Why does installing a paver patio seem so impossible!?

5 years ago

My husband and I are starting week 3 of installing a paver patio against our house and it just feels impossible. We dug out 8 inches, graded and leveled to our best ability and ran a compactor over that. Then we added the gravel in two inch increments and compacted until we reached 6 inches of base. We tried using the poles to screed out the sand in small sections but because the gravel base isn't perfectly level we keep running into problems with the pavers being properly graded and level. Everyone says that the part where you lay the pavers is the easiest but that has not been our experience. At this point we're both feeling incredibly defeated and frustrated. Do we need to try to level out the gravel more? Do we need to lay all of the sand at the same time? Any advice would be appreciated!
Here's a link showing our most recent problem. https://www.reddit.com/r/landscaping/comments/o4xz0i/im_back_my_last_post_was_about_getting_the_patio/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

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Comments (8)

fnmroberts
5 years ago
How large is your patio?

When I built ours 23 years ago, I compacted gravel in 3” layers before adding sand. In order to establish my grade, sections of conduit were driven thru the gravel on 4’ spacings until the correct level was reached to establish a 1/4” per foot crowned slope - you can note this looking at the pergola footings which are level I screeded 4’ sections as the pavers were set.. This patio is 24x 26 BTW, it was an entire summer (weekend) project.
Lisa Anderson
Original Author
5 years ago
It's 16x20
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fnmroberts
5 years ago
It seems you’re going about it correctly. I believe that I layed some weed block fabric over the gravel then screeded the sand level. Don’t worry about gravel not being perfect. For that matter don’t fret if the pavers atop the sand aren’t either. Another pass with the vibrating compactor before the joint sand will set and smooth the pavers.

Good luck.
3onthetree
5 years ago
That looks like larger than 3/4" gravel in the lower left of the video, maybe that's why you can't get the surface compacted flatter. You should have guide lines set for your square and height (slope). You should not be screeding so close to the pavers. When you first lay the 1" conduit (are you using 3/4"?), slide it back and forth to get it exactly the slope you want, but your gravel shouldn't be that far off. Then screed a section, pull the conduit and fill in the sand with a trowel. Then lay a small section, later kneel from that section (not close to the edge) to lay the other sections outward. No fabric between sand and gravel.
daisychain Zn3b
5 years ago
I used 1/4 down limestone under ours. If I recall correctly, it wasn't hard to level. I didn't do as large a deck as you are. I did a walkway and our patio is about 6x12. I think it might be the large gravel with sand that's causing the problem.
PRO
Joseph Corlett, LLC
5 years ago
I see a lot of paver work in our development. I walk past and shake my head wondering how they did such an amazingly detailed job. Beautiful borders, seemingly microscopic pieces filled in perfectly and perfect pitch. I've been in construction all my working life and wouldn't pave a grill stand after having seen their work.
ulisdone
5 years ago
Yeah, not easy DIY work, but start laying the pavers at the front of the patio so you are not kneeling in your unfinished base. Use sand to raise or lower as you go, just like if you were mud setting a tile job.
3onthetree
5 years ago
^^ that's not how interlocking pavers are done

"but start laying the pavers at the front of the patio so you are not kneeling in your unfinished base."

You can walk or drive over the gravel base as much as you want - it's solid and that's it's purpose. The sand you just screed a section at a time before you lay pavers. To start at the perimeter and work towards a house corner as the OP, you'd have to have strings and your measurements would need to be spot-on, which adds another layer of risk you are not square or wind up with slivers.

"Use sand to raise or lower as you go, just like if you were mud setting a tile job."

Mud setting, meaning place one piece and hammer it level, is for stone or large format slabs. When you screed your sand bed is perfect and placing the smaller interlocking pavers seldom requires an adjustment, when one does typically it's because you've set it down at an angle and the corner displaced some sand.