Paver Patio

I know in my last post I wrote I’d be working on the attic for the One Room Challenge… well, I do intend to get that buttoned up before the snow gets too deep.  Consider the next few posts a pair of side-quests along the way!  There are a few things I need to wrap before the snow flies, and I started with the items that don’t live under the roof.

When we initially set up our backyard entertaining areas, we set our fire pit on gravel, thinking this would be an easy place for maintenance and setting a fire pit…
We were wrong! While we did everything right with a deep base and stone in our circle, there are just too many voracious weeds that enjoy that here. So, we've upgraded it to a 15' circle paver patio. Luckily, the base we used under our stone was also a good choice for our pavers.

Unfortunately, we set out to re-level the situation way back in May… and finally got back to laying the pavers in… October.  It’s been an interesting year, with adventurous five-year-olds and at least one major broken bone.  So, we slowed down for some fun this summer, taking near-daily advantage of the stock tank pool.  Then at the end of August, my husband broke his leg, and our major projects turned into second-priorities.  While he’ll be on crutches for around another weeks, I’ve employed our pair of eleven-year-olds to help with some of the lifting.  We’re all grateful for their young backs.

Leveling

The first step to getting the patio was making sure the gravel pad was sufficiently level for use.  With the type of gravel I chose, adding pavers over this turned out to be a fine base, but it needed a bit of fine-tuning.  Mostly we raked and compacted the existing gravel pad, removing weeds as we went.  Our garage continues to sink into the earth, and it took that side of the gravel patio with it to some extent.  While the new patio isn’t perfect, we have a much better drainage path now than we did before, and it all feeds into a planned low-spot in the elderberries.

With everything prepped, we used weed barrier and leveling sand to fine-tune the area around the pavers, following the manufacturer’s plan.  Luckily we ordered a kit with each piece counted and ready to go.

Laying the Pavers

Unfortunately for us, the delivery of the pavers wasn’t done with the best care in mind… The bricks were delivered on two pallets with the outer rings of brick on top and the inner rings on the bottom.  Not an ideal set up to lay these in a circle.  So, unconventionally, we started our pavers on the outer rings rather than the inner.  Luckily, the weed barrier was itself circular, so we were able to use the area it set as a template for where the pavers were to go.  Once we were to the inner rings, laying the pavers went quickly.  We followed the pattern and -with generally three brick shapes to a circle- planned ahead for each row.  And my gratitude to the big kids really can’t be overstated on that: I could not have laid those alone!

Finishes

The last two steps were very straightforward: installing edging to lock pavers in, and spreading polymeric sand between the pavers to lock them into place.  These defined a set area for the patio and really set the pavers to prevent any wiggle.  It was an astounding difference moving around on the pavers before and after the sand went in!

The best part really was how quickly the whole set up came together.  It’s been a great spot to sit with the kids and cook over the fire pit, and it’s even been easy to access with crutches.  I’m already thankful that my days of pulling weeds through gravel are done (gravel walkways, you’re next!), and I can hardly wait to see what else comes through when we finish our next ORC sidequest. We’ll do it all in time to finish before winter really sets in.