The Pavers at the Edge Are Spreading Apart

Check whether the edge is opening or sinking

Look along the border and compare joint widths with the middle of the patio. Note whether the outside units tilt, settle or slide outward. Check for wheel traffic, an eroded garden edge or a changed ground level beside the paving. Keep furniture away from unstable units and mark a trip hazard until repaired. A decorative border is still part of the supported pavement.

Expose the restraint carefully

A hardscape installer may need to lift a limited number of units to see the restraint and base. Take photographs before covering it again. Look for a broken or absent edge, fixings that no longer hold and bedding spilling into the garden. Do not assume the restraint is sound because a strip of plastic remains visible. Its connection to stable material is what matters.

If furniture keeps catching after the edge is sound, Patio Furniture Legs Keep Catching in the Joints separates a chair-foot problem from paving movement.

Rebuild the edge as part of the paving system

The repair should restore base support, alignment, restraint and joints in the correct sequence for the selected system. Avoid building an arbitrary mortar lump around the outside; the detail must suit the pavement, drainage and nearby planting. Check the finished edge with the intended traffic and keep heavy wheels away if the patio was not designed for them. Repeated movement deserves a wider investigation than another line of joint sand.

Unilock calls for restrained patio edges and places restraint on the base course, not the bedding course; the actual restraint detail remains product-dependent. Unilock: installing a patio on grade.

Before you finish

• Distinguish sliding from settlement.
• Photograph the exposed edge construction.
• Check adjacent drainage before closing the repair.