A patio that has gone uneven is telling you something specific, and the first job is to work out what. Relaying pavers is straightforward work. Relaying them over the same problem that moved them the first time is how a patio gets repaired twice in five years.
Find out which way it moved
Sunken and heaved look similar from a distance and have opposite causes. A dished area that holds water after rain means material was lost from beneath: the base was never compacted properly, or water washed fines out from under it, or something buried below has settled. A raised, tented area means something pushed up, usually a tree root growing under the slab or frost acting on a base with poor drainage. Standing at one end with a level, or just a straightedge and a hose test, sorts one from the other in a few minutes, and the two need different repairs.
Lifting, correcting, and resetting
The sequence itself is not complicated. Lift the affected pavers, keeping track of the pattern and setting them aside face up. Excavate the bedding layer and inspect what is underneath, which is the point of the exercise. Correct the base by adding and compacting aggregate in lifts, or by removing whatever is heaving it. Screed a consistent bedding layer, reset the units to the surrounding level, restore the edge restraint if it has shifted, then refill and compact the joint sand. A plate compactor with a protective mat settles the field without chipping the paver faces.
The base is where the answer is
Almost every uneven patio was an inadequate base rather than a paver problem. The three usual deficiencies are insufficient depth of compacted aggregate for the use, compaction done in one pass rather than in lifts, and no separation fabric between the aggregate and soft native soil, which lets the two mix over time. If the excavation shows a thin scatter of stone over topsoil, relaying the same pavers on the same base will produce the same result. Base construction and installation standards for hardscape work are set out by the Concrete Masonry and Hardscapes Association, and they are worth reading before accepting a quote that does not state a depth.
Fix the water or do it again
If a downspout or the grade delivered water under the patio once, it will do so again. Before anything gets closed up, redirect the discharge well clear, correct the surrounding slope so water runs away from the paved area, and confirm the finished surface itself drains rather than sitting flat. This is the step most commonly skipped, and it is the reason repaired patios sink a second time in the same place. It is also the cheapest part of the whole job.
When relaying is not enough
Some cases need more than a reset. A patio settling next to a foundation may be following backfill that is still consolidating, and that is worth understanding before repaving over it. Widespread rather than localised settlement, or a surface that has moved again within a year of being repaired, usually means the base needs full replacement rather than correction. And where a mature tree root is lifting the field, cutting it is a decision about the tree as much as the patio, so it deserves an arborist’s view rather than a saw.
Frequently asked questions
Can one sunken paver be fixed on its own? Yes. Lift it, top up and compact the bedding beneath, reset it flush, and refill the joints. A single low unit in an otherwise flat field is usually a local bedding issue rather than a base failure.
Is polymeric sand worth using on a repair? It resists washout and suppresses weeds better than plain sand, but it demands full joints, a clean surface, and watering exactly as the manufacturer specifies. Applied carelessly it hazes the pavers and cracks out within a season.
How do I stop it sinking again? Fix the water. Redirect downspouts, correct the grade so water flows away, and ensure the surface drains. Do that alongside a base compacted in lifts and joints kept full, and the repair holds. Where the patio meets the house, the same regrade usually improves the entry threshold as well, worth raising with a Queens kitchen remodeling contractor if that door is being reworked anyway.