Lay a small paver patio
Build a tidy sitting area with a firm base, straight paving and drainage that works.
Lawn & garden · 2–3 days + joint cure · Medium
Before you start
Contact 811 before digging and wait for all required responses; locate private lines separately. Check local drainage and permit requirements. Avoid utility tolerance zones unless using the required safe method. Use safe lifting, eye and hearing protection, and wet-cutting dust controls. Do not excavate beside foundations or over unstable ground without suitable advice.
Tools and materials
- Concrete pavers and compatible edge restraints
- Dense-graded aggregate and specified separation fabric
- Concrete bedding sand and compatible jointing sand
- Stakes, string, tape, square, level and screed rails
- Shovel, rake, wheelbarrow and plate compactor with paver mat
- Stationary wet masonry saw, GFCI supply and eye, hearing and hand protection
- Push broom and water hose
Check the problem
Check drainage and ground conditions
Choose a site that can drain away from the house without burying siding or blocking vents. Standing water, deep soft fill, major roots or a retaining edge need a site-specific solution before this simple patio method.
Choose one compatible paving system
Confirm that the units are interlocking concrete pavers approved for sand setting and compaction. Ask the supplier for the local base specification, edging and joint sand. Use actual coverage per pack; a paver’s nominal name may not equal its laid size.
Steps
Mark the patio and drainage fall
Mark a simple rectangle and dry-lay a row to reduce cuts. Set finished-height strings with roughly ¼ inch fall per foot away from buildings toward a suitable outlet—2 inches over 8 feet. Preserve door, siding and drainage clearances; do not send runoff onto neighboring property.
Remove turf and prepare the ground
After all utility responses and private-line checks, excavate the paver thickness plus 1 inch bedding sand plus the locally required compacted base. Extend the base at least 6 inches beyond the paving. Remove roots and topsoil; compact sound subgrade to the planned fall. Stop for wet, pumping or unstable ground.
Build a firm aggregate base
Use the supplier’s base depth for your soil and frost conditions; 4–8 inches is common, not universal. Place dense-graded crushed aggregate in equipment-appropriate lifts, usually 2–4 inches, compacting each. Add specified separation fabric over soil where required. Keep the fall consistent and correct low spots in the base.
Screed an even bedding layer
Lay 1-inch outside-diameter rails on the finished base. Draw a straightedge over them through concrete bedding sand to leave a nominal 1-inch layer following the slope. Lift out rails and fill their channels. Do not walk on this surface or use extra sand to hide a low base.
Set the pavers in straight courses
Begin at a square corner and place each paver straight down from the laid area. Follow the chosen pattern and the maker’s joint spacing; do not force units tight. Check alignment with strings every few rows and lift/reseat uneven pieces without disturbing the bed.
Fit the edge pieces
Mark and cut only the pieces needed at borders. Use a suitable stationary wet masonry saw outdoors with its water feed working, blade guard in place and GFCI-protected electrical supply. Follow the saw’s holding instructions; keep hands out of the cut path. Never dry-cut concrete with an ordinary saw.
Secure every outside edge
Fit compatible paver edging directly on the compacted aggregate, not on loose sand. Remove bedding sand from under its foot, then fasten with the specified stakes and spacing. Keep edging below the walking surface. Restrain all exposed sides before compacting the pavers.
Compact the paving and fill the joints
Use the paver maker’s approved compactor and protective mat. Sweep away debris and settle the restrained paving. For polymeric sand, keep the pavers and joints dry before filling. Sweep in the specified jointing sand and compact again as directed; refill to the specified level. Replace any cracked units.
Finish the joints and test drainage
If using polymeric sand, clean all residue off the paver faces before activating it exactly as its label directs; keep traffic off for its stated time. With ordinary joint sand, follow its instructions. Check for rocking and trip edges, then observe drainage after rain and correct any ponding.
Pavers stay stable, exposed edges are restrained, joints remain filled and water drains without ponding or reaching the building.
Tips
Order from measured coverage
Patio area is length × width. Add the supplier’s cutting allowance. For base volume, use the larger excavated footprint × compacted depth; ask for the loose delivery quantity needed to achieve that volume.
Keep spare matching pavers
Save a few sound units for future repairs. Blend units from several packs while laying to avoid obvious color blocks.
Fix settlement at its cause
Lift a low area and repair the base or bedding; do not bury the dip under joint sand. Replenish ordinary joint sand after it settles or washes out.