Paver Patio Repairs 

This homeowner had a patio installed about ten years prior to this photo.  The steps and pavers had sunk until the patio was a safety risk.

This is what it looks like now after I made the necessary repairs.

I replaced the bullnose pavers on these steps with larger more stable, single faced capstones. 

The bullnose pavers (above) were narrow and would loosen much quicker over time. 

The sub-base was totally incorrect and had to be removed. It was mostly dirt and sand and could not compact.

I excavated the foundation and installed the correct amount of 2A modified stone sub-base.  Prior to applying the stone, I installed a hardscaping fabric called Geo-Fab.  This helps prevent heaving.

As the foundation was built, I installed filler blocks at the exact height they needed to be to provide uniform, even, layers for each surface.

These blocks will support all the weight placed upon them evenly.  The steps will never sink.

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Sand was bleeding out onto pavers just below the lights.

The gray pavers behind the Step blocks have sunk almost an inch below the blocks creating a tripping hazzard. 

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Also, look how the gray pavers on the top level disappear rather than taper around as seen on the bottom level.  The cuts were done to save time.  The look should be the same on both levels.

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I removed the pavers about 3 to 4 feet back from the edge and reset them so they were level with the newly reset step blocks.

Along the outside top level of the patio I removed the sub-base, then installed filler blocks behind the front edge retaining wall blocks to keep it stable and prevent sub-base frome bleeding out between the cracks onto the pavers just below.  This way the bottom support blocks are not pushed out.

 The lights were reinstalled during the rebuild process. 

The owner helped me with this project and it was by far one of the most difficult accomplishments of my hardscaping career.

There was nothing easy about this job but it was nice to leave the customewer with a smile on his face.

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Repairs due to Rodent Damage

This walkway was damaged by a chipmunk tunnelling under the pavers.  

There are sonic devices that can be put underground to chase rodents away.

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 Paver Patio Repairs 

 Water was going into the basement everytime it rained hard.



 The pavers were reset and angled away from the house.

 G2 Gator Polymer Sand sealed the gap in between the pavers.

Water flowed in the direction of the grade.

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This patio made of slabs became a tripping hazzard. It was levelled and and sealed with fresh polymer sand to keep the weeds out.

The patio was misted to wet the polymer sand so that it could seal.

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Some of these pavers had sunk.  Others had become loose.

The walkway was pressure washed.  Fresh G2 Gator Polymer Sand was applied.   After sweeping it into all the cracks it was misted down with water for a good seal.

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These bullnose pavers are pulling away because the retaining wall blocks below them are sinking and tilting forward.

I pulled up the blocks in this area., cleaned the glue off of the bullnose pavers, and reset the retaining wall blocks.

After everything is level, I used block adhesive to refasten the bullnose pavers.

Everything is tight again.

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This patio needed pressure washing.  Afterwards, I removed all of the pavers and added a little bit of 2A modified stone and concrete sand to correct the grade.

Rain water was not draining away from the house.

There also is no paver edging installed.  This is incorrect.  All of the pavers will slowly drift apart over time.

I installed Aluminum Brickface edging for paver support.

Aluminum has much better heat conducting properties than plastic.  Therefore the edging restraints will not buckle out of the ground.

I applied "gray" G2 Gator Polymer Sand and wet it down.  Now water will flow away from the house and the weeds will not come back.

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This small patio had several spots where the pavers had begun to sink. It needed a good cleaning.

I built up and levelled the sunken spots.

 Fresh polymer sand was applied to give the finishing touches.

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Paver Patio Repairs 

A homeowner selling their house needed their patio repaired in order to sell the home.  This is what it looked liked refurbished

The slabs near the steps had sunk down almost and inch and needed to be reset.  Some of the blocks were loose and needed to be cleaned and reglued.

Above    I levelled the slabs even with the step blocks.

You can see a build up of mildew as well. 

Below

After the repair, the house was ready to sell.

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Bilevel Hardscape Patios

This bilevel patio was installed with steps, safety walls and flower boxes.

EP Henry products were used.  Bristol Stone 1 and 2 (blue spruce) pavers, Brisa Wall (Ashland Gray) 6"wall blocks,  and Devonstone Stair Treads (Bluestone).

Textured  Bronze step lights were place under the capping to provide lighting for the evening.

The foundation was placed well below the surface in order to tie the wall and steps into the two patios  and maintain stability. 

Electrical receptacles and ground lighting were added features in this project.  The transformer is in the basement where it is plugged in.  This patio was a gift from the customer to his wife. 

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This walkway and retaining wall were installed to transition the area from the driveway to the steps below the deck.

Pressure treated posts (below) were installed so that an enclosure for recycle bins and hose reels could be added by the home owner. 

The walkway opens up to provide more usable space between the garage side door and the driveway.

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Hardscapes at my house

This is a small patio that was repaired and then overlayed with New Holland  - Essex Stone patio slabs.   The slabs were arranged to give a pinwheel design in the center.

The side entrance was redone using the same slab pavers with five repeating pinwheel designs.

There are three small pinwheels with two larger pinwheels between them.

A soldier course of (chestnut brown) 6" x 9" pavers lined the perimeter.

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I used these same Essex paver slabs to tie into the deck.  A random pattern was chosen.

Essex Stone - Patio Slabs by New Holland were used to imitate a natural stone inlay with a slate-like texture.

Prior to the installation this area was neither attractive nor user friendly.

The job was done entirely by hand because it was inaccessible to excavating equipment. 

Drainage for downspouts was first taken care of.

Geo-grid fabric was installed to prevent heaving.

Crushed 2A modified stone @ 6" deep is tamped for a solid foundation.

Coarse sand is spread on top at a uniform thickness  of 1".  The pavers were placed on this layer and set using a dead blow ballast mallet.  

These particular slabs were set by hand using a deadblow hammer. (using a hand or motorized tamper may crack them)  

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This pad was custom built to be perfectly level.  It was made this way so that water jets in the hot tub could operate properly.  Four lights were set around the perimeter.

The concrete border from the pool was not level.  The pavers had to be set at an angle up to the pad.

Due to the nature of this job, the pavers were individually set by hand.

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This patio was designed to extend a under newly built "Trex" deck.  It would support a hot tub in the back right corner.  

 At the front edge, a short walkway connects to the swimming pool. 

 The area under the deck was first excavated. 

The existing sidewalks were also removed.

The short retaining wall was built at the back to hold soil away from the patio.   Delaware River Rock was put along the backside and under the staircase.  

Geo-Grid fabric was fastened to the area to be built upon.  The fabric was installed to prevent heaving.

Next, a sub-base of 2A modified stone was applied and tamped to the correct grade.

Pavers were "Click and Dropped" into place.  This is the "accepted" method of paver installation.

Polymeric sand was swept over the pavers.  The pavers were set using a vibrating plate tamper.  A fine mist of water increased to a heavy spray wet the polymer sand which in turn locked the pavers in place.  The polymer sand sealed the gap between pavers and will prevent weeds from coming through.

Brown lattice was eventually added to the 2" X 6" supports.

The brown lattice is a nice finishing touch to hide the area under the steps coming down from the deck.

One of the difficulties was getting the hot tub area perfectly level and having it grade away from the house.  

The result was a custom contour of the surface that went from level to graded.  A difficult but not impossible accomplishment that is not standard procedure.  The pavers are exactly level right to the edges of the hot tub. 

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This customer wanted a walkway installed in front of his house and a patio behind it.

The walk would extend from the front entrance ...

 ...over to the driveway.    The walkway would also be shifted out away from the house by about three feet.

It is critical to get the sub-base graded correctly so as to avoid areas where water will collect.

I used Imperial Cobblestone Pavers.  6" X 6" and 6" X 9" sizes.  The color was Chestnut.

 The pattern used was a "Modified Herringbone" with a 6"X6" paver soldier course (outside border).

This was the area where a 16' X 22' patio was to be installed.  The old slates had been removed.  There was significant grade difference on the back side.  It had to built up using 2A modifed stone.

It may not appear that there is much of a grade, but there is over a foot in height difference from the left side to the right.

The same style and color paver was used here as was used out front.

3/4" clean quarry stone was put under the deck.  I redirected the downspout near the right front corner of the deck to go under the deck and out into the yard on the left hand side.  

Here you can see where the downspout makes its' exit.  It is not recommended to have water pour onto the patio.

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The owner wanted a small paver patio with two lighted retaining walls.  LED lights were attached to the top inside edge of the cap stones.

The lawn behind this house is almost always soggy due to the extremely hard ground....poor drainage.  The owner wanted a lighted patio installed with two small retaining walls.

The foundation for the wall was first installed followed by a sub-base of compacted 2A modified quarry stone.

The retaining wall will be composed of 6" and 3" high Imperial Wall Block in a random pattern.  The color is "Earth".

The pavers were installed by the "Click and Drop" method.  They are Imperial pavers arranged in an "I" pattern using 6" X 9" and 6" X 6" "Earth" colored pavers. 

Lighting was installed under the capstones on the inside of the wall.  The wire you see in the foreground will be buried under the pavers.

The perimeter is a soldier course of pavers.  The "I" pattern can be seen inside of that.  At the corner is a "6 X 6" with a cut "6 X 9". 

The sub-base must extend out from the wall several feet for stability.

Prior to plate tamping, polymeric sand was spread across the surface of the pavers.  The sand will form a rigid water tight seal when dry. It becomes flexible when wet and will help keep the pavers locked into place.  In the spring, topsoil will be graded over the area then seeded with grass.

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This walkway connects a preexisting patio to a newly installed deck.  I used the same style and color of pavers as was used originally.

The foundation was built to accommodate one step.

 The step unit was placed first to make sure it stayed at the correct angle.

There are borders on both sides of the walk.

Also, the area by the wooden post had a sharp curve (keystone design) that required many cuts.  The result however, is a strong interlocking curve that holds the corner together.

 

Check out more paver work on my other pages.

I have retaining walls and tree rings on some of my other pages.