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Unilock Home Additions & ADU: The Jacksonville Owner’s Guide
If you’re planning a Unilock home addition or ADU in Jacksonville, the all-in cost typically lands between $45,000 and $130,000 for the addition itself, with a standalone ADU running $90,000 to $220,000 depending on foundation work, utility runs, and finish level. We install Unilock paver systems as part of larger addition and ADU projects across Jacksonville, from driveway approaches and walkways to patio spaces that tie the new structure to the existing house. Most owners discover a Unilock problem not through catastrophic failure but through slow shifts: a paver edge that sinks after heavy rain, a joint that keeps losing polymeric sand, or a step that no longer sits flush against the new foundation.
We’re an independent Jacksonville remodeling contractor, not a Unilock dealer or affiliate, which means we match the right Unilock product to your project without pushing one product line over another. Graham Stein, owner of Elmstead Remodeling Jacksonville, has spent years working through Jacksonville’s sandy-soil and high-water-table conditions, and he’ll tell you the same thing on every walk-through: name the material, name the day, name the price, then there is nothing left to wonder about.
Which Unilock Models This Applies To
Unilock splits its paver and wall lines into several families, and the right choice depends on whether the pavers are carrying foot traffic, vehicle loads, or retaining soil. For Jacksonville additions and ADUs, the three lines we spec most often are Mattoni (a clean, rectangular paver that works well for walkways and patios), Thornbury (a heavier paver rated for driveway use), and Rivercrest Wall (a tumbled wall unit used for planter walls, steps, and low retaining walls that often accompany a new addition’s grading plan). Each line has its own joint widths, base depth requirements, and edge restraint details. A Mattoni patio over a compacted aggregate base is a different animal than a Thornbury driveway that has to handle a vehicle turning radius.
If you already have Unilock pavers and need to match a repair or an extension, the fastest way to identify the product is to flip a loose paver. Unilock stamps the product name and manufacturing plant code on the underside of most units. That stamp matters because color lots vary, and a paver from Unilock’s Pennsylvania plant will not always match a paver from their Georgia facility. When we extend a patio or add a walkway to an existing Unilock installation, we always pull a sample from the site and match it against current production lots before ordering. If the original product is discontinued, we will tell you plainly and offer the closest current match, then show you a dry-laid sample before anything is installed.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your Unilock Home Additions & ADU is Failing
- Edge pavers sinking or tilting toward the addition. This usually means the edge restraint has failed or was never installed properly. Jacksonville’s sandy soil loses bearing capacity when saturated, and an unrestrained paver edge will creep outward and downward within a season or two.
- Polymeric sand washing out of the joints after every rain. Joint sand failing repeatedly is often a sign the pavers are moving beneath the surface, not just a sand problem. In Jacksonville’s afternoon downpours, water finds any void and carries the sand with it.
- Visible dips or low spots where water ponds for more than an hour after rain. Ponding water accelerates base erosion and creates a cycle that gets worse every storm season. A properly graded paver surface should shed water away from the foundation within minutes.
- Steps or paver landings pulling away from the new foundation. Fresh concrete and a paver landing settle at different rates, especially in Jacksonville’s high-water-table areas like San Marco and Riverside. If the gap is more than a quarter inch and growing, the base under the pavers has lost compaction.
- Weeds or grass growing through the joints in concentrated patches. This typically means the bedding layer has broken down in that area, not just that a seed found its way in. Widespread weed growth across a new installation within the first year tells us the base was under-built for Florida conditions.
See the difference
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After
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
For a Unilock paver system tied to a Jacksonville addition or ADU, here’s what realistic installed pricing looks like:
| Scope | Typical Installed Range |
|---|---|
| Full home addition with Unilock walkway and patio | $45,000 – $130,000 |
| Standalone ADU with Unilock hardscape package | $90,000 – $220,000 |
| Paver patio installation (Unilock, new base) | $3,500 – $11,000 |
| Paver driveway installation (Unilock, new base) | $7,000 – $18,000 |
| Repair or partial re-install of an existing Unilock area | $1,500 – $6,000, site-dependent |
Every Elmstead Remodeling Jacksonville project starts with a written price before any work begins. That price names the specific Unilock product, the base depth in inches, the edge restraint type, and the labor in plain stages, so nothing grows after the crew arrives. The written price is not an estimate that quietly becomes something else. It is the number we stand behind, and it is covered by the 365-Day Done Right Promise: if it is not done right after the job is complete, we make it right.
DIY or Call Us?
If you have a single paver that has popped loose and the surrounding area is stable, you can usually lift it, add a shallow bed of compacted sand, and re-set it. That is a reasonable Saturday job. What is not reasonable is rebuilding a paver base or correcting drainage around a new addition. Jacksonville’s sandy soil needs proper excavation at depth, geotextile fabric, and mechanical compaction in lifts. Skip that work, and the pavers will settle within two years. If the failure involves a retaining wall over three feet tall, do not attempt to disassemble it yourself; a wall that height is holding back real weight, and releasing it without shoring is dangerous. Call us at (904) 643-6243, tell us what you’re seeing, and we’ll schedule a look before you touch anything.
FAQs
A properly installed Unilock paver system in Jacksonville should deliver 25 to 35 years of service, with occasional joint sand top-ups every few years. The pavers themselves are manufactured to handle Florida’s UV exposure and freeze-thaw cycles, but the base underneath is what determines lifespan. In Jacksonville’s sandy soil, a base built with proper compaction and edge restraint lasts decades; a thin, poorly compacted base fails in five or fewer.
In most cases, yes. The most common repairs are re-setting a sunken section, re-tensioning edge restraint, replacing a cracked paver with a color-matched unit, and re-sanding the joints after storm erosion. Full replacement only makes sense when the base itself has failed or when the existing pavers are discontinued and a matching extension is impossible. Call (904) 643-6243 and we’ll give you an honest read on repair versus replacement for your specific situation.
A partial repair typically takes one to two days. A new paver walkway or patio tied to an addition runs three to five days including excavation and base work. A full driveway installation in Unilock Thornbury runs five to seven days. The home addition or ADU itself has its own timeline, and we coordinate the hardscape sequencing so the paver work never holds up the framing or the final inspection.
We do not maintain a standing inventory of Unilock product in bulk; we order per project from Unilock’s Southeast distribution network after confirming the product line, color lot, and quantity with you in writing. That means your pavers arrive matched to your existing installation or to the sample you approved, not whatever happened to be sitting on a pallet. For small repairs, we can often source single units or partial pallets within a week.
We also work with named-brand materials across the rest of the addition or ADU, including cabinets from KraftMaid, countertops from Cambria and Silestone, and fixtures from Kohler, Moen, and Grohe. Those brands matter because their warranties travel with the finished project and are verifiable by you, not just promised by us.
When you call (904) 643-6243, a live person answers, 24/7. Tell us what the pavers are doing, what you’d like the addition or ADU to do, and we will set a walk-through. Every project gets a written price before work starts, shoe covers and drop cloths on every visit, and a photo of the clean-up before the crew leaves. That is the Cedarwell Care Promise, and it governs every project we touch in Jacksonville.
Written by Graham Stein, Owner, Elmstead Remodeling Jacksonville at Elmstead Remodeling Jacksonville, serving Jacksonville and nearby areas.
