Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
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AfterUnilock Construction in Fort Lauderdale, CA | Barrett & Sons Construction
We provide independent Unilock construction service across Fort Lauderdale, from paver driveways in Victoria Park to canal-front pool decks in Coral Ridge. The one thing that makes our Unilock work here different is simple: we sequence paver installation with Broward County’s seawall inspection requirements, because roughly half the high-end paver projects in this city sit on finger islands or canal-front lots where tidal soil settlement undermines the base before the pavers ever fail. Call (877) 610-1318 for a free estimate, and you’ll get Tom Barrett or one of his sons on the line, not a call center.
Why Fort Lauderdale Residents Choose Us for Unilock Service
Our foremen have rebuilt Unilock paver systems across Broward’s canal-front lots, from interlock paver driveways to pool decks over repaired seawalls, and we speak fluent Unilock. We know which series tolerate HVHZ uplift and which need edge restraint upgrades before a county inspector will sign off. Tom Barrett started Barrett & Sons in 1998, and for 29 years the name on the truck has been the same name on the permit. Every scope change arrives as a written change order before any work happens, every eligible job gets permits pulled and inspections signed, and every completed job carries the 90-Day Done Right Promise in writing.
We’re an independent Unilock service provider here in Fort Lauderdale, not a manufacturer-affiliated or authorized dealer. That means we recommend what actually holds up on a salt-air canal lot, not what a corporate playbook tells us to push. We stock Unilock pavers, edge restraints, and polymeric sand locally so your Fort Lauderdale project doesn’t stall waiting on a freight truck from the Midwest.
Common Unilock Construction Problems We Solve in Fort Lauderdale
- Edge restraint failure on canal-front pool decks. Tidal soil settlement drops the outer course of pavers and unlocks the whole field. When a king tide rolls through Coral Ridge or the finger islands, those freed pavers float and shift under storm surge. We rebuild the base and install buried aluminum or polymer edge restraints that hold under Broward County’s HVHZ wind and water loads.
- Efflorescence and salt-pitting on Richcliff and Umbriano faces. Salt-laden onshore air, paired with Fort Lauderdale’s year-round humidity, dulls pavers within 2 to 3 years if they aren’t sealed with a penetrating silane-siloxane sealer. We clean, strip, and seal these surfaces so the color doesn’t go chalky over time.
- Joint sand washout in Brussels Block driveways. Hurricane rains flush polymeric sand out of the joints, and then individual pavers rock and crack under wheel loads. We recompact, re-sand, and in some cases upgrade to ASTM C33 concrete sand with a polymer binder that grips better in wet conditions.
- Sub-base migration through seawall weep holes. After heavy king tides, water pushes base material through the seawall, leaving voids under patio pavers. The result is a 1 to 2 inch drop at the waterline, right where the patio meets the canal. We excavate, stabilize the base, and relay the pavers so the surface drains away from the water.
- Color and finish mismatch after piecemeal repairs. If more than 20% of a paver field is cracked or patina-mismatched on a Fort Lauderdale home, we recommend full removal and reinstallation over replacing pavers piecemeal, especially when the base has already failed. Half-measures on a seawall-adjacent patio just mean you’ll call us back in two hurricane seasons.
Unilock Service in Fort Lauderdale: What Local Conditions Mean for Your Pavers
Fort Lauderdale is the only city in Broward where a majority of high-end paver projects sit on finger islands or canal-front lots that require a Broward County seawall inspection sign-off before the hardscape permit can be finaled. That’s not a bureaucratic formality. It means every Unilock patio we install west of the Intracoastal has to pass a tidal-soil compaction test that Pompano Beach and Hollywood rarely trigger, because those cities simply don’t have the same density of canal-front lots. On a job we did off NE 17th Ave in Victoria Park, our crew pulled a 200-square-foot Unilock Courtstone patio off a 1962 concrete-block home after the original install settled 1.5 inches at the seawall edge. We cored the slab, found the 60-year-old concrete seawall rotated 3 degrees inward, and after the owner permitted a new seawall we rebuilt the base with 12 inches of compacted limerock and a Mirafi geotextile before relaying the Courtstone with a buried aluminum edge restraint. County gave final sign-off in one trip because the paver surface no longer sloped toward the canal.
For Unilock owners in Fort Lauderdale, this means the base matters more than the paver. A Brussels Block driveway inland might get away with a standard compacted base, but a canal-front Richcliff patio needs the full sequence: seawall inspection first, then base preparation, then edge restraint, then pavers. Skip the order and the county stops the permit, or the tides undo the work.
Unilock Models & Products We Service in Fort Lauderdale
We service all major Unilock lines: Brussels Block, Courtstone, Richcliff, and Umbriano. For structural work, we use Unilock’s own edge restraints, polymeric sand, and replacement pavers to keep product consistency and color match. For base material, we source ASTM C33 concrete sand and geotextile from Broward suppliers to cut cost without compromising the base. Parts arrive fast in Fort Lauderdale because we keep common Unilock components on hand locally, and anything ordered comes from Florida distribution, not a cross-country truck. Our Unilock sales & service team handles everything from a single cracked paver to full paver driveway and patio installations.
Unilock Service Pricing in Fort Lauderdale
| Service | Price Range |
|---|---|
| Paver Patio Installation | $3,500 - $11,000 |
| Paver Driveway Installation | $7,000 - $18,000 |
| Seawall-adjacent paver repair (base rebuild, excavation, compaction) | $1,500 - $4,500 |
| Edge restraint replacement (aluminum or polymer) | $300 - $900 |
What drives cost in Fort Lauderdale is the base work. A paver patio on a solid inland lot costs less than the same patio on a finger island where we have to excavate settled soil, compact 12 inches of limerock, and sometimes wait on a seawall inspection before we can final the permit. A free estimate from us includes a written line-item scope, and if anything changes during the job, you get a written change order before the extra work starts. Call (877) 610-1318 for exact numbers on your property.
Serving Fort Lauderdale, FL - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Fort Lauderdale 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 Fort Lauderdale
The sand isn’t the problem. Canal-front patios in Fort Lauderdale sit on tidal soil that saturates and swells with every king tide, and without a buried edge restraint, the outer course of pavers drops and unlocks the field, letting storm surge float them out of position. We fix this by excavating, compacting a stabilized base with geotextile, and installing an aluminum or polymer edge restraint before relaying the pavers. Call (877) 610-1318 for a free site assessment and exact quote.
Partially. A 20-year-old Brussels Block field has patina from UV exposure, salt air, and traffic wear, so brand-new replacement pavers will stand out against the older ones. We can often source a closer match, but if more than 20% of the field is cracked or the base has failed, full removal and reinstallation gives you a uniform surface that will last. Call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll tell you straight whether patching makes sense.
Yes, a penetrating silane-siloxane sealer is worth the cost on canal-front and Intracoastal lots in Fort Lauderdale. Salt-laden onshore air pits Richcliff and Umbriano faces within 2 to 3 years if left unsealed, and the humid climate accelerates efflorescence. A penetrating sealer repels water and salt without changing the paver’s surface texture. We apply it as part of installation or as a standalone service.
No. Pavers are ground-mounted and don’t affect wind-load calculations on your structure. What they can affect is drainage and setback compliance on a Fort Lauderdale addition, especially if the paver area sits near a canal or seawall. If you’re planning a larger renovation, we also handle Bathroom Remodeling in Fort Lauderdale and can coordinate both scopes. We coordinate paver work with your addition’s permit scope so Broward County doesn’t flag a hardscape issue that delays your final inspection.
Unilock pavers are manufactured with tighter dimensional tolerances and higher compressive strength than most budget brands, which matters when your Fort Lauderdale pool deck sits on tidal soil or within sight of the Intracoastal. Cheap pavers crack and shift sooner under HVHZ wind loads and salt-air conditions. We’re an independent Unilock provider, so we recommend Unilock when it fits your lot and budget, and we’ll tell you when a different option makes more sense. Call (877) 610-1318 for a straight answer and a free estimate.
Service Areas Near Fort Lauderdale
We serve Fort Lauderdale and the surrounding communities. Our crews regularly work in Pompano Beach, Hollywood, Dania Beach, Oakland Park, and Wilton Manors. For projects further north, see our Unilock service in West Palm Beach. For work south of Fort Lauderdale, our Unilock service in Hialeah covers that area. The full Fort Lauderdale service area page lists every zip code we cover, including 33307, 33308, 33309, and 33310.
Book Your Unilock Service in Fort Lauderdale Today
Call (877) 610-1318 to schedule your free Unilock estimate in Fort Lauderdale. Tom Barrett or one of his sons will answer, and we’ll come out, look at your base, check your seawall if you’re on a canal, and give you a written line-item quote. We’ll do it right the first time, or we’ll come back and make it right.
Written by Tom Barrett, Owner at Barrett & Sons Construction, serving Fort Lauderdale since 1998.