paul.
The repair included almost 3500 square feet of Roman pavers split between a large, easily-accessible driveway and two large patios with connecting walkways.
All areas were still in fairly good shape but the homeowner was meticulous about his yard. The minor unevenness and few weeds growing between pavers needed to be eliminated and we were ready to help!
Originally built about 18 years ago, roughly 1/4 of the area had seen repairs by another contractor 6 years ago so those areas used polymeric sand, but the majority of the hardscaping still had natural sand in the joints.
Cleaning pavers that have polymeric sand stuck to them always requires a little extra effort, so that pushed up our costs a bit, but the scale of the project allowed us to work very efficiently. It also helped that nowhere did we need to adjust grades by more than about an inch.
Cost: $9.60 per square foot, for a total of $33,000 for this huge area
Duration: The total project took us almost 9 days to complete, but because we were able to break it up into sections, no one area was blocked for more than a day or two.
Easily get a very accurate price for your repair
The above examples should give you a rough idea of what your concrete paver driveway repair will cost, but if you want a more accurate estimate, we can do that entirely by email. Just contact us for a preliminary estimate. And, if you want a guaranteed hard quote, we can come down and have a look in person.