How to Build a Patio Out of Pavers

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Shovel
Garden Rake
Brick/Paver Saw, Demo Saw, or Circular Saw with Diamond Blade to cut pavers (available at your local rental store).
Plate compactor and Hand Tamper to pack stone dust or sand (available at your local rental store).
Stone dust or sand for base material.
At least(2) 2" Steel conduit (sold in 10’ lengths).
Straight 2"x4" to skreet stone dust or sand (needs to be long enough to drag over the tops of 2 laid conduit).
Pavers
Grout or stone dust to grout in the pavers
Level

Step 1

Building the base to your paver patio is the most important part to this project. The first thing you need to do is remove the existing patio or grass and top soil depending on your situation. Generally you want the top of your paver patio even with the grass so you can mow over it. I recommend building the base with approximately 4" of stone dust or sand. Pavers come in varying sizes and thickness, so depending on the thickness of the pavers you choose; you will need to determine how much material needs to be removed. If you choose a paver 2 1/2" thick you will need to dig approximately 6 1/2" below the grade of your lawn to accommodate my recommended 4" of base material and your 2 1/2" thick paver.
Step 2

Now that the excavating is done you are now ready to build your base. I use 2" steel conduit sold in 10’ lengths to build the base. You will need at least 2 conduits to build your base. First thing you need to do is set one piece of conduit to your desired grade. The desired grade for the top of your conduit is 2 ½” lower than where you want the top of patio pavers to meet up to your wall, stairs, or door threshold. To set your first piece of conduit, lay it perpendicular to where the patio will meet, to the far left or right side in your excavated area. Place a couple shovels of stone dust or sand over each end of the conduit. Lift each end of the conduit through the pile and set it back down on the pile. This will raise your conduit to the approximate grade where you want the top of your conduit to sit. Now you want to set the end of the conduit nearest where it will meet wall or stairs first. I do this by placing a paver on top of the conduit and raising or lowering that end of the conduit until the top of the paver is at the desired grade. I lower the conduit by hitting with hammer and raise by putting more material under the conduit and hit with hammer (hitting with the hammer ensures the pile under the conduit will be firm and keep the conduit at that grade). Then you set the other end of that conduit by placing a 4’ level across the top of the conduit and raising or lowering the other end of the conduit until it is level. To set the second piece of conduit is almost the same. Lay that conduit parallel about 8’ from the first, cover each end with a couple shovels full of stone dust or sand, and pull each end through the sand and set on the piles. To set the end of the conduit nearest to where the pavers will meet you place an 8’ or more 2”x4” from the first piece of conduit to the second, place your level on the 2”x4” and raise or lower the second piece of conduit , so it is level to the first piece of conduit. To level the other end of the second conduit, place your 2’x4’ and level over the other ends of the conduit and raise or lower the second piece of conduit as needed. Once both conduits are set, fill in under the entire length of both pieces of conduit with stone dust or sand. This will help lock them in place and keep them at grade.
Step 3

Conduit Layout

Now that your conduit is in place for your patio you are ready to fill it in with the base material. You can fill it in with stone dust or sand. Both are cheap, but I prefer stone dust because I also grout in the pavers at the end of the job with stone dust. Fill in between your 2” conduit slightly higher than the tops of the conduit. It is best to start at one end and work your way to the other end. You will need to skreet out the extra material with a straight and untwisted 2"x4". This is done by dragging a 2"x4" across the 2 conduit at a time to get rid of the excess material.
Step 4

Plate Compactor

Once the skreeting is done you need to compact the material. First you need to slightly wet the whole surface of the area (not much water is required). Just slightly wetting the area helps compacting the material. Then you need run a plate compactor (can rent from your local rental store)over the entire area (being careful not to tamp over the conduit). Tamping over the conduit will change your grade.
Step 5

Hand Tamper

Once compacting was done you need to do a final skreet on your base. Compacting lowered your base surface and you will need to refill your stone dust or sand to the top of the 2" conduit. Not much material will be needed this time, so it is best to start at one of the sidewalk and work your way to the other end. Add more material and skreet it again. Adding material gradually prevents you from needing to drag a heavy amount of material. Once the final skreet is done, make sure nobody walks on your base. If so, you will need to skreet it again. You want to make sure it is smooth, so when you lay your pavers they are all sitting flat and flush to one another. If your conduit are sitting in an area where pavers will be laid you need to pull the conduit, fill the holes with your chosen base material, and tamp with a hand tamper to get those areas to grade. When doing this it is best to just walk on the fill area and tamp (this way you are not messing up your grade in any other areas after your final skreet). When laying the pavers you can hand trowel these areas if needed.
Step 6

Laying and cutting in pavers.

Your base is done! Now you are ready lay your pavers. The first pavers that you lay are known as a soldier course. The soldier course is a row of pavers around the entire outside of your patio. First it is best to lay a consistent row up one entire open side of your patio (this way you can work your way in and not make tracks in your base). Start your soldier course nearest where the pavers meet the house and work your way out to the desired size of your patio (ensure the first paver is square to the house). Squaring the first paver will help keeping your patio square and perpendicular to the house. Once the first soldier course is done you can start laying the pavers from the soldier course on in towards the center of your patio. When getting near where the other soldier courses should be, continue on with the other soldier courses, because it borders your entire patio, and gets the desired shape of your patio. The soldier course should be whole pavers. Chances are the pavers will not fit perfectly within your soldier course depending on the size and shape of your patio. You will need to cut pavers to fit between the soldier course and the center pavers.
Step 7

Lock in edge pavers.

Now that the pavers are all layed and cut in you need to lock them in place. You can now pack more stone dust or sand about halfway up the thickness of your outer pavers. This will keep the pavers from kicking out the sides of the patio and leave you room to add more topsoil to plant grass seed up the edges of your patio.
Step 8

Now you can do the final grouting of your patio. Throw some stone dust or pavers grout on your sidewalk and sweep it in to fill the gaps. This also helps the pavers to lock in and not move around. Some people then run a vibration tamper or a hand tamper over the top of the pavers to ensure pavers are flush, grout again, and then hose off their new patio. Good luck!