DIY Network

Paver Patio From "10 Things You Must Know" episode DTEN-113

Here are the 10 Things You Must Know about installing a paver patio.

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Paver Patio Countdown

10. Pave the way to long-term savings. Your options for an outside area are vast, but if you want the best value with the lowest maintenance, a paver patio is the way to go. While it may cost more up front, the savings over having to stain and seal it year after year will pay for itself in the long run.

9. Get down to virgin ground. Depending on the usage your pavers will get, you want to ensure a stable foundation. Dig at least six inches under the surface to prepare the ground below. You'll be having a lot of activity on the surface, so you want to be sure the pavers don't shift over time.

8. Block out the bad stuff with landscape material. Weeds have a way of springing up where they're least wanted, and this goes for your new patio as well. Lay down a barrier to help stifle their growth and if they are a notorious problem in your area, you may want to consider a soil additive.

7. It isn't a base until it's been packed with a plate. Paver patios are only as good as the foundation they're built on. Packing the soil underneath helps ensure a smooth top surface and less chance of the pavers loosening or cracking. But don't stop there: you have to repack the base after every addition of a new tier (sand, gravel, etc).

6. Don't pitch water into your basement. Flat surfaces on the outside of your home have the same properties as your roof; it's going to wash toward the lowest point. If your patio is attached or close to your house, you want to guide runoff away from the home. A good guideline to use is that for every two feet of linear distance, a quarter-inch drop will suffice in keeping your home dry.

5. A solid patio always has a tight edge. While your finished product should be a tight, level, evenly spaced patio, movement will separate your bricks and ruin your hard work. Prevent this from happening by edging your work. You can use extra bricks, a cement lip, or a vinyl or metal edging. After these are installed, backfill to the edge with loose dirt to give your patio a professional appeal.

4. Inconsistent color is key in a patio. When it comes to color uniformity, paver bricks can be treated the same as paint, carpeting and wallpaper: different lots or runs can appear similar, but slight color shading variations are almost always present. Blend the separate piles together and achieve a more natural look, without a patchy appearance.

3. If you've got cuts, rent a wet saw. Unless you've made your patio a complete rectangle, you are going to have to make cuts. Rent a wet saw from your local home improvement store to easily cut your bricks to fit your design.

2. Cram the cracks with a little sand. After your patio bricks have been installed, there's one step left to finalize your project. Spread sand along the surface, and sweep it into the cracks all around. This allows drainage to occur, but keeps each brick tightly wrapped with material, making it far more difficult to move them out of place.

1. For a quick fix, trim a brick. It's always good to have a few extra bricks laying around for the occasional repair. The beauty of brick is that it's relatively simple to fix a broken block. Use two screwdrivers to pry the old brick out of place, and cut a new brick an eighth of an inch short, and set it back in. If it still doesn't fit, keep trimming an eighth inch off until it does. Then, re-sand it to set it in place.

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• A dry lay is not your only option. There is another way to do it, but it's harder to put down. Where you'd use crushed stone and sand to compile your base in a dry lay, here a crushed stone base is topped with a four inch concrete slab. Once the concrete cures, the pavers are pressed into a 1/2-inch-thick mortar bed troweled onto the slab. The 3/8-inch spaces between the stones are filled with mortar.

• When in need, use a screed. To vastly improve your chances of laying your pavers on a completely flat surface, you may want to invest a little time and construct your own screed. A screed is a long board, draped over the edges of the frame so that when you pull it towards you, it drags the surface coating in an even line, and allows for much easier packing and installation. Simply nail a 1x6 to a 2x4, keeping the top edges flush to create a two inch overhanging lip. Cut the 1x6 to fit inside the timbers but leave the 2x4 longer so it rides on top of the border.