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HomeBuildHow To Set Patio Pavers

How To Set Patio Pavers

Spread Masonry Sand Across Pavers

DIY How to Set Patio Pavers

Spread Masonry Sand

Making sure to fill the spaces in between each paver, spread masonry sand across the entire surface. Leaving surplus sand across the top of the pavers helps cushion the surface when you use the plate compactor. The vibration of the plate compactor also helps to fill the joints in between pavers.

Speak To A Virginia Fill Dirt Contractor

If you plan to tackle this project by yourself, you will need a fill dirt supplier to receive the materials needed for the project. To learn more about how to lay patio pavers on dirt or to order your Virginia fill dirt for your project, reach out to a Virginia fill dirt contractor at Dirt connections. They can provide you with more information and let you know how you can get your fill dirt for free.

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How Do You Prepare Ground For Paving Slabs

Heres how to lay a patio for beginners in 6 easy steps.


  • Dig 150mm into your patio area.
  • Lay a compacted sub-base of 100mm.
  • Cover the area with 40mm of concrete mix.
  • Lay paving slabs 15mm into the concrete with a 10-15mm gap.
  • Leave to set for at least 24 hours.
  • Fill the gaps between the paving slabs with concrete mix.
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    How To Lay Patio Pavers

    • Working Time: 1 – 2 days
    • Total Time: 3 – 5 days
    • Yield: 10-foot by 10-foot patio
    • Skill Level: Intermediate
    • Estimated Cost: $500 to $1,000

    Laying patio pavers is one of the quickest and easiest ways to install patio flooring by yourself. Poured concrete slabs, brick, and natural stone patios do have their advantages, but patio pavers are so cost-effective and simple to work with that you can do the entire job by yourself. In just a few days, you’ll have a gorgeous patio for outdoor entertaining or just for enjoying your backyard in comfort.

    Continue Screeding And Laying Pavers

    DIY Paver Patio Project

    Continue Screeding and Laying Pavers

    Continue screeding the sand bed one section at a time before laying the next area of pavers. Once laid, the pavers provide an excellent area to work without upsetting the newly screeded sand bed. Continue screeding and laying pavers, leaving the area for the fountain open.

    Read Also: How To Clean Outdoor Cushions Without Borax

    How To Install Patio Pavers

    This article was co-authored by Scott Johnson. Scott Johnson is the Owner and Lead Design Consultant for Concrete Creations, Inc., an award-winning landscape and design company based in the San Diego, California metro area. He has over 30 years of experience in the pool and landscape construction industry and specializes in large estate outdoor environment construction projects. His work has been featured in San Diego Home & Garden Magazine and on Pool Kings TV Show. He earned a BS degree in Construction Management with an emphasis in Architecture and CAD design from Northern Arizona University.wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article received 12 testimonials and 94% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 532,592 times.


    Installing a patio in your yard can transform an ordinary outdoor space into a wonderful gathering area. Using pavers to create your patio is economical and allows you to build an endless variety of shapes, sizes and colors. It will take work on your part to install a patio made of pavers, but you can easily do it yourself from start to finish.

    Can You Build A Patio On A Slope

    Yes, you can and the best part is that its not too expensive to build a patio on a slope.

    All you need are some basic tools such as shovels, wheelbarrows, levelers, or pry bars. A popular material for patios is concrete pavers which are easy to install but will require heavy machinery if your slope is steep.

    If this sounds like something you want to do yourself then here are some tips:

    • Determine whether your garden has enough space for new paving stones otherwise just add them in an existing area of the garden where there isnt any landscaping yet
    • Make sure the soil slopes away from buildings and driveways so water wont pool underneath
    • Choose a slope that has been prepped for paving stones and mark out your patio area, using stakes or hose pipes.
    • This will ensure you have enough room for all of the necessary steps in this process also keep in mind that these measurements need to be taken from the ground up so if there is an existing walkway then subtract it from your measurement.
    • Your new patio should extend at least one foot on every side beyond where you want paved stones laid down .

    Also Check: How To Fix Hairline Cracks In Concrete Patio


    Add The Sand Base Layer And Screed It

    Your final bed is a layer of sand that acts as a soft place to set and adjust the pavers. First, roll out a layer of landscape fabric on top of the base gravel to prevent the sand from sifting through the gravel.

    To maintain a perfect 1-inch depth for the sand, lay down the two lengths of PVC pipe parallel to each other and about 6 feet apart. Pour sand between the pipes, covering them. Lay the scrap two-by-four across the tops of the PVC pipes, then screed it toward you in a gentle raking motion. The sand will move to the side and over the top of the screed board. Continue moving the PVC pipes and screeding until the entire area is finished. Finish by tamping down the sand, working backward so that you cover up your footprints.

    How To Lay Patio Pavers On Dirt

    How to Lay a Paver Patio (Like a Pro!)

    Laying patio pavers in your backyard is an easy and cost-effective way to personalize your backyard. In order to lay patio pavers on dirt correctly, you must first ensure that the ground that you are working on is flat and void of any obstructions. Ordering a truckload of Virginia fill dirt to distribute around your backyard is the safest way to make sure that the ground is level.

    Also Check: Building A Covered Deck Attached To House

    Can I Build Patio Paver Steps Myself

    We highly recommend you not to, unless you have experience and know-how to handle tools as the cut-off saw. The price of doing the project yourself is just not worth the risk. Besides, youll spend a lot of time just leveling the ground and paving stones.


    Whenever possible, hire qualified personnel or companies to work on your paver project. At JS Brick we have 20+ years of experience providing paver installation, supply, and maintenance services in Sarasota and surrounding cities. For a free estimate on your patio paver step project, dont hesitate in leaving us a message or a call.

    Build This Simple Patio Using Stone Pavers For Your Backyard Or Garden

    In todays post I want to show you how we created a paver stone patio in our backyard. We did it by using a few tools, a lot of sand, and some stepping stone pavers from our local home and garden store. Check out the process below!

    After we built our deck, we wanted to extend the outdoor area a bit more with a DIY patio using pavers. This is partly because we wanted to have a place to put the grill without taking up space on the deck, but also partly because my husband is still on a mission to cover as much of our backyard grass as possible. He really hates mowing, and Im pretty convinced at this point if he could turn our entire backyard into a zen garden of sand he would.

    Before jumping in to this project take a look at what HGTV says you should focus on to build the best patio for your space. There youll find some design inspiration and patio planning advice to help you through the process.

    Our space originally looked like this:


    So we started planning how we wanted things to go down, measuring out the space. We decided building the patio out to be even with the back of the house would look best. This meant the patio space would cover about a 10 x 10 area.

    We chose to use stone patio pavers, as these would be much easier to lay than pouring concrete. We are DIY enthusiasts, not professionals remember!

    *Some links in this article are affiliate links, which means I may get paid if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of these.*

    Read Also: How To Identify Vintage Wrought Iron Patio Furniture

    Compact The Fill Dirt

    Once you have leveled the entire area where your patio is going to be, you are going to want to lay down another thin layer of Virginia fill dirt. Using a tool like a hand tamper, you want to pound over the exposed soil so that the ground is tightly compacted and level. The more force you can apply, the better. The more compacted your fill dirt is, the more stable it will be for the patio pavers. This step is necessary to create a foundation that is sturdy and stable and will keep your patio in place for years to come.


    Lay Down The Patio Pavers

    Raised Paver Patios and Walks

    Place down the patio pavers in whatever pattern you desire. Regardless of what the pattern looks like, the most important thing is to ensure that the patio pavers are flush against each other. Start laying down the pavers at one end or corner and then work your way across. After you have completed a small section, place a wood board across of it and gently hit it with a hammer to embed the bricks in the dirt and level them with each other. Continue until you have laid all of the patio pavers.

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    By Step Photos And Instructions

    Being the DIYer that I am, I really wanted to save a ton of money and do all the labor myself. The project started off well with me tearing out all the grass. Then I wanted to learn exactly how to install the concrete pavers.

    My landscape architect was not forthcoming at all about the process. Extensive searching on the internet yielded nothing in the way of step by step instructions. But I did learn that each 24 paver might weigh about 100 lb, so I caved in and hired someone to do it for me to the tune of $7,200, OUCH! This would have been much cheaper if the whole thing had been done with poured concrete, but the pavers give it a modern and unique look.

    Adding to the cost was my choice to use the highest grade of concrete paver . I think its called Stepstone and theyre supposed to be a lot more durable. They also had to be special ordered.


    I ended up taking photos to share with you in case youre brave enough to attempt this on your own. The plan was modified a little by eliminating the space between pavers on the three patio sections. All the other stones have 6 between them.

    Things Needed For This Project:

    Next it was time to pour the sand and lay the border! You can see near the top of this next picture we had laid some pavers by the deck before starting to put down the border, but we decided they were going to be too low. So we pulled those up after this picture was taken and built up the ground a little more with dirt and sand before putting them back down again.

    So much sand

    Those white 2 PVC pipes were laid in the sand to act as a guide to help us keep the sand mostly level and then were removed before setting down the pavers. We also used a dirt tamper to help flatten the sand by hand.

    The pavers were all added and leveled into place with the help of a rubber mallet. Then we filled in the cracks with: you guessed it, more sand. BUT this time it was that special kind, that hardens when you add a little water to it. You can find a similar product to what we used like this one below on Amazon.

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    How To Seal Pavers

    This article was co-authored by . Mark Spelman is a General Contractor based in Austin, Texas. With over 30 years of construction experience, Mark specializes in constructing interiors, project management, and project estimation. He has been a construction professional since 1987.There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 48,717 times.

    Pavers may be brick, natural cut stone, or some other rock product and are commonly used to create paths, driveways, or patios. To make them last longer and look great, it’s a good idea to seal them. The process involves choosing the right sealer for your stone and to achieve your purpose in sealing the pavers. You should always wash paved areas first and level any crooked pavers. Sealer is usually applied with a sprayer or roller and it’s important to get all of the pavers covered evenly.

    How To Design And Install A Paver Patio

    How to set for paver patio
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    Patios are a valuable asset to any home’s property. Nothing can be better than enjoying the fresh air and a beautifully landscaped yard in the company of family and guests or simply finding quiet time to yourself with a book and a glass of wine.

    But you need a good, hardscaped place for all of this magic to happen. Dirt and grass are a poor surface for chairs and tables. Landscaping rock and pea gravel are economical and simple to install, but they tend to scatter. Concrete slabs are labor-intensive and expensive. But there is a compromise: patio pavers installed in conjunction with a remarkably handy product called polymeric sand.

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    The Easy Diy Patio With Pavers

    And its done! This was a fun and simple project to tackle. Also the extra space has been really great in keeping some things from taking up room on the deck. These patio pavers were not complicated to install and not a bad option if youre on a budget either.

    Do you have any summer patio plans of upgrading your backyard? Id love to hear about them in the comments! Could also use a few ideas on decorating this space too so if you have any, send them my way!

    Paver Patio Excavation And Layout

    After securing the necessary tools and purchasing the materials, it is time to excavate. Quick Tip: It is important that a patio slopes away from the home. A minimum slope of a 1/4″ per foot will direct rainwater away from your home’s foundation and onto the lawn.

  • Using a measuring tape, mark the location of the outside edge of the patio’s edge treatment with wooden stakes.

  • Wrap string tautly around the wooden stakes to define the outer edge of the patio.

  • Step back and look at the defined shape of the patio. Ensure that it suitably relates to your home and any surrounding landscaping. Make any necessary adjustments.

  • Using a sod cutter and a square shovel, excavate 8″ for the depth of the patio. An 8″ depth allows for 4″ of gravel, 1-1/2″ sand, and a 2-1/4″ thick paver. Depth may vary depending on the thickness of the pavers.

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    Add The Polymeric Sand

    Sprinkle the polymeric sand over the top of the patio pavers, alternating by sweeping the sand across the pavers. Keep adding sand and sweeping until the gaps between the pavers are filled.

    Before adding water, it is critical that you remove all polymeric sand from the top of the pavers. If not, the sand will bond to the paver faces, marring them. Running a leaf blower is the best way to blow off sand without removing sand from the gaps.

    Set your spray nozzle on a light mist and spray your patio paver. Do not drench it with too much water otherwise, you run the risk of dislodging sand from the gaps.

    Wait about 24 hours for the patio pavers to fully set. Cut away the overlapping landscape fabric with the utility knife.

    How To Build Patio Paver Steps

    How To Lay A Circular Paver Patio

    Patio pavers versatility is one of their most attractive features. After all, you cant find any other paving material in such a wide variety of shapes, textures, and colors. All of these positive points allow you to use pavers in a wide variety of projects.

    In todays article, we will be discussing another popular application, that being: how to build patio paver steps.

    You will understand how pavers durability puts them on a level above any other material. The least you expect from a construction project is that it will be durable to make the investment worthwhile, right? So lets go ahead and understand how pavers will fit right in on your project.

    Recommended Reading: How To Identify Vintage Wrought Iron Patio Furniture


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