Planning a paver patio or garden path

A paver patio is forgiving in one way, because a single paver can be lifted and replaced, and unforgiving in another: if the base below it is poor, the whole surface sinks and tilts. Most of the work and most of the material is below the pavers. Get the excavation, the base and the edging right and the surface looks after itself.

The same sequence builds a patio, a walkway or a garden path. The pavers change in size and the base changes in depth, but the order is the same.

Step 1: Choose the size, the shape and the paver

Lay out the area with a hose or string and put the furniture on it. A patio for a table and chairs wants at least 10 × 10 feet, and a path is often 3 to 4 feet wide. Larger pavers go down faster and have fewer joints; small pavers and patterns look busier and need more joint sand.

Step 2: Excavate and slope the ground

Dig out the depth of the pavers, the bedding sand and the base, and slope the bottom about 1/4 inch per foot away from the house. Remove topsoil and soft spots, and compact the soil. Call 811 before you dig. If the soil is clay or you are in a freeze area, use a deeper base.

Step 3: Build and compact the base

The base is crushed stone laid in layers of 4 inches or less and compacted with a plate compactor. A patio uses about 4 to 6 inches, and anything that will carry vehicles needs much more. Add about 20% to the order because loose stone compacts. Geotextile fabric under the base helps on clay or soft soil.

Step 4: Calculate the pavers, sand and edging

The complete list for a patio or a path comes from one set of measurements: the pavers with waste for cuts, the base stone, a 1 inch bed of coarse sand, edge restraint and its spikes, and fabric. Buy a few extra pavers from the same batch for later repairs.

Step 5: Screed the sand, lay the pavers and fit the edging

Screed the bedding sand level on guides and do not walk on it. Lay the pavers from a straight edge, working outward, and cut the edge pieces last with a wet saw. Install the edge restraint before compacting the pavers, or the outer rows creep outward and the joints open.

Step 6: Compact and fill the joints

Run a plate compactor with a pad over the pavers, sweep sand into the joints, and compact again. Polymeric sand locks the joints and keeps weeds and ants out, but it must be applied to dry pavers and activated with a fine mist as the bag says.

Before you start

• Call 811 before you dig.
• The drainage plan: where the water will go when it rains.
• The depth of the base for your soil and climate.
• Rental of a plate compactor and a wet saw.
• A spare set of pavers from the same batch.

Mistakes that cost people money

• A thin or uncompacted base, which is the main reason patios sink.
• Fine play sand as the bedding layer. Use coarse concrete sand.
• No edge restraint, so the outer pavers creep and the joints open.
• Sloping the patio toward the house instead of away.
• Applying polymeric sand to damp pavers or leaving it on the surface, which leaves a haze.

Frequently asked questions