Custom Paver Driveway Installation

Your driveway is the largest hard surface on your property, and it is the first thing anyone sees when they pull up. Most people only think about it once it starts falling apart.

A paver driveway solves the problem differently. Instead of one big slab that cracks and then keeps cracking, you get hundreds of individual units sitting on a compacted base, flexing with the ground instead of fighting it. Smitty's has been building paver driveways for homeowners across northern New Jersey for decades, and knows what makes them last is mostly underground.

Free consultation, no pressure. Call (973) 785-8483 or send us a note, and we'll come to look at the site.

Why Homeowners Choose a Paver Driveway

Asphalt and poured concrete fail the same way every time. A hairline crack shows up, water works into it, winter freezes that water, and the crack opens wider. By the time it bothers you enough to call someone, the fix is a patch that never quite matches.

Pavers do not behave like that. Each piece is separate, so the surface shifts a little rather than splitting. If a section settles or a paver picks up an oil stain, we lift that area, correct whatever is underneath, and reset the same pavers. No seam. No patch color that looks off in two years.

Then there is the look. Poured concrete gives you gray. Driveway pavers give you color, pattern, borders, and edge detail that can pick up the brick or stone already on the house. A soldier course along the edges. A contrasting band where the driveway meets the garage. A curved apron out at the street. Small decisions that make the front of a house read as finished, not just functional.

They also last. A paver driveway built on a proper base runs 25 to 50 years with light upkeep.

Concrete, Brick, and Cobblestone

The material sets the whole tone of the driveway, so this is worth spending time on. We bring samples out to the site so you can see them against your house in real daylight.

Concrete Pavers

The most common choice, and for good reason. The range is enormous: tumbled and weathered for an older look, sharp-edged for something more modern, large format, small format, dozens of color blends. Modern concrete pavers are dense, rated for vehicle loads, and consistent enough that a big driveway lays out cleanly. Permeable versions are available if drainage is a concern on your lot. We install Techo-Bloc across most of our driveway work, so if there's a line or a color you've already seen somewhere, chances are we can get it.

Clay Brick Pavers

Fired clay, with the color running all the way through rather than sitting on the surface. That means a brick driveway looks essentially the same in year twenty as it did in year one. The palette is narrower, mostly reds, browns, and buff tones, but on a colonial or a center hall it is hard to beat. Brick also pairs well with existing brick on a facade or chimney.

Cobblestone Driveways

A cobblestone driveway has weight to it that nothing else quite matches. We work with reclaimed granite setts and with cobblestone-profile pavers, depending on the budget and the look you want. Full-field cobblestone is a real commitment. Plenty of homeowners use it just for the apron, the borders, or a turnaround, with concrete or brick pavers filling the rest. That combination gets you the character without the price of doing the whole surface in stone.

The Part You Never See

Ask three paver driveway contractors how they build a driveway and you will get three different answers. All of the differences are underground.

A driveway carries cars. Thousands of pounds rolling over the same two tire tracks, every single day. That is a completely different load than a patio or a walkway, and it needs a deeper base and heavier compaction. Crews that build driveways the way they build patios produce driveways with ruts in them.

Here is what we put underneath:

Excavation to the depth the site actually needs. Soil type and expected load decide that number, not a rule of thumb.
Geotextile fabric between the subsoil and the aggregate. Skip this over clay and the clay migrates up into the gravel over a few seasons until the base has lost most of its strength.
Aggregate base placed in lifts, each one compacted before the next goes down. One thick lift compacted from the top is not the same thing.
A bedding layer screeded to spec, not eyeballed.
Edge restraints on both sides so the field cannot creep outward under traffic. This is the single most common shortcut we see on driveways that failed early.
Polymeric sand swept into the joints, locking the pavers to each other and keeping weeds and washout out.
Grading that moves water away from the house, verified before we call it done.

Anyone can join a trade association. Certification means somebody tested the crew on the actual work.

Smitty's installers are certified concrete paver installers, and we're a Techo-Bloc Pro installer, which means the manufacturer trains and vets us on their product lines directly. We're members of the New Jersey Landscape Association as well. We're licensed and insured, and the work is guaranteed.

How the Installation Goes

Consultation and design. We walk the property, look at drainage and grade, talk through how you actually use the driveway, and bring material samples. You get a written scope and a price with the line items visible.

Layout and excavation. We mark the footprint, protect what needs protecting, and pull out the old surface. If there are sprinkler heads or irrigation lines anywhere near the footprint, we locate them before anything gets dug and cap or reroute whatever is in the way. Existing asphalt or concrete gets hauled off, not buried in the base.

Base build. Fabric, aggregate, compaction in lifts. The slow part. Also the part that determines whether you are happy about this in fifteen years.

Laying and cutting. Pavers go down in the chosen pattern, working off string lines. Edges and curves get cut on site so the borders come out clean.

Edge restraints, compaction, joint sand. The field gets locked in, compacted, and swept with polymeric sand, then activated.

Cleanup and walkthrough. We haul everything out, clean the surface, and go over care instructions with you before we leave.

Residential paver driveway installation costs depend on square footage, site access, and how much excavation the ground demands. Weather can move things. We tell you when it does.

Extensions, Aprons, and Turnarounds

Not every project is a full replacement. A lot of what we do is smaller and solves one specific annoyance.

Widening for a second or third car. A parking pad off to the side. A turnaround so nobody has to back down the whole driveway. A new apron where the driveway meets the street. Belgian block curbing along the edges, which cleans up the line and keeps the lawn out of the pavers. Tying the driveway into a front walk so the two surfaces actually relate to each other.

If you already have pavers and want to extend them, bring us the original manufacturer and style if you have it. If you don't, we can usually get close enough that the transition reads as intentional.

What to Ask Any Paver Driveway Contractor

Worth asking us and worth asking everyone else you talk to. The answers tell you a lot.

How deep is the base for a driveway, and how do you compact it?
Do you install geotextile fabric? Why or why not?
Polymeric sand in the joints, or regular sand?
What edge restraint do you use?
Is your crew certified, and by whom? Trade association membership is not the same thing as installer certification.
Can I see a driveway you installed ten years ago? Not last month. Ten years ago.
Is this your own crew, or subcontractors?
What does the warranty cover, and what voids it?

Since we're handing you the list, here are our answers. Base depth depends on your soil, and we'll give you the number on site. Yes to geotextile fabric, yes to polymeric sand, and edge restraints on both sides every time. Our installers are certified; we're a Techo-Bloc Pro installer, and we're licensed and insured in New Jersey. Our own crews do the work, no subcontractors.

What a Paver Driveway Costs

Pavers cost more up front than asphalt. Over the life of the driveway, the gap narrows considerably, because asphalt needs sealcoating every few years and typically gets replaced two or three times in the span one paver driveway lasts.

What actually moves the number on your project:

Total square footage
Removal and disposal of the existing surface
Excavation depth, which soil conditions dictate
Any drainage work the site requires
Which pavers you pick, since material cost varies widely
Pattern complexity and how many cuts it takes
Site access for equipment and material
Grade changes, steps, or retaining work
Borders, curbing, and apron detail

We price in writing, itemized, before anything starts.

Keeping It Looking Right

Low maintenance, not zero maintenance. The list is short.

Sweep and rinse it a couple of times a year. Pull weeds if any appear at the edges, which is rare with polymeric sand properly installed. Plan on having the joints resanded somewhere between year seven and year fifteen depending on traffic and exposure. Sealing is optional. Some people like the wet look it gives; others prefer the pavers to weather naturally.

Winter is fine. Plow with a plastic-edged blade or a poly shovel rather than a bare steel edge. Calcium chloride is gentler on concrete pavers than rock salt. And if a paver ever cracks or stains badly, we swap that one paver out. Try that with asphalt.

Service Area

We work out of Cedar Grove, and the majority of what we build is close to home. Essex County is the bulk of it: Cedar Grove, Verona, Montclair, Glen Ridge, Nutley, the Caldwells, Essex Fells, Roseland, Livingston, Millburn, Short Hills, and West Orange. Morris County keeps us busy as well, from Montville and Boonton across to Chatham and Madison. Bergen County has grown for us this year, with driveways going in around Mahwah, Wyckoff, Ramsey, Franklin Lakes, and Ho-Ho-Kus.

Not sure whether you're in our service area? Call and ask. If we can't get to you, we'll usually know someone who can.