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Unilock Driveway & Pavers: The Fort Lauderdale Owner’s Guide
Unilock paver driveway installation in Fort Lauderdale typically runs $7,000 to $18,000 for a full replacement, while targeted repairs like re-leveling a sunken section or replacing cracked pavers usually fall between $800 and $3,500 depending on square footage and base condition. We keep common Unilock paver profiles and matching joint sand on hand, and most repair jobs we schedule within a week of the first call. The way most Fort Lauderdale homeowners discover a problem is simple: a paver sinks after a heavy rain, a hairline crack spreads across three or four units, or the sand between pavers washes out and weeds start showing through.
Which Unilock Models This Applies To
This page covers the Unilock paver lines we see most often in Fort Lauderdale driveways and patios: the Brussels Block, Courtstone, Richcliff, Mattoni, and Umbriano series, along with the Estate Wall and Lineo Dimensional Stone for borders and edging. Unilock doesn’t stamp a visible model number on each paver the way an appliance has a serial plate, so identification comes down to dimension and surface texture. Brussels Block runs 4″ x 8″ with a tumbled, irregular edge; Umbriano has a smooth, granite-like face and comes in a larger modular format. If you can measure the paver and describe the texture, we can usually identify it from a photo. For Unilock specifically, we recommend OEM pavers when color-matching matters: Unilock batches their color blends by production run, and a different manufacturer’s “charcoal blend” will not match a five-year-old Unilock patio that has weathered in Florida sun. However, for base material, edge restraint, and joint sand, quality aftermarket equivalents from suppliers like Techniseal or Alliance perform identically and often cost less. One compatibility gotcha worth knowing: Unilock changed the Brussels Block mold dimensions slightly around 2018, so a paver bought today can sit about 1/16″ proud against an older installation. That’s a real thing we’ve had to correct on Fort Lauderdale driveways.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your Unilock Driveway & Pavers Is Failing
- Sunken or “birdbath” depressions after rain. This almost always means the compacted base layer has eroded or settled beneath the pavers, not that the Unilock pavers themselves failed. In Fort Lauderdale’s sandy, high-water-table soil, base washout is the most common driveway problem we see.
- Pavers that rock or shift under foot. Loose bedding sand has migrated out through the joints or into a cracked edge. Left alone, the paver edges begin to chip and the problem spreads across the adjacent course.
- Cracks running through individual pavers, especially near driveway edges. A cracked paver usually means the base under that spot is flexing under vehicle weight. Replacing just the cracked paver without fixing the base is a temporary patch, not a repair.
- Weeds, moss, or ant colonies pushing up between joints. This is the joint sand failing. Once polymeric sand washes out, Florida’s growing season takes over fast. The weeds are a symptom; the missing sand is the actual issue.
- Edge pavers drifting outward or separating from the border. Edge restraint has failed or was never installed properly. Driveways without solid edge restraint won’t hold their shape, and the outer course starts pulling away within a season or two of real traffic.
See the difference
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After
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After
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
For Fort Lauderdale specifically, here’s where Unilock paver work lands:
- Full Unilock driveway replacement: $7,000 – $18,000, driven mostly by square footage, paver line choice (Umbriano runs higher than Brussels Block), and how much of the old base must be excavated and rebuilt.
- Partial repair or paver spot replacement: $800 – $3,500. This covers removing the affected section, rebuilding compacted base, resetting pavers, and re-sanding joints with polymeric sand.
- Paver patio installation: $3,500 – $11,000, depending on size and whether we’re doing a simple rectangle or something with curves and integrated steps.
Every quote is a written number before work starts. You’ll see the paver cost, base material, labor, and haul-off separated on the line items. If we open up the base and find something unexpected, like a buried tree root or a collapsed irrigation line, you’ll know what we found and what the change costs before we proceed. Our workmanship is covered by the 365-Day Done Right Promise: if anything shifts, sinks, or separates within a year of completion, we come back and make it right at no charge.
DIY or Call Us?
You can safely clean your Unilock pavers, pull weeds, and check whether edge restraints are still buried under soil at the perimeter. You can also note where water pools after rain, which helps us diagnose base movement before we even start. What we don’t recommend is pulling up a sunken section and re-leveling it yourself for a driveway that carries vehicle weight. In Fort Lauderdale, the base needs to be re-compacted in lifts and occasionally amended to handle our sandy soil and summer rain cycles. A homeowner can buy paver sand and a hand tamper at any hardware store, but a driveway section that flexes under a car creates broken pavers within months. That’s the kind of repair we see done twice: once by the homeowner, then again by us, correctly. If your driveway has a failing section, call (754) 354-3720 and we’ll come look. The estimate is free.
FAQs
Unilock pavers themselves typically last 25 years or longer in our climate; the base underneath is what fails first here, usually within 10 to 15 years in Fort Lauderdale’s sandy, high-moisture soil. A properly compacted base with solid edge restraint is what determines whether you get 10 years or 30 out of the same pavers. Call (754) 354-3720 if you suspect your base is settling and we’ll tell you what we find.
Yes, in most cases we can lift and reset only the affected section, re-compact the base, and re-sand the joints without touching the rest of the driveway. The catch is that older Unilock pavers can be hard to color-match if individual units have broken, which is why we inspect and quote before any work begins. Call us at (754) 354-3720 for a free assessment.
A targeted repair on a small sunken section usually takes one day on site, while a full driveway replacement runs three to five days depending on size, access, and how much old base must be hauled out. We confirm the timeline in writing before we start and don’t start until the schedule fits yours.
We source Unilock pavers directly through our supplier partnerships, and we keep common profiles like Brussels Block and Courtstone available for repair work, so you don’t need to handle procurement yourself. Because color batches vary by production run, we pull samples against your existing installation before we quote. Call (754) 354-3720 and we’ll verify what we can match.
Written by Isaac Pruett, Owner, Mason Remodeling Co Fort Lauderdale at Mason Remodeling Co Fort Lauderdale, serving Fort Lauderdale and nearby areas.
