Paver Repair & Re-Sanding in Fraser

Fraser's ground is flat lake-plain clay with slow drainage, and the city's older concrete already shows what that ground does: puddling on old flatwork and frost heave at driveway aprons. Pavers ride on the same soil. Inside the square formed by 15 Mile Rd, 13 Mile Rd, Hayes Rd and Kelly Rd, the low blocks along the Harrington Drain stay damp.

Heave takes a combination: freezing temperatures, soil that frost can act on, and a supply of water. As the freeze works down, water wicks up toward it and builds lenses of ice that jack up whatever sits on top. The North Dakota Geological Survey ranks silts and very fine sands as the worst heavers, clay as less severe, and clean, drained gravel as rarely heaving at all. Harm comes from uneven lift: one corner of a landing rises, the next does not, and a paver edge stands proud.

Spring brings the opposite problem. Thaw works downward from the surface, leaving meltwater perched on frozen soil below and the softened ground weak; a refreeze before it drains makes heave worse. A paver base held wet like that can settle. In the maintenance guide from the Concrete Masonry and Hardscapes Association (CMHA), a waterlogged base sits on the short list of reasons pavers sink, next to poor compaction and washed-out bedding.

That is why we sort the two before quoting. We hold off measuring anything that rose in winter until the ground has thawed, because heaved ground can drop back on its own, and only what stays out of line gets reset. Anything that sank gets the failed layer under it rebuilt, base or bedding. Neither repair changes the soil, so no reset comes with a promise against heave.