Paver Patios and Paver Repair
Fackrell Masonry and Construction builds and repairs paver patios across southern Idaho: new patios laid on a heavy compacted base, sunken pavers reset, joints cleaned and re-sanded, borders added, and faded pavers sealed.
The most important part of a paver job is the part you never see again once it is finished. Patios I tear out are commonly sitting on about 2 inches of base, which is exactly why they have gone wavy underfoot. On that job I put in a very thick base instead. Because of the location, I wanted to make it driveway durable, just in case a moving truck decided to pull up to the back door. A little extra effort goes a long way. I know that they will not be calling me because their pavers moved out of place.
Pavers do require some maintenance over time. They settle into low pockets you can feel through your shoes, vegetation gets into the joints, and if pavers are not sealed they will fade in the sunlight. None of that means tearing the patio out. We lift and reset the settled areas onto a gravel and sand-cement base, clean and re-sand the joints, and put a wet look sealer on to bring the color back out.
A patio is not only a flat surface, either. On one we poured a full-width step across the front, so there was no awkward high drop to the driveway. On another we built planter columns, with the water and drains run inside them before the stone went on. And on one more we laid a small paver pad at the water's edge that turned into a fishing deck.
What this covers
- New paver patios: old surface removed, grade set, and a thick compacted base installed before a single paver is laid
- Base built heavier than a patio strictly needs where a vehicle may end up on it
- Lifting and resetting sunken pavers on a gravel and sand-cement base that holds them longer than gravel alone
- Cleaning the pavers, removing vegetation from the joints and re-sanding with a sand-cement joint filler
- Masonry borders around the perimeter to keep the edge pavers from moving
- Wet look sealer to bring the color back out of faded pavers
- Steps, planter boxes and stone-faced columns built into the patio, with water and drain lines run inside the planters
- Sod and edges put back tight against the border when the work is done
How to tell you need this
- Low spots you can feel underfoot. Pavers settle when the base under them is too thin. On a repair the gravel-only base comes out and a gravel and sand-cement base goes in, which holds them much longer.
- Edge pavers drifting out of line. Without something holding the perimeter, the outside pavers move. A masonry border around the edge keeps them where they were laid.
- Color gone flat and gray. If pavers are not sealed, they will fade in the sunlight. Cleaning and a wet look sealer brings the color back out.
- Grass and weeds coming up through the joints. The joint filler is gone. Cleaning the joints out and re-sanding them with a sand-cement filler closes them back up.
- An awkward high step down off the patio to the driveway. That is a build problem rather than a maintenance one, and it gets solved with a proper full-width step.
Questions people ask
Do you build paver patios in Boise and Meridian?
Yes. Our service area is all of Southern Idaho, between the Oregon and Wyoming borders. That reaches as far north as McCall, Stanley, New Meadows and Salmon. I work from Nampa in the Treasure Valley and Blackfoot in eastern Idaho. New patios and repairs to existing ones both. Start at the quote form at https://fmandc.com/intake/.
How deep a base do you put under a patio?
It depends on what it has to carry and what it is sitting on. The Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute puts the minimum compacted base at 4 inches under a patio or walkway and 6 under a residential driveway, over well-drained soil. In a climate that freezes and thaws all winter, figure closer to 6 under a patio and 9 under a driveway, and more if the soil is soft, silty or wet. A driveway always wants more than a walkway, because of what parks on it. Two inches of base is a depth I find regularly, and it is where sunken pavers come from. That base is also where the difference between two bids usually hides, because it is the part you will never see.
Why do pavers sink?
The base under them. A base that is too thin will not hold pavers in place, and about 2 inches is a depth I find regularly. When we repair sunken pavers we take the gravel-only base out and replace it with a gravel and sand-cement base, which holds the pavers in place much longer than gravel alone.
Can faded pavers be brought back, or do they have to be replaced?
They can usually be brought back. Pavers fade in the sunlight when they were never sealed. We clean them, take the vegetation out of the joints, re-sand the joints with a sand-cement filler, and apply a wet look sealer that brings the color back out. A masonry border around the perimeter is often added at the same time, to stop the edge pavers moving.
Can you fix part of a patio without tearing the whole thing out?
Usually, yes. The settled areas get lifted and reset on a proper base, while the rest of the patio stays where it is. Then the whole surface is cleaned, re-sanded and sealed, so the repaired sections do not stand out.
One thing to be straight about, though. Fixing the settled section does not fix what caused it. If the base under the whole patio was built too thin, the rest of it is sitting on that same base and can settle later on. So a partial repair is not something anybody can promise you a result on. It often holds for years and it is usually the sensible call on cost, but you should go into it knowing which one you are buying.
Full tear-out is for a patio failing everywhere, or one that is the wrong size or the wrong height to begin with.
Can a vehicle drive or park on a paver patio?
Only if the base was built for it. Where a patio sits somewhere a vehicle might reach, such as beside a back door, the base gets built to driveway standard rather than patio standard. If there is any chance of a vehicle ending up on it, say so before the base goes in. It is far easier to build it heavy the first time than to rebuild it later.
Stone patios and pavers projects
Real jobs, my own photos, and what the problem actually turned out to be.
Paver repair and restoration
Sunken pavers reset on a gravel and sand-cement base, joints re-sanded, a masonry border added and the faded patio sealed.
Patio upgrade
A failing brick patio rebuilt with stone-veneered planter columns and a full-width stone step, ending the awkward high step down to the driveway.
Paver patios and a fishing deck
A worn-out brick patio torn out and rebuilt on a driveway-grade base, plus a second small paver patio down by the pond.