The two jobs that keep coming back
Two costs repeat for as long as you own a paved patio or path, whichever way it was laid. The joints between pavers are packed with sand, and that sand erodes over time, letting weeds root in the gap and letting individual pavers shift underfoot. Polymeric sand, a sand and gel-agent blend that sets firmer than plain bedding sand, slows that down. Dingo's Powerloc-C, a common Bunnings product, covers about 3.5 m² of joint at a 3 mm gap per 20 kg bag, at $22.10 a bag. Our own 21 m² worked patio needs six bags, about $133, whenever the existing joints start showing gaps or the weeds come back. Paving SA, an Adelaide paving contractor, lists sweeping fresh sand into the joints, alongside regular herbicide use, as ordinary upkeep that carries on for as long as the paving's there.
Sealing is the other recurring cost, and it's optional in a way jointing sand isn't: an unsealed paver still works, it just weathers, stains and fades faster. Sealing the same 21 m² patio runs $168 to $315, using Gardening Hub's Australian pricing of $8 to $15 a square metre, and Paving SA's own advice is to reseal at least every two years to keep that protection current. That's not a trivial ask over a paving's working life, but Gardening Hub separately notes sealing can extend a paver's life by five to ten years, which is most of the reason it's worth doing on a surface meant to outlast a mortgage.
What it actually costs
Same worked example as our paver calculator: a 5 m × 4 m patio in budget concrete pavers, 21 m² once the 5% cutting allowance is added.
| Option | What it includes | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Resand the joints | Weed-resistant polymeric sand, about 6 × 20 kg bags at a 3 mm joint width | $133 |
| Pressure clean | Removing built-up dirt, algae and staining, residential rate | $65–$105 |
| Reseal | UV, stain and moisture protection for the paver surface | $168–$315 |
| Relevel a settled base | Only if a poorly compacted base lets pavers sink, rotate or sit unevenly | $400–$1,000 |
Sealing and resanding are recurring costs over the paving's life; relevelling is a one-off repair that only some paving ever needs, and only once the base underneath has actually failed.
The repair that dwarfs the rest, and doesn't care who laid the pavers
Our own DIY paving guide already flags the one cost on this page that isn't routine: relevelling a patio where the base underneath was never compacted properly. That's a $400 to $1,000 job on a patio this size, according to ServiceTasker's Australian repair-cost data, and it doesn't discriminate by who did the original install. A rushed DIY base is the obvious risk, but a professionally laid patio on a badly prepared site can settle unevenly too. The pavers themselves, concrete or stone, are rarely what fails; it's the ground underneath that keeps moving after the last paver goes down.
Weigh it against the calculator's own install figures and the picture is this: sealing and resanding together cost less, spread over several years, than the plate compactor hire our DIY paving guide already prices at $64 a day. Skip them and you're trading a small recurring bill for a bigger one later, a full pressure-clean-and-reseal catch-up on pavers that have faded and stained, or a proper regrout where a top-up would once have done. Paving SA puts concrete pavers at roughly 25 years before they need replacing, brick pavers considerably longer again with upkeep kept current. None of that changes the calculator's own upfront number; it changes what the paving costs across the years that follow it.
Common questions
How much does it cost to maintain pavers after they're laid?
On a 21 m² patio, resanding the joints with weed-resistant polymeric sand costs about $133, a residential pressure clean runs $65 to $105, and sealing costs $168 to $315 every couple of years. A one-off relevel, only needed if the base underneath settles, runs $400 to $1,000.
How often should you reseal pavers in Australia?
Paving SA, an Adelaide paving contractor, recommends resealing at least every two years. Sealing isn't compulsory, an unsealed paver still functions, but Gardening Hub's Australian pricing guide notes it can extend a paver's working life by five to ten years, on top of keeping stains, UV fading and moisture out.
Why do pavers sink or become uneven years after they're laid?
Almost always the compacted base underneath, not the pavers themselves. A base that wasn't compacted properly, or bedding sand that isn't laid fresh and even, keeps settling after the pavers go down, showing up later as sinking, rotating or uneven paving. That risk applies whether the original job was DIY or professionally installed; relevelling a patio-sized area afterwards typically costs $400 to $1,000.
Sources
Paver lifespan, resealing frequency and routine upkeep (sweeping fresh joint sand, herbicide use): Paving SA, How Long Do Pavers Last?. Sealing cost per square metre and its effect on paver lifespan: Gardening Hub, Paving Cost Per Square Metre Calculator. Residential pressure cleaning rate: Westlink Services, Pressure Cleaning Prices Australia. Polymeric jointing sand price and per-bag coverage at a 3 mm joint: Bunnings, Dingo 20kg Powerloc-C Paving Sand. Base-compaction failure mode and relevelling cost: same ServiceTasker, How Much Does Patio Repair Cost? and Splendour in Stone sourcing as our DIY paving vs hiring a paver guide. Compactor hire figure reused from the same guide's Bunnings Hire Shop sourcing. All fetched July 2026.