[wannanosaurus]

Hi all,

We had a ground level wooden patio that we've torn out in order to replace with a paver patio. The wooden patio was built partly over a concrete base and partly over dirt.

The new paver patio will cover 3 separate "areas" that probably all need different preparation:

• Area 1 - Concrete base - this will require the least prep. Just sand underneath the pavers. This may require more than 1" of sand.
• Area 2 - Part of a flower garden - this part we'll have to dig in order to put down 4" of gravel and 1" of sand under the pavers.
• Area 3 - Dirt area that was under previous patio - this will require the most work. There's tons of trash and roots here. And this area is already dug lower than it should be for 4"+1" of base so we'll fill it with some of the dirt that we have to dig from the flower garden area. If that doesn't bring it high enough, then we'll have to add more than 4" of gravel.

Ok, now to my questions :biggrin2:

1. There are some posts in concrete from the old wooden patio in Area 3. Do I need to fully remove those? Or can I cut off the wooden post and leave the concrete in the ground?
2. Any special considerations for where Area 1 and Area 3 meet? Should I make sure that area 3 only needs 1" of sand even if Area 1 needs more than 1". That would possibly mean that the gravel base in Area 3 would be higher than the top of the concrete in Area 1.
3. Anything else I'm missing? Am I crazy for doing this myself? :smile:

 

[3onthetree]

I believe laying pavers over concrete you need to drill holes in the slab for water to exit. If the old posts were just sitting in concrete, it is probably a jagged pour, and the part of the posts you leave will rot, so remove them. When meeting up two different subbases, you gotta tamp, tamp, tamp because the slab will remain more stable. And don't use the "flower garden" soil if it has lots of organics.

 

[wannanosaurus]

I believe laying pavers over concrete you need to drill holes in the slab for water to exit.

Do you think the holes are needed even if the concrete has a nice slope away from the house? The concrete slope is steeper than the 1/4" per foot slope of a standard paver patio.

If the old posts were just sitting in concrete, it is probably a jagged pour, and the part of the posts you leave will rot, so remove them.

Yep, it's a jagged pour. We'll remove them. Thanks!

When meeting up two different subbases, you gotta tamp, tamp, tamp because the slab will remain more stable.

Yes, planning on renting a compactor for this.

And don't use the "flower garden" soil if it has lots of organics

Good call. This is mostly a neglected garden so it doesn't have a lot of organics. There is a layer of mulch on top that we'll get rid of first.

I appreciate your feedback on this!

 

[3onthetree]

jackhammer compactor for the soil if its disturbed, plate compactor for the pavers

The holes I'm not positive on as a default requirement, but I would think for a general slab in good condition with slope they are not needed. If there are low spots or cracks, you would need them for pooling, and then a geotextile. The concrete is just replacing your aggregate base, so the gravel next to the slab in the other area should not be higher. Over time you may get some slight shifting (both horizontal or vertical) at the slab to no-slab transition, but the beauty of pavers is you can fix it.

 

[Bondo]

There are some posts in concrete from the old wooden patio in Area 3. Do I need to fully remove those? Or can I cut off the wooden post and leave the concrete in the ground?

Ayuh,..... If you live in an area that sees deep frost, they can, 'n probably will rise with the frost cycles,......

Had this happen to a guys driveway we paved, a big bump after 5 or 6 years,.....
He never mentioned the old posts he cut out, 'n my only question to him was, Why didn't ya tell me, before we paved it,....

No free fix for him,.....