Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
CGI Driveway & Pavers: The Houston Owner’s Guide
CGI driveway and paver replacement in Houston typically runs $7,000 – $18,000 installed, depending on square footage, substrate condition, and paver series. We stock common CGI-compatible paver profiles on the truck and can match most existing layouts same week. Most homeowners discover the failure after a heavy rain, when a section sinks, shifts, or a drain channel stops moving water away from the slab.
What you’re dealing with is a hardscape system that took years of Houston’s freeze-thaw cycles, clay soil movement, and downpours. The pavers themselves rarely fail first. What fails is underneath them: the base, the edge restraint, the joint sand, or the slope. Once water gets under the pavers and the base erodes, the surface follows within a season or two. Curtis Lane has pulled apart enough Houston driveways to know the pattern before the first paver comes up.
Key Takeaways
- Installed paver driveway replacement in Houston: $7,000 – $18,000
- Failure usually starts below the surface: base erosion, not paver wear
- CGI-compatible profiles are matchable without a full teardown in many cases
- Written price before any work starts, every time
- Free estimate: call (940) 289-7658
Which CGI Models This Applies To
CGI driveway and paver products fall into a few series lines, and matching the right profile matters more than matching a model number. The common Houston installations use interlocking concrete pavers in a 60mm or 80mm thickness for driveways, with 60mm reserved for pedestrian areas and patios. If you’re unsure what’s underfoot, pull one paver from an edge and check the underside for a stamped mold code and thickness marking.
The compatibility gotcha most homeowners hit: CGI color batches shift between production runs. A paver bought five years ago in “charcoal” won’t be a perfect match to today’s run, even with the same series name. For repairs, we blend adjacent pavers from less visible areas and lay new stock in the repair zone, so the eye never catches the difference. When the damage covers more than a third of the surface, a full replacement with a matched current series usually costs less than chasing a cosmetic match patch by patch.
On OEM versus aftermarket: CGI’s actual paver line is manufactured to spec, and for full replacements we install premium documented brands including Belgard and Unilock as approved equivalents. For partial repairs, a quality aftermarket paver with the same dimensions and compressive strength performs identically. Bradford Remodeling Co Houston is an independent service provider, not affiliated with CGI. Our recommendation is based on what holds up in Houston clay, not on a brand rep’s talking points.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your CGI Driveway & Pavers Is Failing
- Pavers sinking or dipping in one area. This means the base layer has eroded or compacted unevenly, usually from water intrusion at an edge or a failed drain. The surface pavers are fine; what’s under them washed out.
- Joint sand disappearing after every rain. Houston downpours push sand out of the joints when the edge restraint has let go. Without joint sand, pavers shift laterally and the interlock breaks down.
- Edge pavers spreading outward. The plastic or aluminum edge restraint has failed or was never installed properly. Once the perimeter goes, the whole field starts moving within a year.
- Standing water or puddles that didn’t used to form. The original slope has flattened from soil movement. Water that sits on pavers seeps into the joints, accelerates base erosion, and starts the failure cycle.
- Cracks running across multiple pavers in a line. That’s not a paver failure; it’s a base failure underneath. A cracked paver is a $15 replacement. A cracked base is a section rebuild.
Replacement Cost & What’s Included
A full paver driveway replacement in Houston runs $7,000 – $18,000 installed. That range covers a standard two-car driveway with proper base prep, edge restraint, sand bedding, pavers, joint sand, and compaction. On the lower end, you’re looking at a straightforward teardown and relay on an intact base. On the higher end, the old base comes out completely, new aggregate goes in, and drainage gets corrected.
What drives the number:
- Base condition. If the existing aggregate base is sound, we reuse it. If it’s mud and clay, that’s a full excavation and rebuild.
- Access. A driveway with side-yard access for a skid steer is cheaper than one where every bucket of material moves by wheelbarrow.
- Paver series and thickness. 80mm driveway pavers cost more than 60mm. Premium profiles and colors add material cost.
- Drainage corrections. Adding a channel drain or regrading away from the foundation adds scope.
Every replacement gets a written price before work starts. You’ll know the paver series, the base depth, the drainage plan, and the total number before the first tool comes out. All completed work carries the 365-Day Done Right Promise: if the driveway fails within the guarantee year, we return and correct it at no charge.
See the difference
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After
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AfterDIY or Call Us?
There’s one DIY check worth doing. Walk the perimeter and look at the edge restraint. If you see plastic or metal edging pulling away from the pavers, that’s your water entry point. You can also sweep joint sand back into joints after a dry spell. That buys time but doesn’t fix the cause.
What you should not do is dig out and reset a sunken section yourself. Paver work looks simple from the outside. It isn’t. You need a compacted base at the right depth, the right bedding layer, and edge restraint reinstalled under tension. Get any one of those wrong and the repair fails within six months. You’ll spend a weekend and a few hundred dollars to recreate the exact problem you started with. Call (940) 289-7658 and we’ll send someone who reads a scope of work the way other guys read a box score. Straight scope, straight number – that’s the whole conversation.
FAQs
A properly installed paver driveway in Houston lasts 25 – 40 years at the paver level, but the base underneath typically needs serious attention around year 15 – 20 in clay soil. Call (940) 289-7658 and we’ll tell you what you’re actually working with.
Yes, isolated sinking in a section under 100 square feet is usually repairable by lifting the pavers, rebuilding the base, and relaying the same pavers. Larger failures or repeated sinking mean the base is failing as a system. Call (940) 289-7658 for a straight answer on which one you have.
A standard two-car driveway replacement takes 3 – 5 working days in Houston, weather permitting. Rain delays compaction, and we will not compact a wet base, so a week of storms pushes the schedule. Call (940) 289-7658 and we’ll give you a schedule that accounts for the forecast.
We stock common paver profiles, edge restraints, joint sand, and base materials on the truck for most Houston repairs. Specialty CGI color matches may take 3 – 7 days to order. Call (940) 289-7658 with a photo of your pavers and we’ll tell you what’s on hand today.
Get Your Free Estimate
If your driveway is sinking, spreading, or holding water, don’t wait for the next storm to finish the job. We’ll come out, assess the base, check the drainage, and give you a written price before any work starts. A live person answers the phone 24/7 at (940) 289-7658. Call today and get the estimate scheduled.
Written by Curtis Lane, Owner, Bradford Remodeling Co Houston at Bradford Remodeling Co Houston, serving Houston and nearby areas.
