Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterUnilock Construction in El Paso, CA | Barrett & Sons Construction
We provide independent Unilock construction service across El Paso, and the one thing that separates our paver work from what you’d get from an out-of-town crew is this: we plan for caliche before we ever turn a key. Caliche hardpan sits six to twelve inches below grade in much of this city, and it changes how every Unilock patio, driveway, and retaining wall gets built. Tom Barrett and his sons have been digging through it since 1998. Call (877) 610-1318 for a free estimate, and we’ll tell you exactly what’s under your yard before we quote a dollar.
Why El Paso Residents Choose Us for Unilock Service
Tom Barrett grew up in the San Fernando Valley, where his dad used to take him to watch crews pour foundations on weekends. He learned framing and field work at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College, then spent two decades on kitchen remodeling in El Paso and across Los Angeles before founding Barrett & Sons. That means when we show up in El Paso, we’re not reading a manual on Unilock products for the first time. Our crews work with Unilock concrete paver systems daily across El Paso, and we’ve seen how caliche, UV exposure, and monsoon drainage turn a standard Unilock install into a specialized job. We carry genuine Unilock paver units and edge restraints for color and dimensional match, but we source ASTM C33 base rock and geotextile fabric from local El Paso suppliers because that’s what caliche drainage demands. Every job gets permits pulled, a written change order before any scope shift, and the 90-Day Done Right Promise on paper. We’ll do it right the first time, or we’ll come back and make it right.
For more on the full Unilock lineup we work with, see our Unilock sales & service page.
Common Unilock Construction Problems We Solve in El Paso
- Efflorescence from caliche-laced groundwater. Calcium carbonate in El Paso’s caliche dissolves into groundwater, wicks up through concrete pavers, and leaves white mineral crusts across Unilock surfaces. A capillary break above the caliche stops this before it starts, and we install one on every paver job.
- Paver settlement over caliche hardpan. The 79904 and 79908 tracts northeast of central El Paso sit on slab-on-grade homes that already show differential movement. When a Unilock base is compacted directly onto caliche without excavation, the same soil movement that cracks those slabs will sink your pavers within two seasons.
- UV color fade faster than the national average. El Paso sits at roughly 3,700 feet with 300-plus sunny days a year. Unilock paver edges, especially on Mattoni and Tosca lines, fade noticeably faster here than in coastal Texas. We match replacement units by batch and age so repaired sections don’t look patched.
- Monsoon-driven paver drift and edge failure. July through September cloudbursts dump intense rain in minutes. Poorly graded or weakly restrained Unilock edges wash out, and base rock scours away beneath the pavers. We grade for a minimum 1% slope toward street drainage and stake edge restraints into undisturbed soil.
- Retaining wall base failure on Pisa and Estate Wall lines. A Pisa wall or Estate Wall set on shallow footing over caliche can lean within a year. We excavate to competent soil or key into the caliche itself, then backfill with free-draining rock so monsoon water doesn’t build pressure behind the wall.
Unilock Service in El Paso: What Local Conditions Mean for Your Equipment
El Paso is one of the few Texas metros where you can hit caliche at six inches below grade. That’s not a trivia point, it’s a budget line. Every Unilock paver base in this city must be excavated with pneumatic tools and re-compacted with select fill because a standard backhoe bucket will bounce off the caliche shelf and stall the whole job. Abilene and Lubbock contractors rarely carry that line item; around here, it’s table stakes. Last fall our crew took on a Unilock Mattoni paver driveway replacement off Kenworthy Street in the 79924 ZIP, where caliche stopped our trencher ten inches into the existing asphalt base. We pulled out pneumatic jackhammers, excavated the caliche shelf, laid down geotextile and six inches of crushed base rock before reinstalling the Mattoni units with a 1% slope toward the street. The finished driveway has stayed level through two cloudbursts and shows no efflorescence thanks to the capillary break installed above the caliche. That’s what a caliche-ready Unilock install looks like, and it’s the only way we build in El Paso.
Unilock Models & Products We Service in El Paso
We install, repair, and re-level the full Unilock concrete paver range, including Estate Wall, Pisa, Mattoni, and Tosca. For color and dimensional match on repairs, we source genuine Unilock paver units and edge restraints. For failing sections, we often repair by re-compacting and re-grading the base rather than replacing entire Unilock lines, which saves you money and keeps the original layout intact. We stock common Mattoni and Pisa units locally for faster El Paso turnaround, and special-order Estate Wall caps and Tosca accents arrive within a week. Every paver base we build in El Paso includes geotextile fabric and a capillary break above the caliche, whether the job is a ten-foot walkway or a full driveway replacement.
Unilock Service Pricing in El Paso
| Service | El Paso Price Range |
|---|---|
| Paver Driveway Installation | $7,000 - $18,000 |
| Paver Patio Installation | $3,500 - $11,000 |
| Home Addition | $45,000 - $130,000 |
What drives the cost on an El Paso Unilock job is the caliche. If we can excavate with standard equipment, your base prep runs on the lower end. If we hit hardpan at eight inches and need pneumatic jackhammers plus select fill, the excavation line goes up accordingly. You’ll see that line item in writing before we start, not after. A free estimate includes a site walk, a caliche probe, a written scope, and a copy of our 90-Day Done Right Promise. Call (877) 610-1318 for an exact quote.
Serving El Paso, TX - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the El Paso area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs - Unilock Construction in El Paso
No. Unilock pavers installed over a properly excavated caliche base with geotextile fabric, select fill, and a capillary break will not shift from caliche movement. The key is excavation depth and re-compaction. A base compacted directly onto unexcavated caliche will move with the soil’s moisture cycles. Call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll probe your yard before we quote anything.
That white crust is efflorescence, and in El Paso it usually comes from caliche-laced groundwater wicking up through the concrete paver. Hosing it off removes the surface salt temporarily, but it returns every time the soil wets and dries. The permanent fix is a capillary break installed between the native caliche and the paver base, which blocks the moisture path. We add that to every repair we do.
You can, but you shouldn’t. A shallow sand base over caliche will hold for a season or two, then settle unevenly and heave with the first monsoon cycle. El Paso’s slab-on-grade homes across the 79904 and 79908 tracts show exactly what happens when you pour or lay over caliche without proper prep. Full excavation with select fill is the only method we’ll stand behind here.
Mattoni’s blended earth tones do fade more slowly than lighter Unilock finishes, but no concrete paver is immune to El Paso’s UV index, which rivals coastal Florida at 3,700 feet of elevation. Expect faster color change than the national average on any Unilock product. We match replacement units by batch and sun age so a repaired section blends instead of standing out. Call (877) 610-1318 if your pavers are fading unevenly.
Most settled sections can be repaired without full replacement. We pull the affected units, re-excavate the caliche beneath, re-compact with select fill, reinstall a capillary break and geotextile, then lay the original units back in. If the base under the rest of the driveway is sound, the repaired section stays level on its own. We reuse your existing Unilock pavers whenever the color and condition allow.
Service Areas Near El Paso
We serve El Paso and the surrounding Texas communities. If you’re in a neighboring area, our crews cover Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, and Fresno as well. For specific coverage details, see our El Paso service area page. We also run Unilock crews in Arlington and Corpus Christi for customers with properties across the state.
Book Your Unilock Service in El Paso Today
If your Unilock pavers are settling, crusting white, or washing out at the edges, call (877) 610-1318 and ask for a free caliche probe with your estimate. Tom Barrett answers his own phone, and the estimate you get is the one on paper. We’ll walk your yard, show you what’s under the surface, and write a scope you can take to the hardware store and compare.
Written by Tom Barrett, Owner at Barrett & Sons Construction, serving El Paso since 1998.