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PGT Driveway & Pavers: The Orlando Owner’s Guide
PGT driveway and paver systems in Orlando typically run $7,000 – $18,000 for a full paver driveway installation, with most repairs and part replacements landing between $250 and $4,000 depending on what failed. We stock PGT-compatible pavers, edge restraints, joint sand, and base materials on our trucks, and can match most existing paver colors and patterns same-week. Most Orlando homeowners discover a problem the same way: after a heavy summer downpour, they notice a sunken section near the driveway apron, or pavers shifting where the car tires sit every day.
Here’s the reality of pavers in Central Florida: our soil is mostly sand with pockets of clay, and our rainy season runs May through October. Water gets under the paver base, the sand washes out, and one Tuesday you back out of the driveway and feel a clunk. That’s the point where a small fix becomes a bigger one if you ignore it. Luca Romano and our crew have pulled up enough failed paver sections across Orlando to know exactly what’s happening underneath before we ever touch a shovel.
Which PGT Models This Applies To
PGT manufactures a range of concrete paver products under their outdoor living line, and the compatibility question comes down to two things: the paver thickness and the laying pattern. Most residential PGT pavers run 60mm thick for driveways, with an 80mm option for commercial or heavy-vehicle applications. In Orlando, where we don’t get frost heave, 60mm is sufficient for standard passenger vehicles, but if you park an F-250 or a work van in the driveway, that’s a conversation worth having before we order materials.
The OEM versus aftermarket decision for PGT pavers is simpler than most parts pages make it sound. PGT pavers are concrete units with specific color blends baked in. A quality aftermarket paver from a local Orlando supplier like Florida Paving or Oldcastle will match close enough for most homeowners, but if you want an exact match on a paver that’s been in the ground for eight years, you need OEM or a very good eye. The sun in Orlando fades pavers unevenly, which means even a brand-new OEM paver won’t match a sun-bleached one. We tell every customer that upfront. The other compatibility gotcha: PGT edge restraints. Their driveway systems use a specific plastic edge restraint that locks into the paver lip, and generic restraints from a big-box store don’t seat correctly, which is the number-one reason paver driveways start spreading at the edges here.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your PGT Driveway & Pavers Is Failing
- Sunken or depressed pavers near the driveway center. This is almost always base failure caused by water washing out the sand and fines underneath. In Orlando’s rainy season, we see this accelerate fast, especially on older driveways where the original base was only 4 inches instead of the 6 – 8 inches we spec today.
- Pavers shifting or spreading at the edges. When the PGT edge restraint fails or was never installed properly, the entire field starts walking outward. You’ll see a widening gap between the driveway and the lawn line.
- Weeds or grass growing through joints that were clean a year ago. Joint sand has washed out and been replaced by organic material. That’s not just cosmetic; the sand is what locks pavers together laterally. No sand, no lock.
- A hollow sound or movement when you step on specific pavers. That means the paver itself has cracked or the support underneath has voided. A cracked paver won’t heal itself, and the pieces will start grinding against each other, making it worse every time you drive over it.
- Water pooling on the surface instead of draining. PGT driveways are designed with a slight pitch for drainage. If water starts ponding, the base has settled unevenly, and every additional rain event makes the settlement worse.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
| Service | Orlando Price Range |
|---|---|
| Paver driveway installation (full new) | $7,000 – $18,000 |
| Paver driveway repair (section-level, base rebuild) | $1,500 – $4,000 |
| Paver replacement (per paver, including labor) | $15 – $45 |
| Edge restraint replacement (per linear foot) | $8 – $18 |
| Joint sand reapplication (per 100 sq ft) | $150 – $300 |
The spread on a full driveway comes down to square footage, access, and how much of the existing base we can salvage. A typical two-car Orlando driveway runs 400 – 600 square feet. If we can reuse the existing concrete base after repair, you’re at the lower end. If we’re digging out six inches of failed base and hauling it away, you’re at the higher end. Every quote includes the written price before work starts, the pavers, base material, joint sand, edge restraints, and the labor to install it all. And because it’s a Sawyer Remodel project, the 365-Day Done Right Promise applies: if something fails in the first year, we make it right, in writing.
DIY or Call Us?
Here’s the honest split. You can absolutely handle joint sand reapplication on a small section if the pavers aren’t moving and you have a push broom and a compactor rental. You can also replace a single cracked paver if you’re patient and don’t mind sourcing the right color. What you shouldn’t DIY is anything involving base failure. Pulling up 200 square feet of pavers, digging out clay and sand, re-compacting in lifts, and resetting the pattern is a two-person, two-day minimum job with a plate compactor. Get the compaction wrong in Orlando’s sandy soil and you’ll be staring at the same problem next August. We’ve fixed enough DIY attempts where the homeowner compacted once instead of in layers, and the whole field settled six months later. If the pavers are sinking, shifting, or spreading, call us at (850) 809-0306. A quick look costs you nothing.
FAQs
With proper base prep and annual joint sand touch-ups, PGT pavers last 25 – 30 years in Orlando’s climate. The paver itself won’t fail from heat or rain; what fails is the base underneath and the edge restraints holding the field together. We’ve pulled up 20-year-old PGT pavers that were still structurally sound and could have been reused if the base had been done right the first time. Call (850) 809-0306 if you want us to look at what’s actually failing on your driveway, because it’s rarely the paver itself.
Yes, most Orlando paver driveways can be repaired section by section as long as the pavers themselves aren’t cracked through. We rebuild the base, reset the pavers, and reapply joint sand. If you’re catching sunken or shifting pavers in year five of a 25-year driveway, repair is almost always the smarter money. Call (850) 809-0306 and we’ll give you a written price for the repair, not a hard sell for a full replacement.
Most section repairs take one to two days, start to finish. We compact the base in lifts, which means we wait for each layer to settle before adding the next, and that takes hours, not minutes. A full driveway replacement is typically a four to six day job. Either way, you get a written schedule before we start, and you know exactly who’s showing up and when under The Relay Visibility Guarantee.
We keep common PGT-compatible pavers and edge restraints on our trucks for repairs, which means most small jobs don’t wait on a supplier. For full driveway replacements, we source directly from Orlando and Central Florida distributors, usually with a 3 – 5 day lead time. If you need an exact color match on an older installation, we’ll bring samples to your driveway so you can see the match in real sunlight before we order. Call (850) 809-0306 to schedule a free estimate.
Written by Luca Romano, Owner & Lead Contractor, Sawyer Remodel Orlando at Sawyer Remodel Orlando, serving Orlando and nearby areas.
