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CWS Driveway & Pavers: The Riverside Owner’s Guide
If you have CWS driveway pavers in Riverside and one or more has cracked, shifted, or sunk, we stock CWS-compatible replacements and install them for $7,000 to $18,000 for a full driveway, depending on square footage and base condition. A partial repair, meaning a small section of pavers pulled and relayed, usually runs $1,200 to $4,500. Most Riverside homeowners discover the problem after winter rains: water pools in a low spot that wasn’t there before, or a paver edge has started to crumble along the driveway apron.
You’re not alone if the failure caught you off guard. Riverside’s clay-heavy soil expands and contracts through our wet-dry seasons, and paver driveways built without proper compaction show it within a few years. What starts as one wobbling paver is usually a base problem underneath, not a single bad paver.
Which CWS Models This Applies To
CWS driveway pavers come in several product lines, and the fit matters more than most homeowners expect. The most common CWS lines we see in Riverside are the standard 60mm thickness for residential driveways and the thicker 80mm units meant for heavier vehicle loads or commercial aprons. If you’re matching an existing driveway, pull one paver and look at the underside. CWS stamps a mold number and production date on most units, and that number tells us exactly which line and run we’re matching.
The compatibility gotcha we see often: CWS changed the chamfer profile (the beveled edge on the top of the paver) on some lines about eight years ago. A new paver placed next to an older one will be visually slightly different, even in the same color family. When we source replacements for older Riverside driveways, we sometimes recommend pulling pavers from a less visible area, like behind a side gate, and installing the new units there instead. That keeps the street-facing surface uniform. We’re an independent provider and not affiliated with CWS, but we work with their products regularly enough to know these details before we show up. For quality aftermarket equivalents, we prefer Belgard and Unilock units when a CWS exact match isn’t available or a homeowner wants to upgrade the whole driveway in one pass.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your CWS Driveway & Pavers Are Failing
- A paver rocks or wobbles underfoot. This is rarely a problem with the paver itself. It means the bedding sand underneath has washed out or compacted unevenly, which points to an edge restraint issue or a base that wasn’t compacted to spec.
- Water pools in a depression that wasn’t there a year ago. The base layer has shifted or settled, and the pavers are following it down. In Riverside, this often traces back to improper drainage at the yard edge or a sprinkler line that’s been leaking slowly into the base.
- Crumbling or flaking along paver edges. This is spalling, and it’s usually a manufacturing or freeze-thaw issue. Riverside doesn’t get hard freezes, but pavers with high initial moisture absorption can still shed surface layers over time, especially near the street where de-icing salts occasionally wash in.
- A low edge where the driveway meets the street or lawn. The edge restraint (usually plastic or concrete) has failed, and the pavers are migrating outward under tire pressure. If left alone, the pattern opens up and the whole section loosens.
- Weeds or ants pushing sand up between pavers. This means water is draining too fast through the joints, carrying fine sand with it. It’s a sign the polymeric sand in the joints has broken down and needs to be redone once the underlying drainage issue is addressed.
See the difference
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After
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
A full CWS paver driveway replacement in Riverside runs $7,000 to $18,000, with the range driven mostly by square footage, whether we’re excavating and rebuilding the base or reusing a sound one, and which CWS line you’re matching. Smaller partial repairs, where we pull a section, fix the base, and relay the pavers, typically run $1,200 to $4,500. If the compaction of the underlying base failed, there’s no shortcut: the pavers come up, the base gets redone, and the pavers go back down.
Our written price includes tear-out and haul-away of the old pavers, base excavation to proper depth, new base material compacted in lifts (the layer that actually carries the weight), bedding sand, the pavers themselves, edge restraint, and polymeric joint sand. Every job gets the 365-Day Done Right Promise: if it shifts, sinks, or fails inside a year, we come back and fix it at no charge, in writing, before we start. No verbal estimate that balloons at the door. The number you approve is the number on the invoice. Call (341) 895-1170 and we’ll walk the driveway with you and give you that number in writing.
DIY or Call Us?
You can safely do some inspection work yourself. Pop a paver up with two flathead screwdrivers and look at the bedding sand. If the sand is wet, black, or full of roots, you now know why the paver was moving. You can also check the edge restraint at the driveway border to see if it’s still buried or if it’s worked its way up. What you should not attempt alone is pulling a large section and re-compacting the base with rental equipment, unless you want to discover halfway through that the real problem is a broken sprinkler line or a clay pocket that needs drainage work first.
And never try to lift a CWS paver with a power tool. One gouged edge and you’re buying a new paver. The honest split is this: if one or two pavers are loose but the base is sound, a careful homeowner can reset them. If there’s any visible depression, pooling, or edge migration, the base has failed and you need compaction equipment and a plan. That’s our job. Give us a call at (341) 895-1170 and we’ll tell you which situation you’re in.
FAQs
A properly installed CWS paver driveway in our climate lasts 25 to 40 years of hard daily use, and the pavers themselves usually outlast the base underneath them. Riverside’s sun does fade surface color over time, but the structural life comes down to base compaction and edge restraint. Give us a call at (341) 895-1170 if you’re wondering whether your paver problem is surface-level or base-level, and we’ll tell you straight.
A hairline crack that isn’t moving can sometimes be left alone if the paver is still stable and the base underneath is sound, but a paver that’s cracked through or crumbling at the edge needs to be swapped out. We keep a small stock of common CWS units on the truck, and when we can’t match an older unit exactly, we’ll pull from a less visible part of your own driveway. A free estimate at (341) 895-1170 takes about 45 minutes and you’ll know exactly what we’d do.
A partial repair, where we pull a section of pavers and rework the base, is usually done in a single day. A full driveway replacement typically takes 3 to 5 working days in Riverside, including excavation, base rebuild, paver installation, and final joint sand. We give you a written arrival window before we start, and the crew leaves the site clean at the end of every day. Call (341) 895-1170 and we’ll give you a schedule along with the price.
We keep a standard stock of common CWS lines in the truck for quick swap-outs, and we order exact matches from our local Riverside suppliers for anything non-standard or older. If you’re not sure what line you have, take a photo of a clean paver and text it before we come out; we can usually identify it from the mold number on the underside. Call (341) 895-1170 and we’ll sort out what’s on hand and what needs ordering.
Give you a number before we pick up a tool, that’s just how this works. Trevor Nash runs Penhallow Remodeling Riverside, and whether you need paver repairs or a completely rebuilt driveway, we price it in writing first and stand behind the work for 365 days after. Call (341) 895-1170 to schedule a free estimate. A real person answers, day or night.
Written by Trevor Nash, Owner, Penhallow Remodeling Riverside at Penhallow Remodeling Riverside, serving Riverside and nearby areas.
