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CGI Driveway & Pavers: The Pasadena Owner’s Guide
We stock and install CGI-compatible driveway and paver components for Pasadena homes, with installed replacement work typically running $7,000 – $18,000 for a full paver driveway and $4,500 – $12,000 for concrete, depending on square footage and the condition of the subsurface. Most owners discover a failing CGI driveway part the same way: a paver that rocks underfoot, a section that has settled after a winter of Pasadena’s wet-dry cycles, or edge restraints that have let go along the curb line.
If you are standing on a paver that shifts, or you have watched water pool where it used to drain, you are looking at a base failure or a worn edge system, not just a cosmetic issue. The fix is rarely one paver. It is usually a section of the base, recompacted and releveled, with the right sand and the right restraint put back in place. We walk every CGI driveway job the same way: we look at the slope, the joints, and the base before we name a price, because the price on paper should be the price you pay at the end.
Which CGI Models This Applies To
CGI driveway and paver systems in Pasadena tend to fall into two groups: modular interlocking concrete pavers in a sand-set base, and larger format slab or plank pavers that may sit on a sand bed or a pedestal system depending on the original install. The compatibility question is not about the paver brand alone, it is about the base specification underneath, and that is where most failed driveways tell the truth.
When we come out to a CGI job, we check for a manufacturer’s stamp on the underside of a lifted paver, measure the unit thickness (typically 60mm or 80mm for vehicular traffic in Southern California), and note whether the original install used a permeable joint or a standard sand joint. If you have the original invoice or a paver label, bring it out, but a thickness measurement and a look at the base gets us most of the way. For CGI pavers specifically, the aftermarket equivalents are often made to the same dimensional tolerances, but color matching across production runs is never exact, so if we are patching a section, we will pull from a corner of your own driveway where a slight tone shift matters least. Elmstead Remodeling Pasadena is an independent service provider and not affiliated with CGI.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your CGI Driveway & Pavers Is Failing
- Rocking or shifting pavers underfoot. The sand bed has eroded or the base was not compacted to spec, which means the paver is now floating. Left alone, the movement spreads to neighboring units and the joints open up.
- Low spots that hold water after rain. Pasadena gets short, intense wet seasons, and standing water on a driveway points to a base that has settled unevenly. That water works its way down and accelerates the failure.
- Edge pavers pulling away from the curb or border. The edge restraint, usually a plastic or aluminum strip spiked into the base, has failed or was never installed. Once the edge is loose, the whole field starts to wander.
- Widening joints with weeds or ant activity. Ants and weeds do not cause paver failure, but they are a symptom of joint sand that has washed out or was never filled. The sand is what locks the pavers together.
- Cracks in a slab or plank paver near the driveway apron. In Pasadena, where older homes often have a steep approach from the street, the apron takes the most load. A crack there usually means the base underneath has a void, not just a surface flaw.
See the difference
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After
Before
After
Before
AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
For Pasadena homeowners, a full CGI paver driveway replacement runs $7,000 – $18,000 installed. A concrete driveway replacement runs $4,500 – $12,000. The range depends on square footage, access for excavation equipment, how much of the old base can be salvaged, and whether we need to haul away spoils from a failed subgrade rather than recompacting what is there.
Every quote includes the excavation or prep, the aggregate base compacted in lifts, the bedding sand, the pavers or concrete, edge restraints where the system calls for them, joint sand, and the cleanup. We put that line by line on a written estimate before any work starts. Graham Stein grew up in Los Angeles and learned the trade at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College before spending nearly two decades on projects across the San Gabriel Valley, and he has seen enough driveway quotes to know that a vague number is worse than no number at all. The price you see on paper is the price you pay at the end, no footnotes.
DIY or Call Us?
There is one thing an owner can safely check: whether the joint sand is low. Running dry sand into open joints on a dry day is a reasonable weekend task, and it can slow the spread of a problem. What an owner should not attempt is lifting a failed section and recompacting the base by hand. The compaction spec for a vehicular driveway in Pasadena soil is not something a hand tamper can hit, and a soft base under a repaired patch will fail again within a season or two.
Digging out a settled paver section without knowing what the base is doing underneath is how a small repair becomes a full resurface. If the pavers are rocking, the base has moved, and the base is the job. Call (626) 714-2992 and we will come take a look, put a written number in front of you, and tell you honestly if a patch will hold or if the right call is a full relift and reset.
FAQs
A properly installed CGI paver driveway on a compacted aggregate base in Pasadena should last 20 to 30 years before the base needs serious attention, with paver units themselves often outlasting the base below them. Our 365-Day Done Right Promise covers every completed project: if it is not done right, we make it right.
Yes, a section repair is often possible when the failure is isolated, usually running $1,500 – $4,000 depending on the size of the area and what we find in the base. The catch is that patched areas may show a slight color difference over time, so we will pull matching pavers from a less visible area of your own driveway. Call (626) 714-2992 for an exact quote, estimates are free.
Most Pasadena paver driveway replacements in the CGI style take three to five working days from excavation to final sand and compaction, depending on access and weather. We schedule around your family’s routines, keep the site clean every night, and send you a photo of the cleanup before the crew leaves.
We source CGI-compatible pavers through our supplier network and can match most common sizes and color families, though exact production-run color matches may require pulling from your existing driveway as noted above. If you have the original paver label or invoice, that speeds up the match considerably. Call (626) 714-2992 and we can usually identify what you have from a few photos.
Written by Graham Stein, Owner, Elmstead Remodeling Pasadena at Elmstead Remodeling Pasadena, serving Pasadena and nearby areas.
