Block paving repairs
Block paving fails differently from flags. Instead of one slab tipping, the whole surface slowly moves — ruts where tyres run, a wave near the edge, blocks creeping outwards until the pattern pulls apart.
Blocks are made to be lifted and reset, so a repair almost always reuses your existing paving.
£650 minimum
What you are probably seeing
- Two shallow ruts where the car wheels sit
- A dip or hollow next to a manhole, gully or the garage threshold
- Blocks spreading apart with widening joints, especially along an open edge
- A visible wave or roll across what should be a flat run
- Sand gone from the joints, weeds and moss in its place
- Loose blocks you can lift out by hand
Why it happened
Nine times out of ten, the edge restraint has gone. Block paving only stays tight because something stops it moving sideways — an edging course haunched in concrete. Where the haunching was skipped or has broken away, the whole field of blocks creeps and the joints open.
The other cause is loading. A base built for a footpath will rut the first time a car parks on it, and no amount of resetting the blocks fixes a base that is too thin.
How we do it
The method, start to finish.
- 01
Lift and set aside
Blocks come up and are stacked and cleaned ready to go back. We keep the pattern so it goes back as it came.
- 02
Edge restraints rebuilt first
The edging course goes back on concrete and is haunched properly. Without this, everything else is temporary.
- 03
Base rebuilt to the right depth
Dug out, membrane, Type 1 compacted in layers, to a depth that matches what the surface actually carries — thicker where a car goes.
- 04
Screeded laying course and relay
Sharp sand screeded to an even depth, blocks relaid to the existing pattern, cuts made where they are needed.
- 05
Compact and sand
Plate compactor over a rubber mat, then kiln-dried sand brushed and vibrated into every joint. The sand is structural, not cosmetic — it is what locks the blocks together.
Straight talk
The bit most people are not told
If your drive was built for a footpath and you park two cars on it, resetting the blocks will look lovely and rut again. We will tell you that at the quote and price both options, rather than take the money for the cheaper one twice.
Questions we get asked
Can you match my blocks?
We reuse yours, so matching is rarely an issue. For blocks lost to breakage we take replacements from a concealed area and put any mismatched new ones there.
Why does the sand keep washing out of my joints?
Usually because the joints are too wide, which means the blocks have spread, which means the edge restraint has failed. Topping up the sand treats the symptom. Fixing the edge stops it.
Do I need the whole drive doing?
Not necessarily. Ruts in a wheel track can often be lifted and reset on their own. We will say honestly whether the rest of the base is sound.
Block paving repairs in Wythenshawe, Northenden, Gatley, Heald Green, Cheadle, Timperley and Altrincham.
Send us a photo of the problem.
Quickest way to get an answer. We reply the same day, and the quote is free either way.