paver patio

[denny80689]

Anyone here ever install there own paver patio? Im going to be tackeling the job in a few weeks and was looking for some pointers. Some people tell me its easy others have said its very hard. Opinions? Also I have one problem because my LR door that opens to where this patio will be has the basement window well directly under it. So how can I install paver steps over a window well???

 

[jvas0156]

All I can say is I hope you have a lot of patience. I tried to install one last year only to have it settle improprely. I ended up re-doing it twice and finally paying a contractor to do it. There is a pretty good book at H-depot on patios that walks you through the process. My honest recomendation would be to hire someone to do it right the first time.

 

[tangman99]

I installed my own in my last house. The only thing I recommend is renting one of the gas powered compactors. I compacted mine by hand with a hand compactor and it worked ok, but I did have settling in some areas. It's not hard to do, just make sure you prep the ground right and compact the heck out of it.

 

[dory36]

We put one in last summer. We rented a grass removal machine from Lowe's and had a 20x20 area cleared of grass in about 45 minutes. We then used a hand compactor and a level. When we were finished laying the pavers my husband put a little bit of cement around the entire base of the patio. I don't know if that's helped or not, but we've had absolutely no settling. You can't see the cement either because we planted some bushes and we used wood chips (or bark, whatever you call it) right next to the patio. I'd post pictures, but I'm at work. Good luck! :yes:

 

[nemo lover]

My husband is a supervisor for a concrete and paver comp. I will ask his advice tonight. I know they use a thin concrete border around the outside. also they lay some type of sand before they lay the pavers helps the pavers settle and reduces pressure on the pavers. This is what I know let me ask him for better advice.

 

[denny80689]

wow thanks everyone for all the replies. I plan to rent a gas compactor. And from what I read you have to compact after every layer. so compact the dirt, then put the stone down in 2 layers compacting each. then put the sand and lay the pavers and compact everything again. I would hate to have to redo it a few times
I have a contractor doing a retaining wall for me right now but he is nothing but lies and excuses. I would hate to see how long it would take him to do this patio.. its been 2 months of BS to get the wall done.. not to mention the price of having the pavers installed... All the other quotes I got were $15-$18 a sq ft... the price of the pavers is only $2.45 a sq ft.

 

[lovethesea]

my sis in law is in the middle of putting in a "Williamsburg Garden" I know they have put a lot of labor into it, but its starting to look really nice. They have been using the gas compactor. They still have TONS of work ahead of them, they are excited about it so far.

 

[caillou]

Laying the pavers is the easy part. It's the prep work that'll drive you nuts. The better the prep, the better the end result. Make sure you compact the crap out of your substrate (learned the hardway on that one). If I had to do it over I'd rent a compactor or at the very least one of those drums you can roll over it with.

 

[nemo lover]

yep your right! It will look so nice after. But every once in a while you might still have to do a repair. But I think its a great look.

 

[robchuck]

It can't be said enough: rent a good compactor! My arms still hurt (ok, maybe a slight exaggeration ) from a 12x16 patio my wife and I installed at our old home a few years ago!