Paver sidewalk on sloped yard

9 years ago

Hey all. Looking for some advice/thoughts on installing pavers on an area where the lawn grade is roughly 4" below the driveway surface that I'm matching the pavers to.
I've attached a picture that I'm hoping will help clarify my description.

I've done sunken pavers but with the lawn grade being so low, I'm not sure what the best approach is.

Plan 1:
1. Excavate 9.125" for paver base
2. backfill with class 5 and compact in 2" lifts until I have 3.875" class 5 thickness
3. lay first course of 5.5" thick retaining wall block around the perimeter
4. continue backfilling with class 5 until I have 6" class 5 thickness
5. lay soldier course of pavers and glue with landscape adhesive to retaining wall block
6. continue on with rest of installation as normal.....

Plan 2 is to do the same excavation but instead of using retaining wall blocks, I'd pour 6"thick concrete footing along the perimeter for the soldier course to bed into. Then I'd regrade the lawn a bit to come up to the paver.
As I'm typing this...I'm leaning towards plan 1 but I'd still like some input.

Thanks

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Comments (3)

PRO
Yardvaark
9 years ago
Please show a photograph of the actual site where the pavers are going. Show some surrounding area in the photo so we can gauge where the water might be flowing for drainage. Before talking about HOW you're going to install them, let's find out WHAT you are trying to accomplish. What is the purpose of this paved area? Based on the plan you've submitted, it doesn't look like parking.
ddlaz
Original Author
9 years ago
This area was previously landscaped with rocks and shrubs. I've since removed the shrubs so I could get my skidsteer to the backyard.
As mentioned in the topic title, it'll be used as a sidewalk towards the back, a place for trash/recycle carts, and firewood.
Drainage should not be an issue. Looking at the drawing in a N/S/E/W compass manner, the north side slopes fairly steeply towards the backyard and gradually decreases in slope as it gets out to the field. The east side currently slopes towards a neighbor's house but the area between our houses is a drainage channel that goes to the backyard.
Does this address your concerns enough? or did I miss something?
Thanks
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Please note that the walk grade slope along its length does not matter at all, only that it should be a smooth walking surface. The important part is the cross slope that carries the water over the curb to the gutter, which should closely match the grading detail I provided. The transition areas can deviate from the standard cross slope if the area is higher in grade than the adjacent areas with the proper cross slope. Looking at your latest graphic I see a 10% slope from point B to C. This looks suspect to me, since this area should be one conforming to the standard grading detail and the lengthwise slope of the walk edges should be the same as the slope along the curb. Since the overall street slope is around 4 to 5%, it seems unlikely that any section of the curb would have a 10% slope. On the subject of cost, I would think you might need around 2 cy yd of fill to bring the walk up to grade. The best fill would be a something like a select road base material. In my area the cost runs around $15/yd from the crusher and up to twice that from a material supplier, plus trucking cost. Here we have some mineral soil types with clay (not top soil!) that can be compacted to support walks and drives that only carry light loads. Never use a clay with lumps. It will leave voids and result in settlement. You might want to look at renting a plate compactor for this project. A thin layer of sand on top of the base material can facilitate getting the pavers set for a smooth surface.
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PRO
Yardvaark
9 years ago
"Does this address your concerns enough?" Not really, because you are not adequately describing degree of severity. A picture would give an idea of HOW MUCH slope and what things and how much space are in the area. It would be a better way for me to predict complications, or to determine if there is an easier way than what you are proposing. I want to see how much slope and what other things there are in the work vicinity. Is there a fence between the properties? How far to the next property? A simple picture would probably show all these things without me needing to think and ask about each thing. There are aspects to your drawing that I don't understand. A picture of the site would likely make it easier to speculate what you are proposing.

It sounds like you're building a retaining wall. Is this really necessary? (A picture would probably tell!) I'm going to speculate that it isn't unless the grade change is severe. In that case it would be preferable to have the wall outside of the paved area ... not underneath the edge soldier course. Placing it under adds complication to the compaction process. What is the paver pattern? If minimal cutting is a goal, the retaining wall will create another complication.

For pedestrian and light duty vehicular use, 6" base is overkill. 4" is sufficient. If you're going to be driving a skid-steer across on a routine basis, then 6" well compacted base might make sense. Where are you located?

Paver sidewalk on sloped yard

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ddlaz
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Paver sidewalk on sloped yard

Comments (3)

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ddlazOriginal Author

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ddlaz
Original Author