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Unilock Driveway & Pavers: The Los Angeles Owner’s Guide
Unilock paver driveway installation in Los Angeles typically runs $8,260 to $21,240 for a standard two-car driveway, and we install Unilock pavers and replacement units year-round across the San Fernando Valley, Westside, and South Bay. Most owners call us after noticing one of three things: a sunken section near the curb where the base washed out, a cracked paver that spider-webbed across the surface, or a paver that rocks underfoot after the sand joint failed. The good news is that Unilock pavers are individual units, so a failed section rarely means tearing out the whole driveway. Usually it means replacing the affected pavers, repairing the base, and re-compacting the sand joints.
We stock common Unilock paver profiles and can source any current-series unit through our hardscape supply partners, so you’re not waiting weeks for a match. If you know your paver’s series name or have a photo of the color and pattern, we can often identify it over the phone before we even send a crew out.
Which Unilock Models This Applies To
Unilock makes a wide range of concrete pavers and retaining wall units, and the compatibility question comes down to the series: Brussels Block, Umbriano, Richcliff, Mattoni, Thornbury, Courtstone, Promenade Plank, and Il Campo are the ones we see most often in Los Angeles driveways. Within each series, Unilock runs multiple color blends, and that’s where owners hit a wall: the color name matters as much as the series name. A Brussels Block in “Sandstone” is not interchangeable with a Brussels Block in “Limestone” once the driveway has been down a few years, because UV and traffic wear change the surface tone.
Here’s the compatibility gotcha most people do not know: Unilock revises color blends and discontinues specific lines without fanfare. If your driveway was installed more than eight years ago, the exact factory blend may no longer be in production. That does not mean you’re stuck. We work with Unilock’s current-series equivalents and can pull pavers from a less visible section of your own driveway, like behind a planter or along a side return, to weave into the visible repair area. The new pavers go where no one looks, and the aged pavers go where everyone looks. That trick has saved dozens of Los Angeles driveways from looking like a patchwork quilt.
On the OEM versus aftermarket question for Unilock: we recommend OEM Unilock units for any repair where the pavers are visible and the driveway is less than ten years old. Quality aftermarket equivalents exist, and they can save money on large installations, but color matching against a specific Unilock blend is where aftermarket pavers usually disappoint. For structural repairs under the surface, the brand matters less than the base material and compaction.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your Unilock Driveway & Pavers Is Failing
- Sunken or sagging sections near the curb or along tire tracks. This is almost always a base failure, not a paver failure. Water undercut the compacted aggregate base, often because the driveway edge restraint shifted and let runoff get underneath. In Los Angeles, where we get short intense downpours between long dry spells, this is the number one paver driveway failure we repair.
- A paver cracked clean through or spider-webbed across the face. Concrete pavers crack when the base settles unevenly and the paver bridges a void. The crack pattern tells you where the support failed. Replacing the cracked paver without fixing the base means you’ll replace it again in a season or two.
- Pavers rocking or shifting when you step on them. The bedding sand under that paver is gone or the joint sand washed out. If you catch this early, before the base starts migrating, the repair is fast and inexpensive. Let it go and you’re rebuilding a section of base.
- Weeds or ants pushing up between pavers. In Los Angeles, Argentine ants love paver joints. They excavate joint sand to build nests, and weeds follow. The fix is not just spraying: the joint sand needs to be re-swept and compacted, ideally with a polymer-stabilized sand that resists both.
- Edge pavers separating from the row or the border course drifting outward. The edge restraint, usually plastic or aluminum, has failed or was never installed properly. Once the edge opens up, the entire field starts spreading, and every paver loses interlock. This is a structural problem that only gets worse with every car that drives over it.
See the difference
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
For Los Angeles driveways, full Unilock paver installation runs $8,260 to $21,240 depending on square footage, paver series, base depth, and access. A paver patio runs $4,130 to $12,980. A focused repair, like replacing a section of sunken pavers and rebuilding the base underneath, typically falls on a smaller scale and we price it by the day plus materials.
What drives the range: the size of the area, whether we’re excavating a failed base or building new, the Unilock series you choose (Umbriano and Richcliff run higher than Brussels Block), and whether the site has drainage issues that need addressing before pavers go down. We deliver a written price before any work starts, and that price includes the pavers, base material, sand, edge restraint, labor, haul-away of old material, and a written warranty on the installation. You will not get a verbal estimate that grows on the final bill. Call (803) 680-2547 and we’ll talk through the scope, then put the number on paper.
DIY or Call Us?
You can safely check your paver driveway for edge separation, weed intrusion, and rocking pavers by walking the surface and looking closely at the borders. What you should not do is pull up a cracked paver with pry bars and start guessing at the base. Paver driveways fail from the bottom up, and a homeowner who replaces the visible paver without rebuilding the compacted base has just spent a weekend making the problem invisible for about eight months. The other honest caution: full-size Unilock pavers weigh 25 to 35 pounds each, and a weekend of moving them in Los Angeles heat is a real strain on the back and the schedule.
For any repair that involves base excavation, compaction, drainage correction, or matching aged pavers, we’d rather you call us first. We’ll tell you straight whether it’s a repair we should handle or a small thing you can manage yourself. That number is (803) 680-2547.
FAQs
A properly installed Unilock paver driveway in Los Angeles lasts 25 to 40 years, with the paver surface itself often outlasting the base. What shortens that lifespan here is not the pavers: it’s water intrusion into the base after the edge restraint fails, tree roots from the street side lifting sections, and the clay-heavy soils in parts of the Valley that expand and contract with winter moisture. If the base is built right and the edges stay locked, the pavers will hold up for decades. Call (803) 680-2547 and we’ll assess the base condition on your driveway at no charge.
Yes, in most cases we can repair a section of your Unilock driveway without replacing the whole surface. The key is matching the existing pavers, which we handle by pulling aged pavers from less visible areas of your driveway when the exact factory blend is no longer available. A partial repair only makes sense when the rest of the base is solid; if the base has failed across the whole driveway, we’ll tell you that straight and explain why a patch job would waste your money. Call us for a walkthrough and we’ll give you the honest scope.
A standard two-car Unilock paver driveway replacement in Los Angeles takes three to five working days, start to finish. That includes demolition of the old surface, base excavation and compaction, paver installation, sand joints, and cleanup. Larger driveways or projects with drainage corrections or retaining walls add time, and we’ll spell out the schedule in your written proposal before any work begins. Call (803) 680-2547 to schedule a free estimate and we’ll give you a realistic timeline for your specific site.
We stock common Unilock series and colors on our trucks for repairs, and we can source any current-series Unilock paver through our hardscape material partnerships in Los Angeles, usually within a few days of your estimate. You do not need to order anything yourself. We also work with Belgard and Techo-Bloc as alternates when a Unilock blend has been discontinued and a close match makes more sense, along with our other specification-grade brand partnerships across cabinetry, countertops, and roofing. Call (803) 680-2547 and we’ll confirm what’s available for your series before you commit to anything.
Know who’s coming, know what it costs, know it’s backed up – everything else is just noise.
If your Unilock driveway or paver patio is showing its age, call Mason Remodeling at (803) 680-2547 for a free estimate. We’ll send a background-checked, uniformed technician whose name and photo you’ll receive before the visit, and you’ll get a written price before any work starts. We’ve been doing this since 2004, and Isaac Pruett still checks the paver alignment on every hardscape job before he signs off on it.
Written by Isaac Pruett, Owner, Mason Remodeling at Mason Remodeling, serving Los Angeles and nearby areas.
