Driveways
Settled aprons, dropped sections at the garage, spreading edges and failed borders.
Interlock & hardscape repair · Durham Region
Sunken, lifting or shifting interlock? It can be fixed.
We lift the stone, rebuild the base that failed underneath, and relay it. Most repairs cost a fraction of replacing the whole thing — using the stone you already have.
- 25+ years in the trade
- Free on-site quotes
- Repairs, not replacements
What's gone wrong
If any of this looks familiar, the base underneath is the problem.
Interlock almost never fails because the stone failed. It fails because what's under the stone moved. We've been doing hardscaping and landscaping in Durham Region for over 25 years, and it's nearly always the same story underneath.
Sunken or dipped sections
A low spot that holds water after rain, or a driveway that's dropped away from the garage.
Lifting and heaving
Stone pushed up out of line over winter, usually where water sat and froze.
Shifting and spreading
Joints opening up, edges creeping outward, patterns pulling apart.
Weeds and ants through the joints
Sand washed out of the joints, so anything can grow into the gap.
Trip edges and lifted corners
One stone standing proud of the next. The one that gets somebody hurt.
Leaning or bulging walls
A retaining wall tipping forward, or a course that's bellied out of line.
Why it happens
The stone is fine. The base under it isn't.
Interlock sits on compacted gravel and a thin bed of sand. Everything depends on that gravel staying put and staying flat.
- How it's builtCompacted gravel base, a screeded bed of sand, then the stone locked together by the sand in its joints.
- Water gets inJoint sand washes out. Rain runs into the gap instead of over it, and starts moving the sand bed underneath.
- The base washes outFines migrate away and leave a void. Nothing is holding that patch of stone up any more.
- The surface dropsStone settles into the void, or freezing water lifts it. Either way the surface stops being flat and the problem spreads outward.
- What a repair doesLift the stone, replace and re-compact the base, fix where the water was going, then relay the same stone and lock the joints.
Replacing the stone without fixing the base buys you a season or two. Fixing the base is the repair.
What we fix
Hardscape and landscape repair, across the board.
If it's stone, block or slab and it's moved, cracked, sunk or come apart, it's work we do.
Walkways & paths
Levelling, relaying, trip edges, and rebuilding the base where roots or water got in.
Patios
Sunken corners, standing water, opened joints, and sections relaid to drain the right way.
Steps & landings
Loose treads, settled risers, wobbling slabs and rebuilt step bases.
Pool surrounds
Coping and deck stone lifted, re-bedded and relaid without disturbing the pool.
Retaining walls
Leaning, bulging or failed walls taken down and rebuilt with proper backfill and drainage.
Drainage & washouts
Finding where the water actually goes, and changing it so the repair holds.
Joints & polymeric sand
Joints cleaned out and refilled so sand stops washing away and weeds stop coming through.
Sealing & restoration
Cleaning, sealing and bringing colour back on stone that's still sound underneath.
Garden edging & borders
Re-setting edge restraints and borders that have crept, lifted or come loose.
How a repair goes
Six steps, and the middle two are the ones that matter.
- 1
We come and look
On site, free. We find where the water's going, because that's usually the cause.
- 2
Lift the stone
Pulled up and stacked in order. Almost all of it goes back down.
- 3
Fix what failed
Dig out the washed-out base, correct the drainage, bring in clean gravel.
- 4
Re-compact and screed
Compacted in lifts to the right grade, then a fresh sand bed screeded flat.
- 5
Relay the stone
Back down in the original pattern, cut in where anything's damaged.
- 6
Sand and seal
Polymeric sand swept into the joints and set, so it stays where it's put.
Before and after
Same stone. Flat again.
Drag to see the difference.
After
Same spot, same height, after the relay
Before
Shot from the same spot, before the lift
The work
Repairs across Durham Region.
Sunken driveway section
Wide shot, whole driveway in frame
Relaid walkway
Low angle down the length of it
Patio repair
Show the drainage fall if you can
Retaining wall rebuild
Straight on, full height
Steps rebuilt
From the walkway looking up
Crew on site
Anything with people working in it
Where we work
- Whitby
- Ajax
- Pickering
- Oshawa
- Courtice
- Bowmanville
- Brooklin
- Clarington
- Uxbridge
- Port Perry
- Whitby
- Ajax
- Pickering
- Oshawa
- Courtice
- Bowmanville
- Brooklin
- Clarington
- Uxbridge
- Port Perry
Questions
The ones we get asked most.
Can it be repaired, or does it need replacing?
Almost always repaired. The stone is the expensive part and it's usually undamaged — it's the base under it that's failed. We lift the stone you have, fix what's underneath, and put the same stone back down.
Will the repaired section match the rest?
It's your own stone going back down, so it matches by definition. Where a few pieces are cracked we'll try to source a match, and if we can't we'll take replacements from a low-visibility area and put the new stone there instead.
How long does it take?
Most repairs are one day. A large driveway or a wall rebuild can run two or three. We'll tell you which when we quote, not after we've started.
What actually causes it?
Water, nearly every time. Joint sand washes out, water gets into the base and carries the fines away, and the stone drops into the space that's left. Frost then lifts whatever the water loosened. Tree roots and a base that was too thin to start with account for most of the rest.
Will it just happen again?
Not if the drainage gets fixed. That's the part that makes it a repair rather than a reset — if we put the stone back over the same problem, you'd be calling us again in two years.
Do you work through the winter?
Interlock work needs unfrozen ground and dry conditions for polymeric sand to set, so the season generally runs spring through late fall. Call any time and we'll book you in.
How long have you been doing this?
Over 25 years of hardscaping and landscaping in Durham Region. Repair work is its own trade — knowing why a base failed is most of the job, and it is the part that decides whether the fix holds.
Do you do new installs as well as repairs?
Repairs are what we do. If you're planning something new we can point you to the right people.
Get a quote
Get it looked at before the frost.
A settled corner in October is a bigger job in April. Free quote, anywhere in Durham Region.
Call us(905) 240-6694