Paver Repair & Re-Sanding — Birmingham, Michigan
Paver Repair & Re-Sanding in Birmingham
A clay-brick walk laid on sand, a common sight in Birmingham, lives or dies by its joints. When the sand wears down, bricks loosen, shift and chip at the edges. We lift and reset loose or sunken brick on a corrected base, replace broken units and re-sand the joints with polymeric sand. Quotes come from photos or a visit, in writing within 24 hours.
Free written estimate within 24 hours Zero travel fees
Paver walkwayOvergrown turf and soil washed off a brick paver walk
- 4.9 from 177 Google reviews
- 1,200+ projects since June 2022
- $2M insured, plus workers' comp
- 24h to a free, written, line-item quote
Paver repair & re-sanding in Birmingham carries no travel fee, and every job gets a written, line-by-line quote within 24 hours.
| Service | Paver Repair & Re-Sanding |
|---|---|
| Area | Birmingham, Oakland County, Michigan |
| Price | Quoted per job, from photos or in person |
| Travel fee | None |
| Written quote | Within 24 hours |
| Call or text | (586) 284-3810 |
In Birmingham
A sand-set brick walk holds together through its joints. The Brick Industry Association (BIA) explains that sand in the joints locks clay pavers together by friction and reduces the brick-to-brick contact that can chip their edges. Wind and rain wear away the top of that sand over the years, and BIA's guidance is to re-sand periodically. Whether a walk leads to a 1920s house in Quarton Lake Estates, a home in the Poppleton Park area or one on the blocks near Shain Park, the joints are the first thing we check.
When bricks do move, lifting them takes patience. BIA expects some chipping when clay pavers are pried out, and a few spares are needed for any reinstatement. We keep every sound brick, set the bricks back in their pattern on a corrected bed and replace only the broken ones. Old clay brick has weathered for decades, and its color may no longer be made, so a replacement will read differently from the bricks around it. Scattering replacements through the pattern, as the Concrete Masonry and Hardscapes Association (CMHA) advises, keeps them from collecting into a patch.
Joint width shapes the sand choice. BIA calls for stabilized sand where clay-paver joints run wider than 3/16 inch. Polymeric sand makers call for a joint cleared to at least 1 1/2 inches deep; swept over old sand as a skim, it peels and flakes. So old sand comes out to at least that depth without disturbing the bed, and the joint is refilled with polymeric sand alone.
This service covers brick and pavers set on sand. A walk laid in mortar over a concrete slab is masonry work and falls outside it.
How we work
Lift by Hand, Reset on Sand
We probe the joints, check for rocking or sunken brick and confirm the walk is sand-set. The first brick is lifted with an extractor, or chiseled out if it is locked tight, and its neighbors are worked loose, scraped and stacked. Where the base has dropped, the low area is filled with compacted base material, then a fresh one-inch bed of concrete sand is screeded over it. Bricks go back in the original pattern along string lines and are settled with a mallet on a wooden block for a small patch, or a plate compactor for a larger one. Polymeric sand goes into the joints to their full depth, compacted and topped up, and after watering a few joints are checked to confirm the water reached deep instead of wetting only a crust.
Repairs That Cost a Brick Walk
Prying brick out without care chips and cracks the ones worth saving. Laying replacements in a single block makes a patch that draws the eye. Pressure washing with the jet pointed along the joints strips the sand and, as BIA warns, can undermine the bricks. Polymeric sand swept onto damp brick sticks to the faces as a haze that is hard to remove once it cures, as our guide to polymeric haze explains. And leftover joint sand stays out of the bucket, because polymeric products are made to be used unmixed.
When to Book Paver Repair & Re-Sanding in Birmingham
Brick under the canopy near Quarton Lake and along the Rouge River corridor sits in shade that keeps joints damp, and polymeric sand needs them dry to the bottom. Plan on a full day without rain before the work and a forecast that holds above freezing for two days after it. Nothing gets rebuilt on frozen ground. Loose or lifted brick at the front steps is worth resetting before snow, since BIA notes shovels can chip the edges of bricks that stand proud.
Questions, answered
Paver Repair & Re-Sanding in Birmingham: FAQs
Can an old brick walk be repaired instead of replaced?
Usually, when it is set on sand. BIA notes that sand-set clay pavers can be taken up and reinstated, which is what makes repair possible. Loose and sunken bricks are lifted, the base under them is corrected, and the same bricks are relaid in their pattern. Because prying out old brick chips some of it, a few replacement units are normally part of the job.
Will replacement bricks look like the old ones?
Not exactly, and we don't promise that. Clay brick weathers in place for decades, and an older color may no longer be made. Any spares you kept go in first, then the closest brick we can find. Replacements are scattered through the pattern instead of grouped, so the difference is spread out rather than collected in one patch.
Should our brick joints get polymeric sand?
BIA recommends stabilized sand where clay-paver joints are wider than 3/16 inch, and CMHA, writing about concrete pavers, recommends stabilizing joints that take concentrated runoff, such as below a downspout. Polymeric makers call for a joint cleared to at least 1 1/2 inches, so old sand comes out to that depth first. A thin layer over old sand peels and flakes.
How can I tell if my walk is set in sand or mortar?
Scrape a joint with a screwdriver. Sand joints give way as loose or lightly bound grains, while mortar joints are hard and cement-like. This service covers sand-set brick and pavers. If a walk turns out to be mortared, the written estimate says so, and it comes back within 24 hours.
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Book Paver Repair & Re-Sanding in Birmingham
Send photos of the low spot, the loose edge or the empty joints, or have us look in person. Every repair gets a written estimate within 24 hours.
- Written quoteWithin 24 hours
- Shop21366 Hall Rd,
Clinton Township - Insurance$2M + workers' comp
