Driveway pavers in Manchester NH - a driveway built for the soil under it
Cracked asphalt, ruts or puddles where you park? We dig out, build a base for the soil we find and lay pavers that hold together.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
Is a paver driveway worth it for a Manchester house?
A paver driveway is concrete pavers laid in an interlocking pattern over a packed stone base, and Capstone Manchester Concrete and Masonry builds them for homeowners in Manchester, NH who are tired of patching cracked asphalt every spring.
Most people who call me have an old asphalt or concrete driveway that's rutted, cracked or holding water, and they want to know if pavers make sense before they pay for another patch. The price moves mostly with the size of the driveway, how much old paving has to come out, how deep the base has to go for your soil and whether a slope needs extra work. The schedule turns on the season and on the permit side where the driveway meets the street. When I come out, I walk the driveway with you, explain what I see and put it in writing, so you get a number for your driveway instead of a guess.
How do you know it's time to replace your driveway?
Ruts where your tires sit
Two low tracks in the asphalt or gravel usually mean the base under it was too thin or has gone soft with water. The longer cars keep rolling in those tracks, the more there is to dig out when you replace it.
Puddles that sit for days
Water that stays by the garage or the street edge means the driveway isn't shedding it, and in a New Hampshire winter that water freezes and pushes the surface up. Fixing the grade during a rebuild is easier than chasing frost damage every spring.
Cracks spreading across asphalt
A few hairline cracks are normal, but a web of them that keeps growing usually means the surface is done. Sometimes a patch buys you a season and I'll say so, but once cracks reach the edges, water gets underneath and the breakup speeds up.
How we lay driveway pavers, from the dig to the last sweep
Before anyone digs, we have the utility lines marked so we don't hit a gas line or a buried wire. Then we pull out the old driveway and dig down to see what soil is actually there, because that's what tells us how deep to build the base. We lay crushed stone in layers and pack each one hard, then set a firm edge along both sides, usually steel, aluminum, a concrete curb or plastic edging made for pavers, because without it the pavers and sand slowly creep apart and stop locking together. On top goes a thin, leveled bed of sand, then the pavers in a herringbone pattern wherever cars turn and park, since that zigzag locks the pieces together tighter than other layouts. We finish by sweeping sand into the joints and running a plate compactor over the whole driveway.
A driveway often isn't the only thing that needs work. If your lot slopes and the driveway cuts into a bank, retaining wall construction holds that soil back so it doesn't wash onto the new pavers. If the brick steps, stoop or front wall the driveway runs up to are crumbling, masonry restoration brings them back, and it's simpler to plan both while the yard is already opened up.
A full new paver driveway
This suits an old asphalt, concrete or gravel driveway that's past patching, because we take it all out and build a new base from the soil up. It's the bigger job, and it's the right one when the old base is what failed.
Re-laying an existing paver driveway
This suits a paver driveway that has sunk or spread in a few spots while most of the pavers are still sound. We lift the pavers in that area, rebuild the base under them and put the good ones back, which is often a smaller job than people expect.
Get a written price on your paver driveway
We respond within 1 business day to set up a free on-site estimate. I'll walk the driveway with you and put what I'd do in writing, and there's no obligation to go ahead.
(603) 314-0526- Based in
- Manchester, NH 03104
- Hours
- Mon–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call about a paver driveway in Manchester?
Here's how it goes from your first call to the day you drive on the new driveway, and who you'll be dealing with along the way.
Call or send a message
Call (603) 314-0526 or use the form, and we'll set a time for me to come out. A couple of photos and a rough size help me show up ready.
I inspect and write it up
I walk the driveway with you, look at where it's failing and figure out why. You get a written estimate that says what I'd do, why, and what the price is based on, so you can see where the money goes.
We sort out the permit
Once you say go, we check with your city and take care of any permit the job needs. Then we book the dig for when the ground and the weather allow it.
We build and walk it
Our crew digs, builds the base and lays the pavers. When it's done, we walk the finished driveway with you and go over anything you want to look at.
Why homeowners call Capstone Manchester Concrete and Masonry for pavers
The person pricing it lays it
I come out to see your driveway, write the estimate and work on the crew that builds it. What we talked through in your driveway is what gets built, because the same person is there for both.
Trained on why things fail
Before we started in 2023, I spent years doing upkeep for a property management company, patching brick, chimneys and foundations on older buildings. That's where I learned to find the cause first, and on a driveway that means knowing why the old one sank before I price the new one.
Licensed and fully insured, every job
We're licensed and fully insured on every driveway we build, so the risk of an injury or damage on your property isn't sitting with you. The work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee.
New Manchester zoning, checked first
Manchester started working under a new zoning ordinance this year, so I don't go on what used to be allowed when I plan your driveway. Anything that needs confirming gets asked of the city before the estimate turns into a job.
On a paver driveway, what's under the pavers decides how it holds up, so set up a visit and we'll start by finding out what yours is sitting on.
Paver driveways, permits and spring ground in Manchester
In Manchester, the part of a driveway that sits in the city's right-of-way, usually the stretch between your property line and the street, will likely need a permit from the city's Public Works street permits office. If your driveway opens onto a state highway instead, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation requires a permit for a new or changed driveway. For the rest of the job, we check with the city before work starts and take care of the paperwork when it needs a permit, so you're not left sorting it out.
Ground water is the other thing I plan around here. New Hampshire water tables usually run highest in April and lowest in late summer, and in some soils the level swings a long way between spring and fall. That matters because trade guidance calls for a thicker base under a driveway than under a patio, and thicker again on wet or weak soil in a cold climate, so we dig, look at what's there and build the base for it instead of picking a depth off a chart. We see the same spring-wet yards on driveway jobs in Bedford and Derry, and we build them the same way.
Questions about driveway pavers in Manchester
How much does a paver driveway cost in Manchester NH?
Installing driveway pavers across the US usually costs about $18 to $23 per square foot, and that's a national range, not our price. What you'd pay here depends on how much old driveway comes out, how deep your base has to be and the edging and layout, so I'll measure and put a price for your driveway in writing when I come out.
Can you plow and salt a paver driveway in New Hampshire?
Yes, snow comes off pavers the same way it comes off any other pavement, so you can keep plowing and salting the way you do now. Concrete pavers can also stand up to deicing salt better than ordinary paving.
How soon can I drive on a new paver driveway?
You can drive on it as soon as the paving is done, because pavers don't need time to cure the way poured concrete does. That matters if you've got nowhere else to park once the job wraps up.
What is the best time of year to install a paver driveway in New Hampshire?
Any time the ground isn't frozen, because paver guidance says the base shouldn't go over frozen soil or be built from frozen stone. That usually means late spring through fall, and if you want the work done early in the season, calling over the winter gets the estimate and permit side settled before the thaw.
How do I choose a paver driveway contractor in Manchester?
Ask each one how they decided the base thickness for your driveway, because traffic, soil, drainage and climate set it, and the answer tells you whether they looked at your ground at all. The paver trade group, CMHA, recommends installers it has certified in paver methods, so you can ask whether a crew includes one too.
What causes a paver driveway to sink or spread apart?
Usually a base that was too thin or too loosely packed for the soil under it, so it settles where tires roll every day. Water held in the base and edging that gives out make it worse, and if your pavers have sunk, I'll find out which of those it was before telling you whether re-laying a section will do.
Other work that often goes with a new driveway
If a bank beside your driveway keeps shedding dirt and water, a retaining wall holds the ground back so the edge of the new pavers stays put.
Old brick steps, a stone wall or a front stoop that's crumbling next to a new driveway stands out, and restoring it now keeps the front looking finished.
Cities where we lay paver driveways
Capstone Manchester Concrete and Masonry is based in Manchester, New Hampshire, and works in many of the cities around it, from Nashua to some just over the line in Massachusetts like Methuen. The 12 cities below each have their own page, and they aren't the only ones we work in.
Manchester, NH
Get your paver driveway priced on site
Call (603) 314-0526 or send the form with the rough square footage, a few photos of your driveway and whether it meets a city street or a state highway, so I come out with the right questions.