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CertainTeed Driveway & Pavers: The Long Beach Owner’s Guide
CertainTeed paver and driveway products hold up well in Long Beach, but edges crack, joints shift, and individual pavers sometimes fail. We install and replace CertainTeed-compatible pavers, and a typical repair or replacement in Long Beach runs $700 to $8,000 depending on whether you’re addressing a few damaged pieces or an entire driveway section. Most owners discover a problem the same way: a wheel catches a lifted edge near the curb, or a paver sinks after a heavy rain near a downspout in neighborhoods like Belmont Shore or Naples, where soil settles differently than inland Long Beach.
We’re an independent remodeling contractor in Long Beach. We’re not affiliated with CertainTeed, but we work with their paver lines regularly and know which pieces match which original installation.
Which CertainTeed Models This Applies To
CertainTeed’s paver products generally fall into their concrete paver lines, including the Artline and Patio Paver series. Compatibility matters more than most homeowners expect. A paver that looks identical from the top can vary in thickness by a half inch or more depending on whether it was rated for pedestrian or vehicular load. When we match pavers in Long Beach, we measure the existing piece with a caliper, not a tape measure. A 60mm paver next to an 80mm paver will fail again within a season because the bedding layer never settles evenly under mixed thicknesses.
Color matching is the other gotcha. CertainTeed’s color blends vary by manufacturing run, and coastal UV exposure in Long Beach lightens surface pigment faster than inland locations. What looks identical in a catalog swatch may stand out sharply against pavers that have sat in California sun for eight years. We order physical samples and hold them against the existing surface before we quote a number.
For OEM versus aftermarket: CertainTeed’s warranty applies to their manufactured pavers, so if your original installation is under warranty, we recommend staying with OEM pieces. For out-of-warranty work, quality aftermarket equivalents from reputable concrete manufacturers often match at 60 – 70% of the CertainTeed price. We show homeowners both options with a written price before any work starts.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your CertainTeed Driveway & Pavers Is Failing
- A single sunken paver near a downspout or irrigation line. Water has carved a void in the sand bedding beneath. The paver settles, creating a trip hazard and a spot where water pools before working its way under adjacent pavers.
- Edge pavers shifting outward along the driveway border. The edge restraint has failed, usually because tree roots in Long Beach’s clay-heavy soil pushed against it, or the original install never included proper restraint. Once the edge moves, everything behind it starts to wander.
- Hairline cracks spreading across three or more pavers in a line. The base layer under those pavers has compacted unevenly. Cracks across multiple pieces mean the failure is structural, not just surface wear.
- White chalky residue on the surface called efflorescence. This is cosmetic but persistent in coastal Long Beach air. The salts come from within the concrete, not from the surface, so pressure washing alone won’t stop it from returning.
- Joint sand disappearing after each rain. Losing sand between joints means water is moving through the system faster than it should. Left unfilled, pavers begin to rock underfoot and rub edges against each other, chipping the surface.
See the difference
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After
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After
Before
AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
For a handful of damaged pavers, expect $700 – $1,500 in Long Beach. For a section of driveway that needs re-leveling and re-bedding, $2,000 – $5,000. A full paver driveway replacement runs $7,000 – $18,000, consistent with our paver driveway installation pricing across the service area.
Every quote includes the removal of failed pieces, base repair to the compacted aggregate layer, new bedding sand, paver placement, joint sand, and clean-up. We photograph the finished work and the clean-up before the crew leaves. The written price we give you before any work starts is the price on the invoice when we’re done. That’s not a sales line, it’s how Graham Stein runs every job in Long Beach. The price I write down on day one is the price on the invoice when we’re done.
Workmanship is covered under our 365-Day Done Right Promise. If a paver we set shifts within a year, we return and make it right.
DIY or Call Us?
You can safely check a few things yourself: clean debris from the joints, note where water pools after rain, and mark pavers that rock when you step on them. That information helps us quote accurately over the phone.
What we don’t recommend is pulling up pavers yourself. The broken piece is seated in compacted sand and adjacent to pieces that are still stable. Prying one out without proper base prep usually damages surrounding pavers and leaves you with a larger repair than you started with. If tree roots are involved, cutting them without understanding the root system can damage the tree. Call (562) 512-7086 and we’ll take a look at what you’re working with.
FAQs
CertainTeed concrete pavers typically last 25 – 40 years in our coastal climate, but the sand joints and bedding layer need attention every 5 – 10 years. The pavers themselves rarely fail first; the base and joint system does. Call (562) 512-7086 if you’re seeing settling or joint loss.
A hairline crack in a single paver can sometimes be left alone if the paver is stable in its bedding and not creating a trip hazard. But a cracked paver that rocks or sits below grade should be replaced because water entry accelerates base failure under the entire area. We’ll give you an honest read when we see it.
Replacing a small number of pavers typically takes one day. A section re-leveling with base repair takes one to two days. A full driveway replacement in Long Beach usually runs three to five working days, depending on access and how much old base material needs removal. We’ll give you a written timeline before the first tool comes out of the truck.
We keep common paver profiles and color blends stocked in our Long Beach yard, but exact CertainTeed color matches are ordered per-job to ensure the blend lines up with your existing installation. Ordering samples adds two to three days to the timeline.
Written by Graham Stein, Owner, Elmstead Remodeling Long Beach at Elmstead Remodeling Long Beach, serving Long Beach and nearby areas.
