Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
Unilock Home Additions & ADU: The Orlando Owner’s Guide
If you’re planning a home addition or ADU with Unilock pavers, retaining wall blocks, or outdoor hardscape elements in Orlando, you’re looking at an installed price range of $45,000 – $130,000 depending on square footage, foundation work, and how much Unilock product the design calls for. We stock and install Unilock-compatible materials, and most Orlando homeowners call us after a previous contractor gave them a verbal number that evaporated, or after a DIY paver base failed in our sandy, wet Florida soil.
What you’re really buying isn’t just pavers or wall block. It’s a structural system that has to hold up to Orlando’s afternoon downpours, high water table, and the occasional hurricane-season ground saturation. When the base is done wrong, you’ll see it within two seasons: settling corners, sinking pavers, and walls that start to lean.
Which Unilock Models This Applies To
Unilock makes several product lines that show up in Orlando additions and ADUs. The most common we work with are Thornbury, Brussels Block, Mattoni, and the U-Cara Multi-Face wall system. Each has different dimensional specs and base requirements, and you can’t always swap one for another without changing the structural math.
Here’s the compatibility gotcha most people miss: Unilock pavers are manufactured with a specific joint tolerance. Brussels Block, for example, uses a 1/8-inch joint, while some newer lines are designed for much tighter spacing. If you mix paver sizes from different series, you’ll fight the pattern the entire job. We match the product by the manufacturing code stamped on the underside of the paver or on the pallet label. For walls, the U-Cara system uses a fiberglass pin-and-clip face mount that’s completely different from the older stacked block lines. You can’t retrofit U-Cara face panels onto a line-block wall.
On the OEM versus aftermarket question: for Unilock specifically, we recommend staying with genuine Unilock product. The color blends, the dimensional consistency, and the warranty all depend on it. Aftermarket “compatible” pavers from other manufacturers might be cheaper up front, but the color won’t match when you need replacement pieces five years from now, and the wear layer thickness differs. That’s a false economy on a $45,000+ project.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your Unilock Home Additions & ADU Is Failing
- Settling or sinking pavers near the addition’s foundation line. In Orlando, this usually means the base wasn’t compacted in lifts, or the contractor skipped geotextile fabric and the sandy subgrade is migrating. Water finds the void and accelerates it.
- Retaining wall leaning or bowing outward. Hydrostatic pressure builds behind walls that weren’t backfilled with proper drainage stone and a perforated pipe. After a few Orlando rainy seasons, the wall starts to push.
- Efflorescence (white chalky residue) spreading across paver surfaces. This tells you water is moving through the paver from underneath, not evaporating off the top. It’s a drainage symptom, not a cleaning problem.
- Joint sand washing out after every heavy rain. If you see sand trails running across the paver surface after a storm, the base is settling, the joints are opening, and the interlock is being lost paver by paver.
- Paver edges along the addition chipping or spalling. Once the edge restraint fails, pavers shift under foot traffic, and the edges start grinding against each other. Small chips become broken corners within a year.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
In Orlando, a Unilock home addition or ADU with hardscape runs $45,000 – $130,000. The range is wide because the variables are real: a 400-square-foot paver patio tied to an addition is at the low end, while an ADU with a U-Cara retaining wall, multiple paver walkways, and a driveway approach pushes toward $130,000. What drives the number up or down is excavation depth (Orlando’s high water table sometimes requires extra stone), the Unilock line you choose, and whether you need engineering for a retaining wall over 3 feet.
Every Orlando project we quote includes the complete scope in writing: excavation, base material, geotextile fabric, drainage, the Unilock product, edge restraint, polymeric joint sand, and cleanup. The number we write down on day one is the number on the invoice. If something fails inside 365 days under our Done Right Promise, we come back and fix it at no charge. That’s in writing too.
DIY or Call Us?
You can safely check a few things yourself: look for standing water pooling against the wall line after a storm, check whether the edge restraint is visible or buried, and note any paver that rocks underfoot. That’s useful information when you call us.
What we don’t recommend is rebuilding a paver base or resetting a retaining wall yourself. The excavation depth needed in Orlando to reach stable subgrade is usually deeper than people expect, and compacting base material in proper lifts with a plate compactor is the difference between a flat surface and a wave pool in two years. A failed wall can also be dangerous, particularly anything holding back soil near a foundation. Call (850) 427-6454 and we’ll look at it honestly. Give you the number first, then pick up the tool.
FAQs
A properly installed Unilock paver system in Orlando should hold its structure for 25 – 30 years, though the Florida sun will fade surface color and you may want to reseal or re-sand joints every 5 – 8 years. If your pavers are shifting within the first three years, the base failed, not the paver.
In many cases, yes. If the failure is confined to one section, we can pull the pavers in that area, recompact the base, add stone, and reset the pattern. If the base was never done right across the whole area, a partial repair is just buying time. We’ll tell you which one you have before we quote anything. Call (850) 427-6454 for an honest assessment.
A paver patio or walkway typically takes 3 – 7 working days in Orlando. A full ADU with retaining walls, multiple paver surfaces, and drainage work runs 3 – 6 weeks depending on scope and weather. We’ll give you a written timeline before we start, and a defined arrival window for every day we’re on site.
We order Unilock product directly for each project from regional distribution, which means you get current production runs with consistent color lots and full manufacturer warranty coverage. We also work with KraftMaid, Cambria, and Silestone for interior finishes on additions and ADUs, so the whole project stays under one written scope and one guarantee.
Written by Trevor Nash, Owner, Penhallow Remodeling Orlando at Penhallow Remodeling Orlando, serving Orlando and nearby areas.
