Vehicle rated base depth, not patio depth
Installation
Paver Driveways in Tucson
Deeper base, thicker paver, herringbone through the wheel path. A driveway carries loads a patio never sees, and it has to be specified for them from the subgrade up.
60mm minimum paver thickness on drives
Herringbone in the wheel path for real interlock
Apron and street tie in detailed properly
Before you choose anything
Herringbone is not a style choice on a driveway
On a patio you can lay any pattern you like and it will perform. On a driveway the pattern is structural.
A vehicle does not press evenly on a surface. It concentrates its entire weight into four contact patches, then drags those patches sideways every time the wheel turns while stationary, and pushes them forward and back under braking. A running bond pattern has continuous straight joints running in one direction, and those joints are exactly where the field wants to creep. Herringbone has no continuous line anywhere, so each paver is locked by its neighbours in both directions.
That is why a herringbone driveway that has been down twenty years still looks like a driveway, and a running bond one develops two shallow ruts along the wheel path and a fan of open joints at the turn in.
The other half is depth. The base under a driveway carries loads several times what a patio sees, and it occasionally hosts a delivery truck or a concrete truck that weighs far more than anything you own. A driveway built to patio spec looks perfect for about eighteen months.
The work itself
What we build
Full driveway replacement
Breaking out the existing concrete or asphalt, correcting the subgrade, and building a paver drive to vehicle specification from scratch. The usual job on 1960s and 1970s midtown lots where the original slab has cracked across its width.
Widenings, turnarounds and RV pads
A second vehicle space, a turning area, or a pad for a trailer or RV. Added width has to be built to the same standard as the original run, because a vehicle does not know where the joint between them is.
Aprons and street tie ins
The section from the property line to the street, which has its own levels, its own requirements and often its own approval. Get it wrong and either bumpers scrape or street runoff tracks up onto your property.
Line by line
What is included
Demolition and haul away
Breaking out and removing existing concrete or asphalt including all spoil. On a replacement this is a real proportion of the price and it is shown as its own line rather than folded into a square foot rate.
Subgrade and vehicle base
Excavation to a depth set by the loading and the ground, subgrade compacted, then aggregate base placed and compacted in lifts to a driveway specification rather than a patio one.
Laying, pattern and cutting
Herringbone through the wheel paths, a soldier or double soldier course along the edges, and border cuts made on a saw. Pattern orientation set so the interlock works against the direction of travel.
Heavy edge restraint and commissioning
Heavy duty restraint spiked along both edges, joint sand swept and settled, the field compacted with a protective pad, then the drive washed down and released for use.
Six steps, in this order
How the build runs
1Site visit and levels
We check the fall from the garage to the street, the height of the existing apron, and how water crosses the frontage during a storm. Driveway levels are the least forgiving part of this trade.
2Loading and specification
What actually parks here matters. A daily driver, a dual wheel truck and an RV are three different base specifications, and we quote the one your situation needs rather than the cheapest that survives handover.
3Fixed quote
Itemised, with demolition, haul away, base depth, paver thickness and restraint listed separately.
4Permits and utilities
Blue stake locates before we dig, and where the apron or the street tie in needs approval we handle that submittal.
5Install
Demolition, excavation, subgrade compaction, base in lifts, screed, lay, cut, restrain, sand, compact. You will normally keep partial access through most of the build and we plan the sequence around it.
6Walkthrough and driving
We walk it with you, explain the short settling in period, and leave joint sand for topping up after the first season.
Why us
Why build with us
We do not treat a driveway as a large patio. Paver thickness, base depth, laying pattern through the wheel path and restraint spec are all different, and a crew that lays patios all week will reach for patio details out of habit. The result passes inspection on the day and rutts quietly for two years.
We state the base depth. If you are collecting three driveway quotes, ask all three what depth they are excavating to and what the compacted base thickness will be. You will usually find the price gap sitting inside that one answer.
And we design the apron rather than improvise it. That transition is where your property meets the public right of way, it is the most visible part of the job from the street, and it is where levels are least forgiving.
Want a real number on your driveway?
Send us the rough dimensions, what is there now, and what parks on it. We will come out and check the levels.
From a People Also Ask harvest
Paver driveway questions
How much does it cost to pave 1000 square feet?
On a driveway the dominant costs are demolition and haul away of whatever is there now, the extra base depth that vehicle loading requires, and access. Larger areas get slightly better per square foot pricing on labour and material handling, and then usually add a turning area that needs the same base as the main run.
Which lasts longer, pavers or concrete?
Both last a long time when they are built properly, and they fail differently. A concrete driveway cracks and the crack is permanent unless the slab is replaced. A paver driveway can rut if the base was under specified, and that is repairable by lifting the affected area, correcting the base and relaying the same pavers. On ground that moves, being able to repair matters more than the raw lifespan.
Is it cheaper to put down pavers or concrete?
Concrete is cheaper to install. The gap on a driveway is smaller than on a patio, because a properly specified concrete driveway needs real thickness and reinforcement of its own. Over a longer period the comparison depends on whether the surface ever needs work, since concrete repairs are visible and paver repairs are not.
What is poor man's concrete?
It usually means compacted decomposed granite, sometimes with a stabilising binder, used as a low cost alternative to a hard surface. It is genuinely useful in Tucson for paths, parking pads on acreage and informal areas, and it is the cheapest usable surface in this market. It is not a driveway in the sense most people mean, it needs topping up, and it tracks into the house.
Pima County
Where we build
We build across Tucson, Oro Valley, Marana, Vail, Sahuarita, Green Valley, Catalina Foothills, Casas Adobes, Rita Ranch, Dove Mountain, Corona de Tucson and Tanque Verde.
Next door to this one
Related paver work
Paver PatiosThe main entertaining surface, sized around what actually goes on it and laid with the fall running away from the house. Excavation and base depth quoted in writing, edge restraint on every open edge.See the detail
Paver Walkways and PathsNarrow surfaces have nowhere to hide. Both edges restrained, curves set to a radius rather than eyeballed, and cuts made on a saw so the border reads clean from the sidewalk.See the detail
Paver Repair and RelevelingLift, find out why it moved, correct the base and the water source, relay the same pavers. A repair that skips the middle two steps is a repair you will pay for twice.See the detail
Paver SealingSealer specified for Tucson UV and applied at the right coverage rate, on the surfaces where it genuinely helps. We will tell you honestly when it is not worth doing.See the detailFree on site quote
Get a quote for your driveway
Tell us roughly how big it is, what is there now, and what parks on it. We will come out and check the levels.
Or call (520) 555-0194. Mon to Fri, 7am to 5pm. Saturday by appointment.
That is with us
We will call to arrange the site visit, usually the same working day. If it is urgent, call(520) 555-0194.