What is the Cost to Lift & Re-lay Sunken Block Pavers?

There could be several reasons for the sunken pavers in your driveway or block paving. But the only way to repair them is to lift them and re-lay them after leveling the ground.

The labour cost to lift and re-lay existing block paving could be more than the cost to lay completely new paving because it’s more work to lift, prepare the base again and re-lay the block pavers compared to starting laying new paving straight. You can expect to pay between £50 and £75 per square metre of sunken block pavers to repair or re-lay.

The cost to repair sunken pavers can be quoted as the cost to remove the sunken pavers plus the cost to lay them again after leveling the base. It depends on the person who’s leveling the pavers whether to replace the existing sand underneath the pavers or not, as the pavers are sunken more sand needs to be added anyhow.

What does re-laying block pavers mean?

You might be thinking it should be less than the cost to lay new pavers but it’s not true because even though to re-level sunken block pavers look easier there are more things that go into it than you think.

When the sunken blocks are lifted, the small area under the pavers that need to be re-leveled is difficult to compact enough because you can’t use a wacker plate there, you’ve to tamp it down with a tamper.

Also, remember or mark down the blocks in a sequence with a pencil or chalk before lifting to know exactly where they’re going to go when they’re ready to be laid again.

The shift in the pavers happens because the sub-base or sharp sand under the pavers isn’t compacted enough or there is not even enough sub-base for the pavers according to the soil you have to prevent sinking.

I’ve heard block pavings laid directly on soil with just 10-20mm of sharp sand bed between them. If you’re going to do the re-laying for someone else, in a situation like that, you can explain to the customer that more work is involved here, and some customers are understanding enough to agree on what you quote after explaining the situation.

See the video below to know what needs to be done when there isn’t an appropriate sub-base and the pavers have sunken because of the clay under it.

If the reason for sunken pavers in your block paving or driveway is inappropriate sub-base, the chances of paving failing in other spots are also high in the future. It’s the choice of the customer whether they want to just raise the low spots in their block paving or lift the entire paving and re-lay with a complete new sub-base across the whole paving.

And you’ve compromised to pay for a quality job at first, there could be a problem in your sub-base itself and if it’s true then the pavers are going to fail in more spots later. Most people aren’t willing to put their name on such kind of job i. e. fixing low spots in paving for a reason.

However, if the owner wants, they can start the paving again with a new proper sub-base to prevent sinking as it did now but it’s going to cost more than the price for complete new paving as you’ve read earlier.

The price to be paid for complete new paving in this case is the cost of a new driveway + the cost of lifting the pavers and removing and disposing of the old sub-base.

There’s a nice quote that is applied in the entire landscaping world that’s do it once, do it right, or buy cheap buy twice.

Eventually, you’re going to get the job redone if you going to get the job done from the cheapest quote in the first place. Block paving is hard work. It requires proper excavation and a solid sub-base. Also after it has been laid, it needs proper maintenance from you to keep it looking as good as new for years to come.