slim indie.

Building a Paver Patio Part 2: The Teardown

I did not take any pictures of the partially torn-down deck because I was worried that it would start raining before I could make good progress, but I did get some of the area after the deck was down.

My future brother-in-law came to help, and we had just started digging the pit for the paver base when I took this. The bush and the three plants on the side were within the boundaries of the new patio (marked by the stakes and string) so we had to transplant them to a new home next to the patio.

The decking came up more easily than it probably should have, owing to the fact that the wood was over 20 years old and starting to rot in many places. The most concerning thing was that the support posts, which were set into concrete, were only set into a few inches of concrete that literally fell off the posts as we started trying to take them out. The pile of wood left after pulling everything out is pretty impressive.

After everything was torn down and moved out of the way, we started digging. We don’t need to dig down more than a couple inches since we’re using the previously mentioned paver base boards, but it still resulted in an impressive amount of dirt. There is a pile of approximately equal size in the backyard that didn’t photograph well since it’s back under some trees.

By the end of the evening, we had finished digging out about two-thirds of the total patio area, raking and tamping along the way to try to keep it as level as possible before we actually go back and do the leveling to put sand down. While digging, we discovered a giant ball of concrete smack in the middle of the patio area that was in the way, so rather than trying to dig out three cubic feet of concrete by hand we chipped away at it with the claw of a hammer until it was low enough to cover with dirt and move on.

Another friend is coming over tonight to help me finish digging the pit so that we’ll be ready to lay fabric, sand, and pavers tomorrow morning when it arrives from the stone yard. All in all, everything is progressing really well and I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t be finished by end of day Saturday.

Building a Paver Patio Part 1: The Starting Point

My wife and I have been wanting to tear down the old, somewhat dangerous deck that was on our house when we bought it, and we’re finally taking the plunge and replacing it with a paver stone patio. Quotes for having someone come out to install one were exorbitant, so we decided to do it ourselves. Since pregnant women aren’t really supposed to do construction work, my wife and I have been working on the planning and I’ll be doing the actual work with help from some friends.

I forgot to take any pictures before I started pulling out the safety rails in the railing, but these are otherwise pretty representative of the deck before I started any demolition. You can probably tell from the pictures that it’s not in very good shape, and the stairs are particularly loose and treacherous. I started tearing down the deck last night and broke the hammer I was using to pry the boards up in the process, so I’ll be stopping by the hardware store this afternoon to get a replacement and finish the demo today. I’m hoping that the demo will be finished in time to make some significant progress toward digging out this evening.

Rather that use the traditional method of 4 inches of gravel, 1 inch of sand, and then pavers, which requires digging 6 inches down, we will be using Brock Paver Base panels. The panels are laid on 1/2 inch of sand, and the pavers are laid right onto the panels, and since there’s a lot less material we’ll only have to dig down 2 inches. The panels are more expensive than using gravel, but the reduction in waste dirt means that I won’t have to rent a dumpster to dispose of it and will make the final project cost lower. The more shallow pit will also be a lot faster and easier to dig out, meaning that the project will be done sooner and with less strain on everyone involved.

I’ll take a few more pictures this afternoon before I continue tearing the deck down, and I’ll try to remember to take some in between each phase.

Wow. I’m watching “The Traitors”, which is the fourth episode of the classic Doctor Who story “The Daleks’ Master Plan”, and they just straight up ejected a companion out of an airlock into space. That’s pretty hardcore for what was considered a kids show, especially the shot of the body floating lifelessly away.