The Wellington crew for driveways, patios and pool decks
Wellington has equestrian properties where drives take horse trailers, and that load changes how deep the base needs to be.
What we see on Wellington properties
Wellington has equestrian properties where drives take horse trailers, and that load changes how deep the base needs to be.
Here is the honest version: a sunken paver is a symptom. The base under it lost material, usually to water, and the surface settled into the gap. Resetting the pavers without correcting the base just buys you a season.
Our ground is sand over limestone in most of the region, and sand drains fast right up until it does not. Add an afternoon storm that drops two inches in an hour and the base either handles it or it starts washing.
Mature trees are the second cause. Roots go where the water is, and a paver base holds moisture, so they grow straight into it and push the surface up.
We are out this way most weeks, so a look at the property is usually a matter of days rather than months. If it turns out the honest answer is that it can wait, we will tell you that too.
How a job here runs
We come look at it
Somebody from the crew comes out, stands on the problem, and tells you what is actually going on underneath it. No sales visit, just a look and an honest read.
You get the plan in writing
Everything in writing up front: what we are doing, what it is made of, how long it takes, and what it costs. Nothing changes without you signing off on it.
We build the base first
Excavation to the depth this job actually needs, aggregate compacted lift by lift, bedding screeded flat. The slow part, and the part that decides whether the surface is still flat in ten years.
Pavers go down and get cut in
Field laid to the pattern, edges cut on site, and a restraint set around the perimeter so the field cannot creep.
Joints get filled and the site gets cleaned
Sand swept in and compacted, the surface washed down, and the property left the way we found it. We haul our own debris.
What local conditions do to a paver surface
Polymeric sand binds when it is wetted and resists washout better than plain sand, which is why it has become the default. It has to go in dry, get swept properly off the surface before wetting, and be watered in the way the manufacturer specifies. Rushed installation is why some jobs end up with a hazy residue over the pavers.
The sand in the joints is structural. It is what transfers load from one paver to the next, which is the whole mechanism that lets a field of loose units behave like a surface. When joints wash out, each paver starts carrying its own load alone, which is exactly when they start rocking and cracking.
Compaction in lifts is the difference between ten years and two.
Sealing is optional and it is a preference rather than a requirement. It deepens the color, makes stains easier to lift, and helps hold joint sand. It also needs redoing every few years and a bad sealer choice can leave a plastic-looking sheen or trap moisture. We will tell you honestly whether your surface benefits.
The thing worth acting on quickly is a trip hazard. A lifted edge of more than about a quarter inch is something somebody will catch a toe on, and on a commercial property that is a liability question as well as a maintenance one.
A paver surface that was built properly asks for very little. Keep the joints topped up, keep organic debris from composting in them, and deal with a settled area while it is small. That is genuinely most of it.
Compaction
Aggregate goes down in lifts and each one gets compacted. One dump and a quick pass gives you a crust over loose material.
Fall
Roughly an eighth to a quarter inch per foot away from the building. Invisible underfoot, decisive for where water ends up.
Restraint
A perimeter edge restraint is what stops the field creeping outward and the joints opening from the outside in.
What Wellington calls us for
Also nearby in Palm Beach County:
What we tend to use around here
Concrete pavers are the workhorse and cover most of what gets installed. Widest range of shapes and colors, most predictable to lay, and the easiest to match later. Color is pigment through the unit, so it fades gently with sun rather than wearing off, though it does shift over the first year or two as it cures out.
Clay brick keeps its color essentially forever because the color is the fired clay itself. It costs more, comes in fewer shapes, and it is the right answer when you want a surface that looks the same in twenty years.
Travertine is the one people ask for around pools, and for a good reason: it stays noticeably cooler underfoot than concrete in direct sun. It is a natural stone, so there is variation between units, and it wants a sealer if it is somewhere that gets oil or heavy staining.
You can see this on almost any failing driveway. The middle usually looks fine and the outer two feet are a mess with wide joints and rocking units. That is not the edge wearing out faster, it is the edge restraint having failed and the field unlocking from the outside in.
The edge restraint is the piece nobody thinks about and it is what stops the whole field from spreading. Pavers work by interlock, which means each unit is held by its neighbors. Take away the restraint at the perimeter and the outermost course starts creeping outward, the joints open, the sand washes, and the failure marches inward from the edge.
Finding us in Wellington
We are based in Miami and out this way regularly.
The shortcuts that surface two years later
None of these are visible on the day the work finishes, which is exactly why they keep happening.
Using the wrong sand in the bedding
Bedding wants sharp, angular concrete sand. Rounded mason sand or beach sand behaves like ball bearings under load and lets the pavers wander.
Sealing too early
A new concrete paver needs to cure and let its efflorescence work out before it gets sealed. Seal it in the first month and you can lock a white haze under the sealer permanently.
Laying over the old surface
It is quick, it is cheap, and it inherits every problem underneath. If the base was the reason the old surface failed, putting a new one on top of it just hides the failure for a season.
Skipping the geotextile
A separation fabric between the subgrade and the base stops the two from mixing. Without it, fine soil migrates up into the aggregate, the base loses its structure, and you get settlement that no amount of surface work will fix.
The edge restraint is the piece nobody thinks about and the reason the field holds.
Common questions
Will the new pavers match what I already have
Sometimes exactly, sometimes closely. Concrete pavers change color a little with sun and age, and older lines get discontinued. If we cannot match, we will show you the options before we order anything, including pulling units from a less visible area to patch a visible one.
What happens to the old surface
We break it out and haul it off. Concrete and old pavers go to a recycler where one is available. That is included in the scope, not added on after.
How do you keep it from settling again
By fixing the reason it settled. That usually means correcting drainage and rebuilding the base properly, and sometimes it means dealing with a root or a downspout that is dumping water in the wrong place.
Do you work with HOAs and property managers
Regularly. We are used to submittals, board timelines, and phasing work so residents keep access. Tell us what your approval process looks like and we will work inside it.
Do you cover Wellington, FL
Yes. Wellington, FL is inside our regular working area and we are out that way most weeks. Call and we will tell you honestly when we could get to you.
Is there a warranty
Yes, in writing, covering our workmanship. Manufacturer coverage on the pavers themselves comes from the manufacturer and we will hand you that paperwork too. We will also tell you plainly what a warranty does not cover, like a new root or a changed drainage condition.
Start with a conversation
The fastest way to get a real answer is to have one of us stand on it. We will walk the property, look at where the water goes, and write up what we find.
Quality you can stand on