2026 Cost Guide · Cambridge
Interlocking Costs in Cambridge (2026)
Planning ranges for interlock work in Cambridge in 2026, and a plain account of why two quotes for the same square footage can be far apart.
Interlock is priced by area, but the area is the least interesting part of the number. Two 60-square-metre driveways can differ by thousands because one needed 150 mm of base over sand and the other needed 300 mm over clay with fabric and a drain, or because one was a straight rectangle and the other a curve with a border that doubled the cutting. The ranges below are for planning. Every job is quoted in writing after a site visit, because what is under the existing surface decides most of the cost and nobody can see it from the street.
Planning ranges
- New interlock driveway, including removal of asphalt, excavation, compacted base, bedding, pavers, edge restraint and polymeric sand: commonly $18 to $35 per square foot installed in the region for standard concrete pavers on a straightforward lot. Premium pavers, a deep base over poor ground, drainage and complex patterns push toward and past the top of that range.
- Patios and walkways: commonly $16 to $30 per square foot for standard pavers; large-format slabs and natural flagstone run higher because of material and screeding time. Small areas cost more per square foot than large ones because the mobilisation is the same.
- Re-levelling existing interlock, lifting the pavers, rebuilding the base and relaying the same stones: commonly $8 to $15 per square foot for the affected area, more where the base has to be rebuilt from scratch or drainage added. A one-area repair is often quoted as a day rate plus material.
- Cleaning and re-sanding with polymeric sand: commonly $2 to $5 per square foot; sealing adds roughly $1.50 to $3 per square foot depending on product.
- Segmental retaining walls: commonly $40 to $80 per square foot of wall face for gravity walls with proper base and drainage; walls needing geogrid, engineering and a permit are quoted individually.
These are 2026 planning ranges for Waterloo Region, not prices, and your written quote may land outside them for reasons specific to your lot.
What moves the price, in rough order
- What is under the surface. Clay or silt means a deeper base, geotextile and often a drain, which is more excavation, more stone to buy and haul, and more disposal. This is the single biggest variable and it is why the quote follows the site visit.
- Removal and disposal. Taking out asphalt, concrete or old pavers and the base under them, and paying to dispose of it.
- Access. Whether a skid steer and a dump trailer can reach the work. A back patio through a 1-metre gate is wheelbarrow work, and every tonne of base is carried.
- Shape and pattern. Curves, borders, inlays and large slabs mean more cutting and more waste.
- Drainage and grade. Trench drains at an apron, drains behind a wall, or a slope that needs a step or a wall to manage.
- Permits and drawings. An Access Permit drawing for a widening, a heritage application in Dickson Hill, Main Street or Blair, or an engineer's drawing for a wall over 1 metre add cost and time before the work starts.
- Material. Pavers range widely in price per square foot, but material is usually a smaller share of the total than people expect. The base and the labour are most of the number.
How the quote should read
A quote worth comparing states the excavation depth, the base depth and material, the compaction, whether geotextile and drainage are included, the bedding thickness, the edge restraint, the paver and the joint sand, and what happens if the excavation finds something different from what was expected. A per-square-foot number with none of that behind it is not a lower price; it is a different, thinner job.
Where the money is best spent
Below the pavers. In this climate, on this ground, the base is the driveway. Spending up on a premium paver while economising on base depth is the exact recipe for the heaved fifteen-year-old driveways this site exists to fix.
Frequently asked questions
What does an interlock driveway cost in Cambridge?
As a planning range, standard concrete pavers on a straightforward lot commonly run $18 to $35 per square foot installed in the region in 2026, including removal, base, pavers and polymeric sand. Poor ground, drainage, premium pavers and complex shapes move it up. The written quote after a site visit is the only number that applies to your driveway.
Is re-levelling much cheaper than a new driveway?
Usually, because the pavers are reused: a planning range of $8 to $15 per square foot for the affected area against $18 to $35 for new. It stops being cheaper when the lift reveals the whole base needs rebuilding, at which point you are paying for a full relay and saving only the paver cost. We tell you which it is once the first pavers are up.
Why is the quote so much higher than the paver price at the yard?
Because the pavers are a fraction of the job. Excavation, hauling the old material away, buying and hauling and compacting several tonnes of base, bedding, cutting, edge restraint, sand and labour are the rest. The material you can see is usually a quarter or less of the total.
Do you charge for a quote?
No. The site visit and the written quote are free. We will not give a firm number over the phone for a surface nobody has looked under, because on Cambridge lots what is beneath the asphalt decides the price and a phone estimate is a guess one of us ends up paying for.
Is it cheaper in the spring or the fall?
The schedule is tighter in late spring and summer. Early spring and fall often have more availability, and fall is a good time for driveways as long as polymeric sand and sealer get a dry, mild window. Frozen ground ends the season for base work.
Does a driveway widening cost more than the extra square footage?
Somewhat. The Access Permit drawing and fee, any curb cut, and the possibility of a City tree valuation if one is in the way are costs on top of the paving. If the driveway fronts a Regional road the Region's permit applies instead. We put those items in the quote as separate lines so you can see them.
Price ranges above are typical Waterloo Region figures for 2026 and are provided for planning only. Every job is quoted in writing after a site visit. Last updated October 24, 2026.