A cracked paver is usually a symptom of something under it rather than a defect in the stone. A void in the bedding lets the unit flex, and concrete does not flex. So the swap includes looking at what is beneath, otherwise the new stone cracks in the same spot within a couple of winters.
An interlock unit is strong in compression and weak in bending, which is exactly what happens when the bedding under one corner has washed away and a wheel crosses it. The stone spans the void, flexes, and splits, usually straight across the narrow dimension.
That is why a cracked paver in the middle of a driveway is almost never a manufacturing fault and almost always a void.
De-icing salt is the other cause and it looks different: instead of a clean split you get the face flaking away in layers, which is spalling rather than cracking and means the unit is failing from the surface down.
Either way the repair is the same shape: lift the failed stone, screed the bedding back to a consistent depth, and set a replacement. See what base repair covers if the void is larger than one stone, how discontinued pavers change the matching question, and what stained pavers need instead.
Cracked Pavers
How It Runs
Four steps to a clean swap
Check what is under it
The stone cracked for a reason. We look at the bedding under the gap before a replacement goes anywhere near it.
Lift with tongs
Extraction tongs take the unit straight up so its neighbours stay seated and the pattern does not open along the course.
Screed the bedding true
Sand goes back to a consistent depth so the replacement sits flush rather than proud or low against the surrounding stone.
Set, tamp and re-sand
New unit placed, the area tamped through a protective mat, and the joints around it closed with fresh polymeric sand.
Salt Damage
Flaking is spalling, and it spreads
A face that is shedding in thin layers has been attacked by de-icing salt, and unlike a crack it does not stay in one unit. Salt carried by boots and tires works its way across a surface, so by the time you notice three spalled stones there are usually a dozen on their way.
That changes the conversation from a swap to a plan. See what replacement cost looks like across a larger area, how discontinued pavers are matched, and what base repair deals with underneath.
Because the bedding under that one had a void. The unit spanned the gap, flexed under a wheel and split. Concrete carries weight well but does not bend at all.
Usually closely, and we show you a sample on the surface in daylight before ordering. Where the line is discontinued we look at relocating stone from a hidden area instead.
Slightly at first, because the surrounding stone has weathered. Most of that difference closes within a season outdoors, though it rarely disappears entirely.
No, that is spalling from de-icing salt and it spreads across a surface. Replacing three units is a holding action if a dozen more are on the way.
Small swaps generally run $300 to $900 including the visit, with additional units at $25 to $60 each depending on the product and the access.
Possibly, but a single point load usually cracks a paver that was already bridging a soft spot. A unit fully supported underneath takes a great deal. So we look at what is under it before deciding the skip bin was the whole story.
