Paver driveways
Paver driveways in the Tampa Bay area
We lay concrete paver driveways across the Tampa Bay area, out of New Port Richey. A drive is the one piece of paving at your house that a truck parks on, so most of the work is underneath it.
01 What the job involves
Six things that happen before you park on it
In the order they happen on site. The pavers are line four, which tells you where most of the work on a drive actually sits.
- The old surface comes out. We dig out what is there and the soft ground under it, and set the fall so water runs off the drive and away from the garage door.
- Base material, raked and compacted. Base goes in, gets raked to level and gets run over with a plate compactor before a single paver is laid.
- An edge that holds. The outside courses are restrained down both sides, because a drive with a loose edge spreads at the sides first and the field follows it.
- The pavers go down. Concrete pavers set over the base. The blend on our patio job is a multi-tone mix of square and rectangular units, and we bring the options with us to the estimate.
- Closing pieces cut on site. Every piece along the garage, the walkway and the street edge is cut to fit, the same way the stone is cut on the pool decks.
- Joint sand last. Sand goes into the joints and the surface is run again, so the field locks together instead of shifting under a wheel.
About the photographs
We have no finished driveway of our own on file to show you on this page, so there is nothing here pretending to be one.
What sits under a drive is the same work as a patio, and that job we did photograph the whole way through: the string lines, the graded base, the plate compactor, the block edge and the cutting.
See it on the backyard paver patio project, or on the paver patios page.
02 Material
Two ways to do a drive
We lay pavers and we pour concrete, so we have no reason to push you toward one of them.
Pavers go down as individual units on a compacted base. A section can be lifted and reset later if a root or a settle moves it, and a stain can be swapped out one piece at a time. Poured concrete is one surface instead of a few thousand: fewer joints to sand, and a wider run with nothing to lock together.
The questions we ask standing on the drive are always the same ones. How wide is it at the street, how wide at the garage, does a truck or a boat sit on it, and where does the water go now. That last answer usually changes more about the job than the choice of material does.
03 How the work runs
From your first call to the first day on site
Four steps. We are not going to promise you anything past them.
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1
You get in touch
Send the form or call. Tell us the city and what you want done.
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2
We come out
We measure the drive on site and talk through the material with you.
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3
You get it in writing
The estimate comes to you written down, and it costs you nothing.
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4
We schedule and start
Once you approve the estimate, we put the job on the calendar and start.
04 Questions
What people ask about a drive
Do you pour concrete drives as well as lay pavers?
Yes. Concrete slabs, sidewalks and flatwork are part of what we do, so a poured drive is on the table at the estimate alongside the paver one.
Can you do the walkway at the same time as the drive?
Yes, and it is usually the sensible week to do it. On the backyard patio job the side walkway carries the same paver from the patio down the side of the house to the garage apron.
Can you clean and seal a paver drive that is already down?
Yes. We pressure wash and seal paving that is already there. If the drive is flat and solid and only looks tired, ask about that before you price a new one.
05 Related work
What else goes on at the front of a house
The drive, the walkway to the door and the entry steps are one visit if you want them to be.
- Concrete workSlabs, sidewalks and flatwork
- Walkways and entriesFront walkways, landings and step runs
- Pressure washing and sealingCleaning and sealing paving you already have
Tell us about the drive
Send the form with your city and a rough size, or call and talk it through. Estimates are free, in English and Spanish.