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CGI Driveway & Pavers: The San Antonio Owner's Guide
CGI-compatible driveway and paver parts are available through Elmstead Remodeling San Antonio, with complete installed replacements typically running $7,000 to $18,000 depending on the size of the run, the paver material, and how much of the underlying base needs rebuilding. We stock common CGI-compatible edge restraints, base panels, and jointing compounds, and can usually have a full replacement scheduled within the week. Most San Antonio homeowners discover the failure the same way: a paver shifts underfoot after a heavy rain, a border begins to bow outward toward the lawn, or the driveway develops a low spot that holds water for days after a storm.
If you have a CGI paver or driveway product that is no longer sitting true, the fix usually involves more than swapping a single piece. The base beneath it has failed or is failing, and the right repair addresses both. That is what we do. If you have the part number from your original install paperwork, bring it to the call and we will match it against current CGI-compatible stock before we ever load the truck.
Which CGI Models This Applies To
CGI driveway and pavers systems in San Antonio generally fall into two groups: the modular paver lines used for patios, walkways, and driveway borders, and the larger-format driveway slabs that interlock over a compacted base. The compatibility gotcha most owners hit is that CGI changed the edge profile on several paver lines around the late 2010s, meaning a paver bought today will not always drop in flush against a paver laid five years ago. If your original pieces have a rounded shoulder along the top edge, you need the older generation profile. If the edge is square, you are on the current generation. We check this on the truck before quoting a replacement, because the wrong assumption means returning with the right stone and another week of waiting for the family.
OEM CGI parts are the surest match for color consistency and dimensional tolerance. Quality aftermarket equivalents can work well for base panels, geogrid, and jointing sand, and in many cases the performance is indistinguishable for the price. Where we do not compromise is on edge restraints and bedding material. Those carry the structural load of every wheel that rolls across the drive, and a cheap substitute in San Antonio's clay-heavy, shifting soil becomes a visible problem within two seasons. We are an independent service provider and not affiliated with CGI, but we have handled enough of these systems across San Antonio to know where to spend and where to save.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your CGI Driveway & Pavers Is Failing
- Paver rocking or tilting underfoot. This is almost always a base material issue, not a defect in the paver itself. Water has softened or washed out the compacted layer below, and the paver now has room to move. In San Antonio, this happens fastest in the northeast neighborhoods where soil clay content is highest and drainage slows after big spring downpours.
- Edge border separating from the driveway. The edge restraint has failed or was never installed correctly. Once the border pulls away, nothing holds the outermost row of pavers in place, and the failure spreads outward and inward at the same time. We see this on driveways with steep curb cuts where runoff hits the side wall hard during storms.
- Low spots holding water for more than 24 hours after rain. A correctly bedded paver driveway drains within a day. Persistent pooling means the base has settled unevenly underneath, and the low area will only deepen as more water concentrates there and softens the subgrade further.
- Sand or fine material washing out from between pavers. The jointing compound is breaking down or was the wrong product for the slope. Lose enough of it, and pavers begin grinding against one another during normal traffic, chipping edges and loosening the interlock.
- Visible cracks across multiple pavers in a straight line. This pattern typically traces back to a utility line or tree root moving beneath the base, or a base layer that was never deep enough for drive traffic. A single cracked paver is wear and tear. A line of them means the base itself is the problem.
See the difference
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AfterReplacement Cost & What's Included
Paver driveway installation in San Antonio runs $7,000 to $18,000 as a full replacement, with the range driven by three factors: square footage, the paver material you select, and whether your existing base can be salvaged or must be excavated and rebuilt from scratch. A standard two-car driveway with a clean, compacted base runs toward the lower end. A long driveway with a steep grade, failing subgrade, or drainage channels that need resetting will climb toward the upper end. Paver patio work, which shares most of the same failure modes but carries no vehicle load, typically lands between $3,500 and $11,000.
Every quote from Elmstead Remodeling San Antonio includes the written price before any work starts, the demo and haul-away of the old material, the rebuilt base, the new pavers and edge restraints, jointing compound, and the cleanup. The photograph of the finished cleanup is part of the job, not an add-on. The quote you sign is the price you pay. If a scope change becomes necessary once we open up the base, you hear about it in writing and approve it before a single additional dollar attaches to the job.
DIY or Call Us?
You can inspect a failing paver border safely without special tools. Walk the edge, push gently on loose pieces, and note where water is pooling after rain. What you should not attempt on a driveway is pulling up multiple pavers and re-setting them without access to a plate compactor and the right bedding material, because any repair that does not compact the base again will fail within months, and then you have paid twice for the same problem. Working with a compacted stone base and heavy pavers also carries real strain and crush risk if a paver slips, and moving 40-pound pavers around on a bad back or a wet San Antonio afternoon is not a beginner project.
If you want us to look at it, call (432) 233-0976. We will inspect the full run, tell you honestly whether the base can be saved, and give you the written price before any work starts. Graham always says: write it down, price it once, do it right.
FAQs
A properly installed CGI-compatible paver driveway in San Antonio should last 20 to 25 years before the base needs meaningful work, with the pavers themselves often outlasting the base. The two things that shorten that timeline fastest here are poor drainage and tree roots. Solve the drainage at install, and the system lasts decades.
Yes, if the failure is confined to one section and the base beneath the rest of the driveway is intact. Small edge repairs, single-paver swaps, and localized base patches are common jobs for us in San Antonio neighborhoods with mature tree roots. The honest caveat: once settlement is widespread, a patch simply moves the problem. We will tell you which situation you have before recommending a repair.
Most San Antonio paver driveway replacements take three to five working days from first cut to final compaction. Weather can add a day, and if we discover the subgrade is saturated or riddled with roots, the schedule extends. You will know the timeline in the written quote, and we hold it unless site conditions genuinely change.
We carry common edge restraints, jointing compounds, and base panel material on the truck, and we confirm paver profiles and dimensions against your existing install before we roll out. For full replacements, everything is ordered to the project and staged so the work does not stall mid-site.
Written by Graham Stein, Owner, Elmstead Remodeling San Antonio at Elmstead Remodeling San Antonio, serving San Antonio and nearby areas.
