If your driveway is cracked, sinking or holding puddles, we build a paver drive on a compacted base that's planned for your lot.
A paver driveway in Summerville, SC is built in layers. We dig out and compact the soil, spread and compact a gravel base, set edge restraints to hold the sides in, and lay the pavers on a smoothed bed of sand so the finished drive stays flat under your car and sheds water instead of holding it.
The price comes down to the square footage, whether an old concrete or asphalt drive has to come out first, how deep the base needs to be, whether drain pipes go under it, and the paver and pattern you pick. A concrete slab underneath for heavy vehicles adds more. My written estimate spells out the materials, the steps and anything not included, so you can line it up against other quotes.
The schedule depends on the size of the job, any tear-out, the weather while the base is being compacted, and whether the city or your HOA has to sign off first. Before we start, we find out whether your address is inside city limits or in the county and handle the permit when the job needs one.
These are the parts of the build to talk through with any installer, because they end up buried under the pavers and you can't check them later.
The gravel base under the pavers carries your car. The pavers sit on top of it. How thick it needs to be depends on the traffic it sees, the soil, how well the ground drains and how wet it stays. The depth should be planned for your lot and written down before anyone starts digging.
When the soil is clay or drains slowly, water can sit in the base and soften it from underneath. Drain pipes laid under the base carry that water away, and the extra cost is small next to the years of service they add. Ask whether your soil calls for them.
The pattern matters for strength as well as looks. Herringbone, with pavers set in a zigzag at right angles, locks together best under steady car traffic, so it's the one we lean toward where you park and turn every day. Straight-row patterns suit a walk better and tend to shift sooner under tires.
I'm involved from the first visit to the final walk-through. Here's who does what at each step, and what you'll have in hand before any digging starts.
Call (843) 376-1285 or use the form. Tell us roughly how big the driveway is and what's on the ground now, and I'll set a time to come out and see it myself.
I look the driveway over, measure it and ask what you need it to handle. Your written estimate spells out the materials, the steps, the base depth we plan and anything not included.
Before we start, I check with the office that covers your address about permits, and we have the buried lines marked. Then our crew digs out, builds the base, sets the edges and lays the pavers while I check the work as it goes.
When the last paver is in, we walk the driveway with you and go over how to keep the joints and edges in good shape. We leave the site clean before we go.
Before anyone digs, I go over the base, the drainage and the laying pattern with you. Those three decide how the driveway holds up, and none of them can be changed once the pavers are down. The base depth we plan goes right on the estimate, so you know what you're paying for and can hold any other quote to the same number.
We have the buried lines marked before the dig starts so the crew doesn't hit a gas, water or cable line. While the crew works, I check that the base is compacted, that the grade runs water away from the house and garage, and that the rows are square before each stage moves on, because a base that's a little off shows up in the pavers later.
A driveway often runs into other masonry. If the yard slopes down toward the drive, a short wall may need to go in first to hold the soil back, and that's part of our retaining wall construction work. If brick steps, piers or borders along the drive have cracked or lost mortar, our masonry restoration work can repair them so the old brick and the new pavers look like one job.
Most driveways have pavers on a sand bed over compacted gravel. That handles everyday cars and drains through the joints, and single pavers can be lifted and reset if something underneath needs attention.
For heavy loads, one Charleston cost guide describes pouring a concrete slab on the compacted base and setting the pavers on top in sand or mortar. It costs more and is harder to repair, so it mainly makes sense for trucks or equipment.
We get back to you within one business day to set a time for me to come out. The estimate is free, done on site and comes with no obligation, and it lists the materials, the steps and anything not included.
(843) 376-1285A Summerville address can sit inside the Town of Summerville or in unincorporated Dorchester, Charleston or Berkeley County, and the city's planning page says it's important to know which one. Inside city limits, the city issues an encroachment permit for driveway work on its right of way, which is usually where the drive meets the street.
We find out which side of the line your address is on, check with the office that covers it, and handle the permit and inspections when the job needs them. City approval is separate from your homeowners association's approval, and you may need both. If you have an HOA, we help you line up its approval before the permit.
We're based in Summerville and work across the cities around it in Dorchester, Berkeley and Charleston counties, including Ladson and Goose Creek. We're glad to hear from you if your city isn't listed. Most of the driveways we see run from a garage or carport out to a neighborhood street, and that tie-in at the street is where the planning matters most.
I come out to look at your driveway and measure it myself. Our own crew does the work, and I check it as it goes. I learned brick, block and stone at a big commercial outfit where every course got measured and checked before the next one went on, and I started this business in Summerville in 2013 to work the same way on homes.
Under South Carolina's definition, skilled trade work for a homeowner on a job over $500 is residential specialty contractor work. A paver driveway is well past that amount, so ask anyone you're considering about their license. We're fully licensed and insured. Satisfaction guaranteed on every job.
If you're weighing a paver driveway, call (843) 376-1285 or send us the form with the rough size and what's there now. I'll set a time to come out, measure it and go over the base, drainage and pattern with you on site.
When your yard slopes toward the drive or soil washes onto it after a hard rain, a wall built on a proper footing holds the grade in place.
Older brick steps, columns or garden walls near the drive can look worn beside new pavers, and restoring them brings the front of the house together.
These cities have their own page on our site, but they aren't the only places we work. If your city isn't on the list, give us a call and we'll tell you whether we can come out.
In the Charleston area, a sand-set concrete paver driveway usually costs about $13 to $16 per square foot when there's no old driveway to remove. That price assumes a 4-inch compacted base and a 1-inch sand bed. Tearing out old concrete, a deeper base, drain pipes or a slab underneath will push it higher. Your estimate gives the figure for your driveway.
Industry guidance says a home driveway on well-drained soil should have a base at least 6 inches thick after compaction. Traffic, soil type, drainage, moisture and climate can call for more. The Charleston price above is based on a 4-inch base, so check the depth written on any quote before you compare prices.
They can, as long as the ground stays dry deep enough. Federal highway guidance says permeable pavement generally goes where the seasonal water table is deeper than 2 feet, and it has been used on sandy coastal soils in South Carolina. One maker's guide says its permeable pavers need no sealing and lists a 50-year design life for the pavers themselves. A clogged surface can be vacuumed so water soaks in again.
The schedule depends mostly on the driveway's size, whether an old driveway comes out first, how long any permit or HOA approval takes, and the weather while the base goes in. Wet ground doesn't compact well, so we wait for it to dry rather than build on it. I can give you a clearer picture once I've seen the site.
Have the driveway's rough size, whether your lot is inside Summerville's city limits or in the county, and any HOA rules on driveways or materials. That's enough for me to plan the visit, and I'll take exact measurements when I come out.
Call (843) 376-1285 or use the form before you settle on a paver color or style, so we can size the base and drainage first and the look you choose fits your lot.
