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Outdoor paver design questions

5 years ago

I need help sorting out a design problem for my back patio area, which currently has an 15ft wide x 12 ft long landing, off of my living room. I want to add some pavers to increase the outdoor lounge space into the the additional 21 ft wide by 15 ft long space off of the existing patio.


Here is a picture of the current space:



This is a picture of my design inspiration:



Here are the basic measurements and components of my space:


My paver installer came to my house today and rose the following questions:

  1. should I not have small stones between the large pavers (as seen on the design inspiration) to avoid problems with furniture? Is there a real problem with stones and furniture? I wanted 4 inches of stone and he recommended 2 inches or none.
  2. should I dig up the magnolia tree and put it inside of a pot so I can have more substantial rectangular paver section, uninterrupted by the magnolia tree?
  3. there is currently a 6-inch level difference, from the existing concrete block and the maples trees and there have been 3 suggestions for a fix, including: (1) level the new pavers to the existing concrete block so everything is on one plane and then have a retaining wall at the end of the yard, in front of the maples; (2) do #option 1, but create a retaining wall around the maple trees instead of stopping in front of the maple trees; or (3) install a small step after the existing concrete block with the pavers so there are two levels of patios and there wont be such a large drop-off in front of the maple trees
  4. lastly, where should the retaining wall be? behind or in front of the maple trees, surrounding the maple trees with a u-shaped opening? Here's a quick mocked diagram of all of the design options that we're considering:


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