How do I lift and relevel a sunken Vancouver paver?

Lifting and relevelling a sunken paver is one of the most manageable DIY repairs a homeowner can tackle — and in Metro Vancouver's wet climate, it's also one of the most common, since persistent rainfall and clay-heavy soils create ideal conditions for base settling and paver movement.

The good news is that interlock pavers are designed to be individually removable and replaceable. If you have a small area of sunken or uneven pavers — say, 10 to 30 pavers — you can often correct the problem in an afternoon with basic tools.

What You'll Need

You'll need two flat-head screwdrivers or a dedicated paver puller tool (available at tool rental shops), a rubber mallet, a hand tamper or plate compactor, coarse bedding sand (concrete sand, not play sand), a straight screed board, a level, and polymeric sand for refilling the joints when you're done.

The Lifting Process

Start by removing the polymeric sand from the joints around the affected pavers. Use a stiff brush, a utility knife, or a small oscillating tool to break up the hardened polymeric sand — this is usually the most tedious part of the job. Once the joints are cleared, insert two flat screwdrivers into opposite joints of the first paver and lever it upward. Paver pullers make this significantly easier and are worth renting for anything more than a handful of pavers. Once the first paver is out, the surrounding ones lift much more easily. Stack the removed pavers nearby in the order you removed them — this helps with reinstallation.

Diagnosing the Problem Before You Re-lay

Before you add sand and relay the pavers, take a moment to understand why they sank. In Metro Vancouver, the most common causes are base saturation from poor drainage, clay subgrade migration into the gravel base, and inadequate compaction during original installation. If the bedding sand beneath the pavers looks wet, muddy, or has mixed with clay, you have a drainage issue that needs to be addressed — not just a sand-level correction. Scoop out the contaminated bedding sand and inspect the gravel base below. If the base gravel looks clean and well-compacted, you likely just need to re-screed the bedding sand. If the base looks saturated, muddy, or thin, you may need to excavate deeper and rebuild the base — at which point calling a professional is the right move.

Relevelling with Bedding Sand

Assuming the base is sound, add or remove coarse concrete sand to bring the bedding layer to the correct depth — typically 1 inch (25mm) of bedding sand after compaction. Screed it flat using a straight board dragged across two screed rails (lengths of conduit or pipe work well). The screeded surface should be perfectly flat and account for the 2% drainage slope away from your house. Avoid the temptation to over-fill with sand to compensate for a low spot — excess bedding sand will compress under foot traffic and the paver will sink again.

Relaying and Finishing

Set each paver back into position by hand, maintaining consistent joint spacing (typically 2-3mm). Tap each paver firmly with a rubber mallet to seat it into the bedding sand. Once all pavers are back in place, check the surface with a level and a straightedge. Run a plate compactor over the area (with a rubber pad or protective mat between the compactor plate and the pavers — never run a compactor directly on bare pavers) to fully seat them. Finally, sweep polymeric sand into all the joints, compact again lightly, and activate the polymeric sand with a gentle water spray. Do not flood it — a fine mist that wets the sand to its full depth without washing it out is what you're after. In Metro Vancouver, time this step for a dry weather window of at least 24 hours.

When to Call a Pro

If the sunken area is larger than 30-40 pavers, if you find contaminated or saturated base material beneath the bedding sand, or if the same area has sunk more than once, the underlying drainage or base problem needs professional diagnosis. Repeatedly relevelling pavers without fixing the root cause is a losing battle in Vancouver's wet climate.

For larger repairs or full-area relevelling, Vancouver Interlock can match you with an experienced local hardscape contractor for a free estimate — find one through the Vancouver Construction Network directory at vancouverconstructionnetwork.com/directory?trade=interlock.