Since the old pavers were also uneven from settling, you may want to try pavers pads/panels.

Also do not understand why pavers are offset so that they run into wall of what I assume is the garage. That is a major design blunder!!

The new pavers were put in the same place as the old ones, therefore whatever offset is there already existed, I assume. I also assume the owners didn't want to dig out a new area. If it doesn't bother them, the people that live there, it doesn't bother me.

Totally not an answer but I can't help it - my favorite part is the single handprint on the side of the garage. ;>)

LOL!! It doesn't really matter where the old paver walkway was situated. If you are going to the bother of replacing it, site it properly so that guests are not going to walk into the side of the garage or have to step off walk to avoid it. This is the primary access to the entry from the drive.....it needs to be easily accessible and welcoming. As it is far too narrow and very poorly placed, it is neither.

This is not rocket science.....it is just common sense landscape design!!

@Jim Mat how would that solve the water issue?

@gardengal48 that is in no way relevant to what I asked. In order to have a flat path from an angled driveway to the existing sidewalk, it's where the path needed to be. Fixing the concrete is not in the budget right now. I was always taught if you didn't have anything nice to say, don't say anything, but apparently you missed that lesson.

@tsjmjh I was under the impression that digging down and laying a better base would solve the uneven issue, and as I stated in the original post, the water issue was not there before. The previous pathway was a tripping hazard, especially during winter when it was impossible to remove the ice and snow. The new path coincides with the old one as it's the logical way to get in the house from the driveway.

Missed the drainage issue. Do you have gutters? If so, picture of the downspouts.

Since the water issue is new, you created a sump.

I would advise to wait and see. It could be that there were air pockets. The soil level looks slightly lower right by the driveway and that is all it takes for water to flow.

I have to agree that since you spent all that time, effort and money, you should have not gone into the garage wall. This is an advice column, people are going to point out what they think is wrong. Please don't take it personally.

I saw a dvd last night...person is walking from the living room (after drinks) to the dining room..had to walk around a wall...didn’t see the wall and walked into it...drunk...looking at the floor...

After gardengals response I visualized someone (a drunk or very young person) following the path and running into the wall (garage?)

Megan, good job on the walkway, that’s was not easy. I put some large pavers down with some sand to level them out. When it first rained the same thing happened, the pavers squished down and they pushed up water. After time it dried out it stopped happening, even when it rains. You might have a little slope into the walkway but it will drain off. Let the grass fill in and the ground dry out you will be fine. Don't let some of the “practicing pro’s” bother you. They don’t get much practice with attitudes like that. Also, the walkway lines up with the sidewalk below the garage. You could always add another row of pavers, just in case "karen" comes over and scolds you on the "design".

Honest, critical feedback can be given without being a jackass.

I would prefer something done right, something I could be proud of, not something I comprised on.

I suspect drainage/runoff issues.

The OP asked for advice, was provided it by a professional and then proceeded to diss the advice as irrelevant. The OP is a being a bit short sighted but the only one being a "jackass" is whoever placed the walkway in that position to begin with.

Really.......a walkway where almost half of it runs into a solid wall?? What is the slightest bit practical, efficient or welcoming about that?

Calling the OP a jackass is unprofessional and you really should be kicked off this forum. Even wheeler/live wire never went that far.

Sorry if my comment was misunderstood (obviously by wacokid) but it was not my intention to call the OP a jackass. I assumed that the previous owners of the property had placed the makeshift walkway where it was and the OP had just not bothered to move it to a better thought out location. And my terminology was in response to SashaDog's very directed and unnecessarily rude comment!! Not much helpful advice coming from that source but a personal attack is OK??

Waco, you really need to get over yourself!! You are not the hall monitor and I have just as much right to be here and make whatever comments I feel appropriate as anyone else. Apparently more than one individual agrees with me that the walkway is ill-placed....which it is. I don't see anyone agreeing with you.........

This thread devolved just as quickly as someone didn't want to hear the truth. For a bystander to jump in and call the truth-teller a jackass added fuel to the fire. And then wacokid misinterprets who the recipient of the name-calling is, as it was not the OP.

When someone says, "Any help would be greatly appreciated," one would think they're open to hearing anything that helps ... even if it is not 100% a direct answer to their initial question. Sometimes help hurts, but it's only temporary. If it's paid attention to and ends up where something gets fixed, it's "constructive criticism." Gardengal's observations are the same ones that came to my mind within 3 seconds of looking at the picture. Why would someone want to repeat the errors that a previous homeowner made, just because that's what they did? ... especially when it's so EASILY fixed?? Doing that does not make sense to me.

I'm pretty sure that however the walk was tamped was not with a steel tamper -- the tool made for the job. So the walk would not be as compressed as it should be. The easy way out is to let it settle over some time (for a few months or as long as one can tolerate it), pull up the blocks, add more sand and reset the blocks, tamping them in again. But wouldn't it be better to fix the layout and at least make it functional? Move the walk over, widen it and fill in the wedge next to the curved walk with a little concrete. (A walk this small would be just as easy to make of 4" nominal thickness solid concrete for more durability.)

Yeah, this thread went downhill fast. In keeping with the “any help is greatly appreciated” plea, I’ll echo yardvaark: the only thing I’d notice about this path is that it appears misplaced. Whether the pavers are sinking or not is immaterial. The project is a re-do.

Hi megan,

ImI'm just gonna ignore the drama that has grown from nothing in response to a genuine request for help by a homeowner.

Last summer, my hubby and I also lifted up and replaced a deteriorating concrete patio stone pathway that went from our front door straight to the street. We had done another pathway along side of the house earler in the year using the same method you described and it also had shifted like yours. To avoid more issues with the path to the street, I did some research and found that we probably hadnt compacted our base gravel enough, or even too much(no joke, it's possible)

I came across product called "gator base" . It's a styrofoam like interlocking 2' x 4' tile that is meant to be used INSTEAD of a gravel base. Got it at home depot. It can be pricey (approx 8$/tile) but with the time and back breaking that you save, as well as ease of install and just all round benefits like drainage and stability, itsit's worth it.

Shop around and check out YouTube for info on "gatorbase".

Simetimes called "paver base".

Hope this helps.

The photo attached is of the finished path with only the 1" thick gatprbase and only 1/2 inch bedding sand under the pavers. Used polymeric sand between the bricks and 8 ft long plastic pavers edging. The pavers were all salvaged from a public pathway that was being removed near my work.

We're not changing the layout. This was never part of my question, and I love all the assumptions many of you made. This path gets very little traffic, as it leads from the driveway to a side door of the house. There's a poured concrete path leading from the garage door to the kitchen door and then to the front door of our house, and then to the street. This was supposed to be a quick DIY fix so I stop tripping. The driveway is steep, the existing concrete path is uneven, and we do not have access to anything to cut the pavers, or much disposable income. We installed the best path we could under these circumstances. I don't understand the mindset that something has to be done perfectly and expensively for it to be functional. And yes, I do still think it's plenty functional even though it overlaps the garage by 7 inches out of 32 at the very end.

I guess I should have specified that I only wanted help on the drainage issue, but I guess that's what I get for asking strangers on the internet. You all have made this a truly wonderful, welcoming experience for someone who is new here. /s

To those who actually provided some helpful advice, thanks. We're going to try to compact the sand again next time we get a free weekend.

I'm sorry this has devolved to name calling. That's not what's supposed to happen here (sigh...but it does....especially since so many bullies are no longer going to work to bully their colleagues ;-P ).

It sounds like more gravel with more sand is what you are after. The tamping of the sand INTO the gravel is supposed to fill the gaps between the rocks. It sounds like the rain cause the existing sand to settle TOO MUCH into the gravel.

Pulling these guys up and reassessing your gravel bed (more gravel couldn't hurt if it seems there is a mushy base to begin with) and more sand compacting will probably do the trick.

I wish you luck. And I'm sorry you had to live through the 'bored troll' syndrome around here. It will get better once the bullies go back to work.

Megan, take your business elsewhere. That does not seem to matter to these so called “pro’s”. And I doubt any of them will be leaving here soon. With their bad attitudes and cheesy mockups who would hire them? Good luck....

Hi megan,

Did you use washed gravel or road crush as your base? Reason iI ask is because if you used road crush then that is the best, a easy test to confirm that youve compacted it enough is to try push a large spike or nail into it by hand, if you can then you need to tamp some more. Proper compaction would require 1 good smack with a hammer to embed the spike.

Roadcrush is a pre mix of gravel and sand.

Once have your gravel tamped, you can lay 2 pieces of pex pipe or anyth with diamete of 1/2 to 3/4 inch thickness ontop of tgethe gravel , side by side, then spread your sand over it. use a board to drag it thru the sand ontop of the pipe, this will help you achieve consistant depth and a smooth top for you to place your bricks on. Remove the pieces of pipe and fill holes by hand carefully. before placing your bricjs. Shouldn't need to cimpact the sand.