The Old Patio Needs Work
Jump To:
- Patio planning and layout
- Purchasing Patio Materials
- Excavating The Patio
- Laying Paver Base and Sand
- Installing Paver Bricks
A good patio plan will help to ensure that your project stays within budget and move forward without delay.
When you are done with your patio plan you should know:
- the approximate size of your finished patio
- the style/type of paver bricks or patio blocks you want to use in your patio
- the paver pattern you will use
- the number of pavers you will need
- the amount of paver base and sand needed
- the project tools you will purchase
- the project tools you will rent
- what additional materials you will need such as paver edging, landscape fabric, grass seed, etc.
- the location of your underground utilities (if any)
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Determining The Amount Of Paver Base: In most areas of the US, it is recommended that you use 4 - 6 inches of compacted paver base and 1 inch of sand. *If you plan to drive on it, add an additional 4 inches of compacted paver base (8 - 10"). Paver base and sand is available in bags at most building supply stores. However, if your patio is larger than a 5x5 square, it may make more sense to order the paver base and sand from a landscape supply company and have it placed in your driveway. For the paver base I purchased crushed limestone road gravel. For the sand layer I used a coarse sand. Fine sandbox sand is not recommended. There are calculators available online that will help you determine the amount of paver base and sand you need based on your measurements (usually in tons). You can also provide your measurements to the landscape company when you order the fill. My patio project required approximately 5 tons of crushed limstone and 1 ton of sand. |
Call Diggers Hotline (811) and arrange for them to come mark the locations of your underground utilities. You do not want to sever a gas or electric line while digging your patio.
Below is a list of the tools and materials I used on my patio project.
- Wet saw (portable or stationary)(rent or purchase)
- Round point shovel
- Square point shovel (optional)
- Flat trowel
- Garden rake
- Level
- Line level
- Large Hammer
- Masonary chisel
- Wheelbarrow
- Compactor (hand or powered)(purchase or rent)
- Hatchet for tree roots (optional)
- Crushed limestone paver base (local landscape supply)
- Concrete (coarse) sand (local landscape supply)
- Paver bricks, patio blocks, stone, or other (Home Depot)
- Landscape fabric (Home Depot)
- 1" outside diameter PVC pipe (2 lengths) (Home Depot)
- Paver edging & stakes (Home Depot)
- Grass seed mulch combo (Home Depot)
Excavating your patio is one of the most time consuming and labor intensive aspects of a patio building project. You can choose to dig by hand, or rent a mini-excavator shown below.
The mini-excavator is not overly complicated to operate and can be used for other tasks such as hauling the pavers, paver base, and sand from the front of your home to the patio site.
To determine how deep to excavate, add the paver base (4"), plus the sand layer (1"), plus the height of your pavers (2 1/2") =
4" + 1" + 2 1/2" = 7 1/2" deep.
* For proper drainage slope your patio away from the house 1" drop every 8 feet.
* Excavate an additional 2" on all outside edges of your patio to allow for installation of paver edging.
In the picture above the patio has been excavated with the proper slope for drainage away from the house.
To help gauge the correct amount of paver base, I pounded in stakes at opposite ends of the hole. Starting with the stake in the upper left corner (use picture as reference) I measured up 4" (the depth of my paver base) and made a mark. I then used a string and a line level to mark all other stakes. *Remember to retain the correct amount of slope away from the house. To do that you will have to measure down from level.
* It is recommended that you add and compact the paver base 1" - 2" at a time. Once the paver base has been completely compacted, you can remove the stakes.
The final step before laying the pavers is to temporarily install the paver edging followed by a 1" layer of coarse sand. Do not pound the edging stakes all the way into the ground as you may want to tighten everything up after the pavers are in.
Once the edging is installed, place two PVC 3/4" inner diameter (1" outer diameter) pipes on the paver base. Check the level of the PVC pipes to make sure they are sloping away from the house. Shovel some sand onto the PVC pipes then use a long straight board to compact and screed the sand smooth, using the PVC pipes as a guide.
As you move the PVC pipe to new locations you will need to fill in the voids left behind. To do this add some sand to the void then use a flat trowel to smooth it off.
It is likely that you will need to cut some pavers when installing your patio. You can either rent a wet saw or purchase one. I purchased a Dewalt saw. You can read my review of the saw here Dewalt DW861W Masonary Saw Review.
After paver installation check the tightness of the edging. If loose make necessary adjustments and restake. If you are using "L" shaped stakes, make sure the "L" faces the paver bricks. This will hold the edging against the pavers much tighter.
The patio is finished, the only job remaining is landscaping next to the patio. If you are replanting grass, backfill with good quality soil and spread a grass/mulch combo project. * Step-down the soil then loosen the very top with rake. If you do not step-down the soil as you backfill, it will sink.
My patio is primarily for storing trash bins so it didn't need to be large or fancy. To save time and money I made my patio a small rectangle with a simple pattern. Also, instead of using new brick pavers, I cleaned and reused old patio blocks I already had.
Whether you choose to make a simple or complex patio the basic building process is the same.
