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Unilock Driveway & Pavers: The San Francisco Owner’s Guide
We install and service Unilock driveways and paver systems throughout San Francisco, with paver driveway installation typically running $8,260 to $21,240 and paver patio work between $4,130 and $12,980 depending on square footage, base condition, and access. Most owners notice a problem the same way: a paver has shifted out of line, a joint is washing out after rain, or a low spot has started holding a puddle that wasn’t there last winter. The good news with Unilock is that individual pavers and edge restraints are replaceable without tearing out the whole surface, and we keep common Unilock-compatible components on hand for San Francisco jobs.
Elmstead Remodeling San Francisco is an independent remodeling and contracting company, not a Unilock dealer or affiliate. We work with Unilock products because they hold up to San Francisco’s wet winters and clay-heavy soil better than most, and because homeowners can look up the product warranty by name.
Which Unilock Models This Applies To
Compatibility starts with the product line stamped on the back of the paver or on the original invoice. In San Francisco we see three Unilock lines more than any others: Brussels Block (tumbled, older driveways), Beacon Hill Smooth (newer driveways and walks), and Town Hall (patios and pool decks). Each line uses different joint widths and base tolerances, so a paver from one line will not sit flush next to a paver from another even if the face dimensions look close.
The practical check is measurement. Unilock pavers are manufactured to metric dimensions; a paver advertised as “6 x 9” is typically 150mm by 225mm, which is 5.9 inches by 8.9 inches. Mixing a true 6×9 from a different manufacturer into a Unilock field creates staggered joints and lippage you will feel underfoot. We always measure the actual paver, not the catalog name, before ordering. For most San Francisco residential jobs, OEM Unilock pavers are worth the extra cost because the color blends are consistent within a production run. Aftermarket equivalents exist, but we have seen color drift between batches that reads as a patch in direct sunlight, which on a San Francisco driveway facing south is most of the day.
We also stock Unilock-compatible edge restraints, polymeric sand (Techniseal and Gator), and geotextile fabric on the truck for San Francisco service calls, along with KraftMaid, Cambria, and Silestone components for our remodeling work.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your Unilock Driveway & Pavers Is Failing
- Pavers rocking underfoot. This usually means the bedding sand has washed out through a failed edge restraint or a damaged joint. Walk the edge first; in San Francisco, front-yard drainage channels are the first place sand escapes.
- Low spots holding water after rain. A settled paver means the base underneath has failed, not the paver itself. Replacing the paver without addressing compaction in that spot buys you a year at most.
- Widening joints between pavers. Polymeric sand breaks down with age and wash-out. Joints wider than a quarter-inch let water reach the base, which accelerates every other problem.
- Weed growth through the surface. Weeds do not grow through pavers; they grow through the joints and the base. If you are pulling weeds weekly, the joint sand and possibly the underlayment are gone.
- Edge pavers drifting outward. A failing edge restraint lets the whole field shift. This is one of the cheapest fixes on a Unilock driveway and one of the most commonly ignored in San Francisco, especially on sloped lots in Miraloma Park and Forest Hill.
See the difference
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
For San Francisco, Unilock driveway repair work falls into a few tiers. Spot paver replacement (a handful of cracked or stained pavers) runs $1,200 to $3,500 depending on access and whether we need to cut pavers to fit the existing pattern. Edge restraint repair, which is the most common call we get from the Sunset District to Bernal Heights, runs $800 to $2,200. Full re-bedding of a settled section or complete paver driveway installation lands in the $8,260 to $21,240 range from the price schedule above, while paver patio work sits at $4,130 to $12,980.
Every quote is a written price before any work starts. The line items show paver cost, base material, sand, labor, and haul-away separately, so you are not paying for a mystery bundle. Our 365-Day Done Right Promise applies to every repair and installation: if a paver settles or a joint fails within a year of the work, we come back and make it right. Unilock’s own manufacturer warranty covers defects in the pavers themselves and travels with the product, not the contractor.
DIY or Call Us?
Replacing a single cracked paver on a flat section is a job some homeowners handle; the risk is mostly cosmetic, and the worst outcome is a paver that sits a sixteenth of an inch proud. But anything involving an edge restraint, a settled base, or more than a few pavers gets difficult quickly. The base under a Unilock driveway is a compacted layer of crushed rock, usually four to six inches in San Francisco where clay subsoil holds water, and a homeowner with a shovel and a bag of sand cannot fix a failed base. Cutting Unilock pavers to fit a pattern also throws concrete dust everywhere, which is not something you want near children or pets.
If the issue is a paver you can lift with your fingers and the sand underneath looks dry and intact, you can reset it. If the paver sinks when you walk on it, or the problem area is bigger than a bath towel, call (831) 480-4497 and we will look at it. The estimate is free.
FAQs
Unilock pavers themselves carry a manufacturer’s warranty that often runs for the life of the original purchaser, but the installation around them is the part that ages. In San Francisco, where winter rain and clay soil put real pressure on bases and joints, we expect a well-built Unilock driveway to last 20 to 30 years with joint sand refreshment every five to seven years. The pavers will likely outlive the base underneath them.
In most cases, yes. Individual pavers can be swapped, edge restraints can be replaced, and settled sections can be lifted, re-based, and re-set without touching the rest of the field. Full replacement only makes sense when the base has failed across a large area or the pavers are so faded and chipped that new pavers would stand out against the old ones. Call (831) 480-4497 and we can tell you which situation you are in from a few photos and a site visit.
A spot paver replacement typically takes one day. Edge restraint repair is one to two days. Re-bedding a settled section can run two to three days, and a full driveway or patio installation in San Francisco is usually a week to ten days, depending on access and weather. We schedule around your family’s routines, and our crews keep quiet tools during rest hours wherever the job allows.
We keep common Unilock-compatible edge restraints, joint sand, and geotextile on the truck for San Francisco service calls, but pavers themselves are ordered per job because the color batch matters for a match. We will source and deliver the correct pavers, and we handle the matching so the repair blends into the original field.
Written by Graham Stein, Owner, Elmstead Remodeling San Francisco at Elmstead Remodeling San Francisco, serving San Francisco and nearby areas.
