Our team works across East Lake

East Lake homes are built on sand

East Lake is mostly planned neighborhoods off East Lake Road, with curving streets and plenty of homes near Lake Tarpon. The houses are usually concrete block with stucco, and a lot of them have a pool with a screen enclosure out back. They are newer than many homes closer to the Gulf. Even so, the original concrete driveways and pool decks have had time to crack and settle, and that is most often what gets us the call.

Most yards here sit on sandy soil. Sand drains fast, which helps, but it moves when water runs through it and it will not keep pavers flat by itself. So the job starts with digging out the soft top layer and grading the ground so rain runs away from the house. Then the base goes down and gets packed hard with a compactor. The pavers are set on a thin, level bed of sand, and the edges get locked so nothing drifts. Skip any of that and you get dips and loose pavers after a rainy season or two.

If you already have pavers and one corner has sunk, the problem is almost always in the base underneath. Water found a low spot, or the ground was never packed hard enough. The fix is to lift that section and rebuild the base. Then the same pavers go back down, so the color still matches the rest of the driveway. Replacing cracked concrete with pavers is a bigger job, and we look at the site in person before giving you a price.

• Soft topsoil dug out before the base goes in
• Ground graded so rain drains away from the house
• Base packed hard with a compactor
• Edges locked so pavers stay in place
• Sunken sections lifted and relaid with the same pavers

Summer rain washes out weak paver joints

East of Lake Tarpon, you are far enough inland that salt spray off the Gulf matters less than it does in the beach towns. Rain is the bigger problem. Through the summer, storms build most afternoons and drop a lot of water in a short time. If a driveway slopes the wrong way, that water pools against the garage door or spreads across the pavers. As it runs, it pulls the sand out of the joints.

Once the joint sand washes out, the pavers lose what holds them tight against each other. They start to rock when you walk on them, and weeds move into the gaps. Our fix starts with a pressure wash to clean the surface. After the pavers dry, the joints get new sand and the whole area gets sealed. Sealer helps that sand stay put through the next storm, and it brings back color the sun has faded.

Tree cover is heavy in East Lake, with live oaks and pines shading a lot of yards, especially toward Brooker Creek Preserve. Shade is pleasant on a patio. But pavers under trees stay damp long after it rains, and that is where green and black stains show up first. Oak roots also push walkways up as they grow. When we plan work near a big tree, we look at where the roots run before we set the layout. If a section is likely to lift again, we tell you before the job starts.

Pool decks and HOA rules guide the design

A lot of East Lake backyards have a screened pool with the original concrete deck around it. By midday in summer, that concrete is hard to stand on barefoot, and cracks along the pool edge keep spreading. Light travertine stays cooler underfoot than concrete, which is why many homeowners pick it for a pool deck. Pavers are also easier to repair, because one cracked paver can be lifted out and replaced. We keep the new deck sloped so rainwater runs away from the pool.

Many East Lake neighborhoods have a homeowners association, and a new driveway or front walk often needs the board's approval before anyone digs. The board will usually ask to see the paver color and the pattern. We start with a visit to the house to look at the site and talk through what you want. Then we put together a custom design. The color and layout go in writing, so you have something clear to take to the board.

Houses in an East Lake subdivision often share a style and roof color. So the pavers need to suit your stucco and still look right next to the house beside you. A curved walkway from the driveway to the front door, or a border in a second color, can finish off a plain front yard. Custom walkways come up often in our Google reviews. One reviewer said their circular driveway got "a beautiful paver design that complements the architectural style of our home."

Getting a price in East Lake

Call us at (813) 330-4403 or request an estimate online. Tell us what you want done, from a new driveway to sealing the pavers you already have. We can come out to the house to look at the ground and talk through colors with you. You get a written estimate that spells out the work before you agree to anything.