Pavers are one of the most popular and reliable hardscape elements you can incorporate in your project. However, even being so popular, most people still don’t know how complex their installation process is. Even worse, most don’t know what is the real cost to reset pavers.
If your installation had reached a point where it needs to be reset, we can almost guarantee something went wrong during the installation process. In there lies the real cost of having to reset paver: waste of time and money during the installation process.
So let’s talk about each possible scenario and how much would it cost to fix it. Then we will tell the secret to avoid these installation mistakes from the get go, wasting as little time and money as possible.
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Cost to Reset Pavers: Different Scenarios
There are many things that can go wrong with a paver installation. The cause to all of those can usually, as we mentioned, be traced back to the installation process, but more on that later.
For now, let’s focus on the possible scenarios you could be facing at the moment and how much it costs to have each one of these scenarios fixed by a professional.
We will start with the most severe situations, in which your pavers have already been damaged and the help of a professional is required. Then we move on to manageable situations, ones you can maybe fix by yourself.
Severe Situations (Damaged Pavers)
Hairline Cracks
These are one of the most common problems in paver installation. They happen because the base underneath the pavers is not leveled or drained properly. That uneven base puts pressure in certain areas, and then the cracks start to appear.
Also, bad drainage could lead to weeds growing underneath the installation. Once these weeds have grown enough, they start to “force” the pavers from below, which also results in cracks.
To fix this problem, you’ll usually spend around $50 and $150 per sq ft, depending on the gravity of your problem. To fix it, the contractor will use grout or filler material to fill the cracks and prevent the problem from evolving and becoming the next one.
Cracks
When left unfixed, hairline cracks can develop to full on cracks. That is arguably the most serious problem you can have with an installation, and usually a sign that the entire installation must be reset.
The cost to fix it ranges between $100 and $300 per sq ft. With the same filling technique applied to hairline cracks, but this time spending much more resources, possibly even using concrete.
Holes
Holes are not as serious as cracks, because they don’t necessarily indicate a problem with the whole base. How exactly they will be fixed depends on the size of the wholes and the pavers in questions.
For smaller holes a simple filling can do the job, while for the big ones it might be necessary to buy new pavers to replace the broken ones.
Costs to fix this problem stay around $100 to $300 per sq ft.
Manageable Situations (Undamaged Pavers)
Crumbling Pavers
Moving on to the situations that you can still manage before losing your pavers, we want to start with a scenario that can actually belong to both categories: the crumbling patio.
We say it belongs to both categories because sometimes the crumbling does not come from the pavers themselves, rather from the filling between the joint and the concrete underneath (if it’s not a dry installation).
In that case, things are easily fixable without spending much more than $25 per sq ft. It will basically consist of removing the pavers and, quite literally, reset the installation, reapplying the concrete base or changing for a dry installation, which we definitely recommend.
However, if the pavers themselves are crumbling, it is just as serious as a cracked patio, and you will probably have to spend much more money to acquire new pavers and reset the entire installation. That can cost anything between $7,500 and $22,000, depending on the size of your patio.
Sinking and Uneven Pavers
These are the least serious of the situations and usually something that you can fix on your own.
Sinking and uneven pavers are the classic sign of a bad bedding. These problems don’t usually damage the pavers and can easily be fixed. You simply have to remove all the pavers and follow our DIY paver installation guide for a complete reset of your installation.
Instead, if you want to just focus on specific pavers, professionals will usually charge between $3 and $15 per sq ft.
Cost to Reset Pavers: Professional Help
It is really complicated to think about fixing a paver installation without the help of professionals. For starters, if there is a mistake it is probably because professionals were not involved during the inital arrangements, so you don’t want to repeat this mistake.
Hiring professionals is always the best course of action to both fix and install pavers. They can help you pinpoint the cause of your problem (which, again, is usually due to bad bedding and drainage) and fix it as a whole instead of just applying small palliative fixings.
Pavers are an investment, and they should be treated as such. Hiring professionals to help you is the big secret to make sure you’re going to have an installation that last for decades without eating away at your resources.
We here at JS Brick have worked on countless projects over our 22 years of activity – and we always recommend to look for a professional you can trust in your area to help you with the project at hand.
And if you happen to be around our area of activity, the Sarasota and Manatee counties, in FL, why not give us a call to help you?
Contact us right now at +1 941 586 9140 or email us at [email protected]. We would be happy to hear from you and help you with any paver and hardscape need you might have.
