Advice needed for sloping paver patio properly

12 years ago

Hello, I am new to this forum (or any forum to be honest) and i need advice on how to provide adequete slope for my paver patio.

I have purchased multiple books from black and decker and others, on the subject and am always confused when i get to the part about pitching the patio away from the home (i've also watched every youtube video from here to timbuck two).

I have a brand new home (new construction) that came with a 10 X 10 concrete slab patio in the back. Instead of demolishing that slab i have decided to add to it to the tune of 200 sq ft (50 ft up and 150 ft to the side).

My question is(and i am having a really tough time articulating my exact question and confusion) when i add my concrete slab pavers to the side and to the front of the existing patio, how do i determinbe how much paver base should be near the house or front of my patio as opposed to the opposite end where the water needs to run? All of the books say 4 inches of base plus one inch of sand before the pavers are placed down but if that is the case, the slope would be consistent all the way across the patio regardless of doing the 1 inch for every 10 feet thing. Do i just need to excavate more at one end?

I would like my concrete pavers to be pretty much even with the existing concrete slab. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. I would be glad to provide pictures if that is allowed on here.

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Comments (4)

fnmroberts
12 years ago
Grade away from a building for a paver patio will be somewhat less of an issue because of drainage afforded by the space between pavers and the base upon which they rest. Your 1/10" per foot grade is probably safe though I used 1/8" per foot because my level gave that indication.

Remove all of the top soil and sufficient sub soil to allow for the base. Base requirement is dependent upon your frost zone and the weight to be set atop. I have a minimum of 5" base plus an inch of sand but below a hot tub I have 10" of base. Paver base need not be different only because it's further from your house.

Now, here is my advise for new construction - WAIT, maybe 3 years. Why, because the foundation backfill needs time to settle completely. Most likely your existing slab is going to shift (unless footings were poured below) during this time so whatever pavers placed alongside will misalign in a season.

Yes, a photo would be helpful, many are posted. And, do you mean 2,000 sq. ft of pavers, not 200? Personally if you're going that large, why save the existing 100 ft of concrete?

I'm linking our patio. When I built it in 1998 (1995 home construction) I set stakes and provided a crowned grade from the house and to both edges. Because I needed a retaining wall, I installed French drains below the gravel,to carry away any water and they have worked great.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Here is a link that might be useful: Patio
One-Eyed-Willy
Original Author
12 years ago
Fnmroberts, thanks a ton for taking the time to give an in depth reply, much appreciated. I did not state the job correctly. 10 x 10 existing slab equaling 100 sq ft and adding an additional 200 sq ft directly next to the slab.

Although waiting 3 years may be the smart thing to do, I am not the type of person that can do that when my mind is set on something :) I am told it's a generational thing.

So if I understand correctly, even with 4 inches of base material spread consistently accross my excavated area (plus sand), my patio will still slope? I feel like it will be exactly even and therefore water will pool on top. Why am I not getting this? Lol.
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Your drawing more or less shows drainage running parallel to the house so this would be a flaw in grading that needs to be rectified. The drainage should run away from the house for a few feet, at least, and then run off in a direction that coordinates with the overall lay of land. The grading could direct water straight away from the house or somewhat at a diagonal. It could be a slightly warped surface that begins shedding water straightaway and gradually transitions to a diagonal, skewed toward the direction of overall flow. (A subtly warped surface would appear flat and the warping would not be perceptible to the eye. A possibility might look along these lines... I'm wondering why you would leave the gravel bed between the deck and patio. It seems like it would be better to widen the steps. They/it could be the entire width of the deck, if desired. The wider they are, the more of a direct connection from one space to the other and the better the visual and traffic flow. The step(s) also add the possibility of temporary, impromptu, extra seating facing the patio area. If the gravel space remains it seems to divide the two spaces for no good reason. It would be better to bring the patio all the way to the deck, even if the steps are less than the full deck width. If for some reason you are creating two separate "rooms" to be divided with a screen/wall so there is less interaction between the spaces, then you might leave the gravel bed/potential planting space. Note, what happens with grading is dependent on what the grading is doing in the rest of the yard. We have no information about that so I'm speculating in the above drawing.
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" ... then take a four foot line level with a square one inch block on the end for the pitch reference." Hmmmm..... I didn't get that at all! I would use the string/line level for excavation .... as a guide for creating a reasonably accurate excavated pit. The pit should be a few inches larger beyond the limits of the finished patio. Tamp the sub base to the desired elevation. The edge of a straight 2x4 could help you determine that the surface is in plane. Set it on the soil, as if you were screeding, and in that process, verify if there are any depressions. Screed in one direction, and go over the whole thing again in a perpendicular direction. And you'll end up with a reasonably in plane surface. Tamp and double check the pitch and also that all depressions are filled. Once it is like a hard floor and at the correct level, install the Brock base. 3/4" PVC pipes -- two of them -- are commonly laid parallel on a tamped base (in this case Brock base) as a guide to screed sand to a 1" thickness, using a 2x4 as a screed board. Since this patio is only 8' x 8', you might could screed nearly the whole thing in one pass. It might be easier, though, if you screed out a 4' width pass, and then move one pipe pole and screed out a second pass for the other half of the patio. The retaining edge will set on the screeded sand base.
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fnmroberts
12 years ago
I understand your impatience to get started - just giving you a "heads-up" that you will most likely need to take up the pavers and regrade. For the area you're now describing that will not be a huge undertaking.

What is the soil like where you live? Loamy or all clay? Rain and meltwater will percolate through the space between pavers and into the gravel base, then be absorbed by the soil UNLESS you're all clay. That's why I installed French drains. I only get very temporary, minor pooling atop when it rains heavily. YES, you should grade the surface away from your home so water is directed away from the foundation.
One-Eyed-Willy
Original Author
12 years ago
Rocky and Clay! Developer took all of my topsoil I am guessing. So go deeper and add more of a base? Water pools in this spot on top of the grass I am going to excavate (after a hard rain)

Advice needed for sloping paver patio properly

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Advice needed for sloping paver patio properly

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fnmroberts

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