My Interlock Driveway Is Rutted and Uneven. Here Is Why
Two ruts where the tires run, a hump at the garage door and pavers dropping at the street. A driveway carries cars, and a base built for feet gives up under them. The same pavers can go back down on a base that holds. Lumen Landscaping rebuilds rutted interlock driveways across Hamilton: call (905) 906-0671 or send the form for a free written quote.
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The problem
What you are seeing
The first sign is usually two shallow channels, one under each tire track, that you notice because water sits in them after a rain. Then the joints along the ruts open up, the sand washes out and a few pavers start to rock. At the garage, a hump forms where the pavers meet the concrete slab, and the car bumps over it every day. Down at the street, the strip beside the sidewalk sinks a little more each spring, and the first pavers off the road tip toward the gutter.
A driveway is the hardest working interlock on the property. A patio carries people and a barbecue. A driveway carries a car or two, a delivery truck now and then, a shovel or a plow blade and a winter of salt. When the base under it was built like a patio base, the damage shows exactly where the weight goes.
The pavers are almost never the problem. Rutting, a hump and a sunken apron are the base and the ground under it telling you they were never ready for the load.
Our Work
Interlock driveways, walks and patios we have brought back
Why a driveway ruts, humps and sinks
Every uneven driveway we lift has at least one of these under it, and most have two.
- A patio base under a driveway: Driveways need a deeper, heavier base than patios because they carry cars. A base sized for foot traffic packs down further under every tire, and the two tracks sink first.
- Gravel dumped in one lift: Base gravel has to be compacted in thin layers. Dropped in one go and tamped once, it keeps packing down for years, fastest where the weight is.
- Pavers made for walking on: A thin patio paver flexes and tips under a wheel. A driveway wants a thicker paver made for vehicles, set tight in a pattern that locks.
- The hump at the garage: The garage slab sits on a footing and does not move. The pavers beside it ride on base and soil, which heave when the ground freezes and settle when it thaws. The joint between the two is where the hump shows.
- The apron at the street: The strip between the sidewalk and the road usually has a service trench under it. Fill in a trench settles for years, and the apron settles with it.
- Clay and water: Much of Hamilton sits on clay, which swells when wet and heaves when frozen. A downspout emptying onto the driveway, or ruts that hold water, keep the base soaked and moving.
Google reviews
What our customers say
“We had a gravel walkway around our pool and equipment that had become overgrown with weeds, and grasses. The crew removed all the existing weeds etc., stone, and fabric. … We are very pleased with their work. They delivered as promised.”
“My front walk and back patio needed maintenance due to misaligned stones and weeds. … I am very happy with the result and greatly appreciate the owner's planting suggestions for the low maintenance gardens I require.”
“They returned my call the same day I phoned. He arranged a visit and gave me a few options to repair my stone stairs. He did the work within 2 weeks and did a great job. I highly recommend him.”
The fix
How we fix a rutted interlock driveway
We lift the pavers in the rutted lanes and set them aside in order, so the pattern goes back exactly as it was. Then we open the base to see what went wrong: how deep the gravel is, whether it was compacted, and where the water has been sitting. We add gravel where it is short and compact it in thin layers until it stops moving under the plate, re-screed the bedding with a slope that sends water to the street instead of the garage, and reset the same pavers flush with their neighbours. Open edges get a restraint so the outside course cannot creep, and the whole driveway is pressure washed and re-sanded with polymeric sand in two applications so the repaired lanes match the rest. That is our patio and driveway restoration service, and most driveways are a candidate for it.
When the whole surface has moved, or the pavers were never made for vehicles, we quote a rebuild through our interlock driveway service: everything out, a deep compacted base built for cars, and thicker pavers laid tight. Either way the first step is the same, a free written quote that says which one you need and why.
At the street we work within the City rules. In Hamilton, widening a driveway or changing the approach across the boulevard needs access approval, and the boulevard parking program is not offered in Ancaster, Dundas, Flamborough, Glanbrook or Stoney Creek, so parking on that strip is not the answer there. In Mississauga the zoning by-law caps driveway width by lot frontage, and a wider curb cut is a separate request. We tell you before we quote whether an apron repair touches any of that. A repair that keeps the same width and shape does not.
Check this yourself first
Ten minutes with a straight board and a hose will tell you most of what we would find on a first visit.
- Lay a straight board across the ruts: A long level or a straight board across the tire tracks shows how deep they are. A dip you can slide a finger under is already past what re-sanding alone can hide.
- Watch it after a rain: Water standing in the tracks or against the garage slab tells you where the base is low and where it stays wet. Note which way the water runs when it finally leaves.
- Feel the garage joint: Run a hand along the line where the pavers meet the slab. A ridge in spring that flattens by summer is frost heave. A ridge that stays is settled base on one side and solid concrete on the other.
- Lift a paver at the edge: Pry one up where the ruts are worst and look underneath. Sand sitting on dark soil means there was never a proper gravel base. Clean gravel a few inches down means the base is there but thin or loose.
- When to call: A rut the car drops into, a trip edge at the apron, or pavers that rock under the wheel is worth fixing this season, before another winter of water and ice works on it. Call (905) 906-0671 and we will take a look.
Planning
What a lasting repair includes, and what changes the price
A lasting repair always includes
- Finding the cause, not just sweeping sand into the ruts
- Gravel added and compacted in thin layers until it holds
- Bedding re-screeded with a slope that drains to the street
- The same pavers reset flush, in the same pattern
- Edge restraint on every open side
- A deep wash and polymeric sand in two applications across the whole driveway
What affects the price
- How much of the driveway has moved: two tire lanes or the whole surface
- Whether the pavers can be reused or were never made for vehicles
- How much base has to be added, and how much old material is hauled away
- The apron: a sunken strip over a service trench takes more base than a dip mid-driveway
- Drainage work beside it, such as extending a downspout or regrading the lawn edge
- Access for the compactor and the gravel delivery
A typical repair, in plain words. Picture a double driveway where both tire tracks have dropped, the garage joint has a hump, and the rest is flat. We lift the two lanes and a course either side, rebuild and compact the base under them, reset the pavers, then wash and re-sand everything so the lanes disappear into the whole. The hump at the garage usually eases once the base beside the slab stops heaving, and we feather the last course so the car rolls over it. On a long rural driveway in Mount Hope or Binbrook, where the ground is heavy clay, the same job is mostly about drainage: getting water out of the base before it freezes again.
Every quote is written and free, and materials are billed at what they cost us with no markup.
Related
Related pages
Services: patio and driveway restoration and new interlock driveways. Related problems: a sinking interlock patio and ice on the walkway every winter. Areas: Hamilton and Mississauga. More answers on our FAQ page, and more problems we fix.
FAQs
Uneven driveway questions
Usually, yes. If the pavers are sound and the rest of the driveway is flat, we lift only the tire lanes and a course either side, rebuild the base under them and reset the same pavers. Then we wash and re-sand the whole surface so the repair does not show.
Weight. A patio carries people. A driveway carries a car on the same two lines every day, plus a plow blade and salt all winter. If both were built on the same base, the driveway shows it first, right where the tires run.
The garage slab sits on a footing and stays put. The pavers beside it sit on base and soil that heave when the ground freezes and settle when it thaws. Fixing the base beside the slab and giving water somewhere to go takes most of it out.
Polymeric sand closes the joints and keeps weeds out, but it does not lift a rut. Sand swept into a low spot washes out the first time it rains. Re-levelling first and re-sanding after is the fix that lasts.
Yes, when the cause is fixed, and that is the whole job. A base compacted in layers, bedding that drains, locked edges and tight joints are what a driveway should have had from the start, and we back the work with a 1-year craftsmanship warranty.
Not for a repair that keeps the same width and shape. In Hamilton, widening the driveway or changing the approach across the City boulevard needs access approval first. In Mississauga the width is capped by your lot frontage. We tell you before we quote.
How it works
Getting started is easy
- 1
Call or send the form
Tell us what you have in mind. We reply fast, usually within the hour.
- 2
Get your free quote
We look at your project and send you a clear, written quote quickly.
- 3
We build it
We start quickly and back our craftsmanship with a 1-year warranty.
Get Free Quote
Get a Free Quote to Fix Your Driveway
Tell us what the driveway is doing and where. We will take a look, tell you what is going on under the ruts, and get back to you fast with a free written quote.