You need the new Polymeric Sand for your patios.

Weed killer, wait a few days, power wash until cracks are clean, polymetric sand, seal, and spray with Wet and Forget so no moss grows.

You have a really nice design in there. I agree with cleaning it off and saving this bit of patio.

You mentioned flooding, though. Is that an issue?

This patio just looks neglected. Clean it off with a shovel, broom and hose. Weeds can be dealt with. Spray them with Round-Up and a few days later, remove the dead bits. (I sprinkle preen over the patio, letting it sift down into joints, for long-term weed prevention.)

Is the surrounding grade such that soil is washing onto the patio from somewhere? That would be a separate problem that is not the fault of the patio.

It looks like the brick has sunken a bit. If so, that can be repaired. Otherwise, a l1600 PSI pressure washer -water only- will freshen it.

Masonry caulk may be enough for the cracked concrete.

Avoid carcinogenic Round-Up. Mix 1 gallon white vinegar, 2 cups Epsom salts and 1/4 cup Dawn dishwashing liquid. Spray on weeds, grass, poison ivy to kill it.

B-FLAD is right: Polymeric sand.

First, fix the low spots. and make sure it drains properly.

Then, brush/sweep and then shop-vacuum all the joints. Do NOT power wash. You need to pull as much out as possible. 1/2" of polymeric sand will just crumble away. Get in there with a screwdriver if you need to. Get al the roots, too. Vacuum again. Double check.

You need at least 2" depth for the sand to be good and solid when it sets. More is better.

"... carcinogenic Round-Up." Where is your evidence?

I would not be removing and replacing sand. If pressure washing, do not blast sand out out of the joints.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/05/30/727914874/safe-or-scary-the-shifting-reputation-of-glyphosate-aka-roundup

Still debatable, but I try to opt for less risk, Yardvaark.

www.stepables.com

So, no genuinely conclusive evidence, but lots of speculation ... and lots of desperate people looking to blame others and get them to pay for their problems, and trial lawyers ready to go on a feeding frenzy ... all while, as a species, we're living much longer, partially on account of chemicals used as aids in farming.

The most humorous picture of all, though, is anyone who uses tobacco, expressing their fear of farm chemicals being used in the food production industry. (Not saying or implying you, Deco. However, there are plenty who do.)

Looks like a beautiful patio and not in bad shape to me! I have a similar situation but in far worse condition.. My pavers are large flagstones set on very deep sand, which provides crucial drainage when there is a heavy rain. I don't want to reduce the capacity to absorb water runoff, but I am desperate to reduce the weeds AND the loose sand that gets tracked into the house. Is the recommendation to remove more than a half inch of sand in all cracks and REPLACE it with the polymer sand? Is this the same as stone dust? I happen to like moss. Count me in the no roundup camp for broad applications like this. I don't mind using Preen but it would be expensive to apply monthly, on the patio, gravel paths and a long gravel driveway.

Vinegar and Epsom salt works for about a week. And it doesn't kill half the weeds.

Your patio has some interesting paver patterns going on and is quite lovely. Looks like it was professionally installed a while ago but has not been maintained. I would do the power wash thing and then brush polymeric sand between the pavers. You'll have to raise the sunken parts which is a diy job, not easy but doable. Unfortunately there's no such thing as a maintenance free patio. Because we live on planet earth. If you are being environmentally conscious, repair what you have instead of digging it up and carting to the landfill.

"Vinegar and Epsom salt works for about a week." These benign, home-spun solutions are much more about making people feel good, rather than accomplishing work. If they were truly effective and practical, they would put Monsanto out of business and farmers (the most practical and efficient people on earth) would be using them exclusively.

Thank you everyone for the input! I appreciate you all taking the time to comment with ideas. Yesterday I spent about an hour ripping up weeds, pouring boiling water, and sweeping. It didn't look much better, unfortunately. I'm attaching some photos of the other side of the garden, where the weeds seem to grow even faster - I'd rather spend the summer enjoying the flowers and sunshine instead of grubbing in the thousands of cracks. My mother-in-law has a similar garden (only with white tiles) and hers also takes a lot of work to keep nice.

Right now I'm leaning towards pulling up most of the bricks, laying down a weed cloth, and putting a combination of large pavers and wood chips down. The bricks are uneven enough that they trap random dirt and dust, and harbor the weeds in the summer and lichen/moss all year. If I spend twenty minutes sweeping, it looks only slightly less dirty, instead of actually clean. I'm not willing to spend the time or money to clean and seal a patio that I didn't want in the first place. Flooding hasn't been a serious issue yet, thankfully.

Other side of garden.

Patio after sweeping and weeding.

The patio looks swell. But...if you just yanked up the weeds, the roots are still there and alive and they'll be back next week.

Spray them with Round Up. Don't listen to the Chicken Littles and their horror stories. A few spritzes of weed killer is no problem; you're not bathing in it or drinking it.

Pulling everything up and laying weed cloth won't help. The weed seeds take root in the sand between the bricks; the cloth is of no use.

And, do NOT think that you can power wash it and sprinkle a bit of polymeric sand on top. That's useless. The sand must form a solid mass in order to remain in place. A 1/4" layer is as weak as pie crust, and just as useless for your purposes. It will flake and pop out at the first footstep. To work properly, you must get it down most of the thickness of the bricks.

The patio is GONE. We took advantage of the heavy rainfall that had loosened up the sand and mud, and attacked! My kindergartener enthusiastically helped pry loose bricks, my toddler contributed by bringing us toys, and my husband cooked dinner! And then he put the kids in bath while I finished up - all together, less than two hours. Not quite as dramatic as homeowners getting to swing a sledgehammer to bash down a kitchen wall on a renovation show, but satisfying. The sand underneath was uneven and bumpy, and even after yesterday's weeding there were some weeds with 2-3 inch taproots. We're leaving the brick edging and path for the time being; now we just have to find someone who needs 600+ bricks for their garden....

Before - muddy and dismal.

Happy chaos.

Patio gone and (uneven) sand left. Excited about whatever's to come.

Current plan: order about a cubic meter of wood chips and 10-15 large pavers for the sitting area and eventual path. Another option is just to pour a concrete path to the door because that's the highest traffic area. We sketched it out this morning and I think it will turn out to be relaxed and kid friendly. Ideally, I'd like to plant small ground cover plants (maybe thyme?) in between the pavers and have that take over from the wood chips. Favorite inspiration photos on this site are below.

Menlo Oaks Residence · More Info

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Untitled Project · More Info

It might be a good idea to consult a patio maintainance company about what they would charge to resand and seal the patio.

Better plan: Order pavers first.

Forget wood chips. Bad idea, especially if there is wood on the house near ground level (fungus issues).

Try a wood deck, it will be higher than the ground, plus weather proof material is now available and will help with the drainage problem if you place 2-4 inches of rocks underneath. Nice easy clean decking you can sweep or wash down with a hose, and you can set up your patio furniture without any problems. Use planters with easy grow easy care plants in various heights.

So sad ...

Gasp.

I see now that I could have phrased the original post better; I thought that with a community this diverse I would get more diverse suggestions. For a brick patio I wanted to keep, it would have been very helpful to see all the replies on weed killing, levelling, pressure washing, etc.

Perhaps I should have been more direct and asked, "What is a good low-maintenance *replacement* for this patio that I dislike?" :) A pond, a xeriscape, rubber tiles, a spread of magical weed-killing outdoor carpets? My kindergartener suggested laying down bamboo sticks everywhere, but I'm not sure that would be particularly waterproof or stable! Does anyone have experience with creeping thyme or a similar sturdy plant for in between pavers?

@anacolonA deck would be wonderful, it's just not in the budget yet unfortunately.

@NHBabs z4b-5a NHI had read conflicting reports on the efficiency of weed cloth, thanks for weighing in. We don't move the furniture around too much.

@tattsThe woodchips are a semi-temporary measure until I can get plants growing (or until the kids learn not to throw gravel). I have thought about the fungal issue, and looked at rubber mulch instead, but that seems to have drawbacks too.

@decoenthusiasteThe tiny hardy plants look like they would work well - I'll have a look online to see what might thrive in our climate.

There is so much that is conflicting in your posts ...smooth for stroller, but considering wood chips and plants between pavers? How does that work with a stroller? Kids will throw gravel but not wood chips? Weeds tickle feet but plants in between new pavers will not? You will have weeds. You must decide whether chemical or ‘natural’ weed killer is what you will use. There is the real world...no care free magic for gardening.

@Daisy S I totally agree with the conflict comment! Too many challenges in a smallish space. I've never designed a garden before, which is why I posted here. It's not a big garden but it needs to fill several purposes, so I'm trying to think in zones. I already mentioned that the pathway might be concrete, because that would be easy for the stroller. Another option would be a pathway of pavers with minimal space between, like in the Houzz photos. The rest of the patio can be of another material, because it's not high traffic.

Filling the patio with gravel might just be inviting kids to throw it at the windows (and each other), while wood chips won't do as much damage but are also less durable. We already have stacking planters so at least my vegetables are out of the main areas. Weeds are unavoidable, but maybe blend better with a more natural setting like woodchips or gravel or plants; a single dandelion or clump of grass is glaringly obvious against the brick patio, and very hard to dig out. Thyme or moss between pavers is soft underfoot, unlike thistles.

I realize there's no perfect, maintenance-free garden option. But surely in this age there's a simple, child-friendly option for a patio that doesn't involve upkeep for 600+ porous bricks?

OMG. I can't believe you tore that out. It was beautiful! Just a little bit of work and it would have been spectacular. :(

I honestly have no clue what to tell you that would be better than what you just tore out.

Please tell me you're giving the pavers away via CraigsList or something like that, rather than adding more non-compostable heavy stuff to some landfill somewhere....

The best option would be concrete. It is almost maintenance free. A exposed aggregate patio would look nice and fairly natural.

@KathyThanks for the suggestion. Is there a difference between exposed aggregate and 'normal' concrete?

@patriceny I've definitely posted the pavers - for free - but I doubt anyone will want them. At this point we would almost pay someone to come take them away and give them a good home, but they're very common, very cheap, and not building grade.

I'm honestly surprised at all the reactions to removing the patio - maybe it's a cultural difference? My relatives in southern USA have concrete-and-flagstone patios or raised wooden decks, which I think are beautiful but they consider 'just normal'. In the Netherlands, where I live, I'd estimate that 50-75% of the (older) gardens have these bricks or a variation. The circle design on the patio was a nice touch, but the brickwork itself is very, very ordinary. Newer streets are made of asphalt, but older streets and bike paths throughout the cities are made of bricks, either concrete ones like ours or the prettier red clay ones. The newer, trendier, patios I've seen have large tiles (ceramic or imitation wood ceramic) or gravel. Of all my friends, only one has a deck, and it's not even raised. I mentioned to another friend that we were thinking of redoing our garden, and she sighed, "Oh, I wish we could do ours too - we have those bricks EVERYWHERE. I hate the weeds and even though my husband goes out and works on it, the garden never looks good."

So if any of you want a bricked garden of your own, come to Holland! Or just come over and I'll give you 600+ pavers for free.

Lol, pavers are pretty when done correctly but not maintenance free over the years. Also, you are correct when you say there are different quality bricks. I also think patio stones with mulch are a nuisance after a year or so as the weeds don’t stop just because there is landscape fabric. In fact it makes them harder to pull.

I would opt for a solid patio for the least maintenance.

Another option might be an outdoor rug to cover most of the bricks. They make some really nice ones for a relatively small price and you just hose them off.

Problem with ants? Ant bait

Problem with weeds? Weed killer

shocked that you tore it out - concrete is everywhere :(

weeds grow through wood chips & planted ground over too. If plastic barrier is laid and covered with wood chips.... poisonous wild mushrooms grow

Wood mulch will decompose, grow weeds, and turn into soil -- it has to be renewed at least yearly. And even large pavers will settle and shift over time.

It is possible to have concrete that is colored, and/or embossed with patterns, That would really be the best solution, I think, to all your needs.

If you want the softening touch of "steppable" plants, have the concrete laid in large sections -- maybe even a pattern that echoes your former brick patio - with narrow gaps for those plants.

If you had too much patio and want more "garden" as a play space for kids, consider three options: 1. Grass, tried and true. 2. Wood chips. Can be a little rough on hands and feet. 3. Rubber mulch. To me it would be a mess to deal with so I would say no. 4. A low wood deck which would be nice but expensive if you're not in love with the idea. 5. Paver stones with mulch in between. (I'm attaching one of my photos of such a thing below. You can put them closer together.)

I'd opt for grass, I'd hire a GOOD landscaper to properly install sod (you're going to have to work on the former patio ground to make it interface properly with the sod) and call it a happy day. You could always carve out areas for some other use later.

Oops this is one of the sites where newest posts are first so I’m a little lost.

this is a picture of an exposed aggregate patio or porch. They are just more friendly looking than plain concrete.

Some good idea for patio with no weeds

https://www.houzz.com/photos/staggered-exposed-aggregate-pathway-contemporary-patio-phvw-vp~56532340

Please avoid plastic under mulch. I'll never forget this story - family with in-ground pool lives behind family witheir newly landscaped yard. Newly landscaped yard is up hill from pool. Heavy rain washed fresh mulch into neighbors pool. Plastic causes run-off.

I'be used layers of newsprint (not shiny) under mulch with good results.

roam,

I grew thyme one year for a ground cover in a small courtyard I was working on. I am zone 8, USA, in the South, and it grew nicely. You have to weed it a lot though, it grows slow. It comes back though, very nice. I also have moss that grows on my pavers out front in our winter, (it doesn't get really cold here), and it looks beautiful all winter, so bright green.

Try them both if you can, there are instructions on growing moss online, you can check it out.

Don't use the mulch, trust me, it will be all over your house.

Good Luck to you!

Not sure what your budget allows, but I always liked stamped concrete. Looks nice and being concrete, not a lot of maintenance. No weeding or upkeep.

We finally decided on white pea gravel, and while it took quite a while to find a supplier (all garden stores nearby were sold out), we're delighted with how it turned out. When weeds pop through we can dig them out (decided on no landscaping fabric), and the kids have decided that gravel is almost as much fun as sand to play with (not to mention it doesn't get tracked in the house as easily.) On dark or rainy days - quite common here - the white reflects some light into the house, unlike the old bricks which just got darker and felt gloomy.

We left the brick pathway to the door for now, as well as enough to be a border and hold the gravel in place, so we still have solid walkways and aren't worried the gravel will wash away. The curve of the brick path and the uneven border of old bricks means the patio is an odd shape, which I'm not sure about but my husband likes. The gravel is not as soft as grass, but isn't too painful for walking across barefoot to the table and chairs. I had planned to just do the main patio, and see about the rest of the space later, but we ordered so much my husband got inspired and cleared out the mud and brick pit near the door. That's now a play place for the kids; they love having their own little space and we love that they're happy and that the toys don't get scattered everywhere!

For anyone who's interested, we ordered 8-16mm size gravel, at a weight of 600kg (more than 1200lbs), and it cost under 140 euros, including delivery. For convenience we had it delivered in a pallet of 20kg bags instead of the cheaper bulk bags since our back yard is hard to access. That amount covered the lower part of our garden nicely with plenty left over, so I may use that in the the back muddy area, which is currently just hosting ivy and old kids' toys. We layered the gravel at about 1-2 inches deep, but if that's not enough (or if it shifts too much) we may add more or try using the honeycomb-shaped gravel stabilizer grids. So far the amount seems fine for light traffic and playing, and hasn't been too wobbly for our patio furniture.

It took months to figure out what we wanted and where to buy it, but in the end it ticked all the boxes: low maintenance, child friendly, not exorbitant, practical for walking on. And as as bonus, every time I look outside it reminds me of an Italian or French garden, which makes me want to brew a cappuccino and go enjoy some sunshine.

Thank you to everyone for the input and ideas; may all your design dilemmas have happy endings.

Should you wish some low maintenance greenery.... Consider dichondra repens, it never needs mowing, but you could to encourage a denser growth, for it roots at the leaf nodes. It feels pillowy-soft under foot. It is a groundcover, not a lawn, but it looks like one.