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

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It was always part of the big plan to finish the landscaping in front of the new addition as soon as it got warm, well it took FOREVER to get warm and dry up but the time has finally come! In this video I will share my process for laying pavers like a pro! I have laid a LOT of pavers in my time and 15 years later they are still looking great even with our harsh Michigan winters.

It all starts with the base and to get a proper 4-8 inches of 21AA crush limestone or concrete we had to dig out a fair amount of dirt in the patio area. This worked out well as we also had to connect a gutter downspout to a drain pipe that needed to be found again. All fairly easy work as I had grabbed by dads backhoe tractor to help with the digging, it made quite work of everything! Once we had the area dug out to the level we needed I laid down black landscape fabric to prevent the mud from eating all the gravel that we are about to put down. You want to make sure you have fabric that will allow water to flow though so don't use a plastic underlayment.

Used my truck to get the 21AA and was surprised how heavy the stuff is, was only able to get a half a yard at a time! Lucky I picked up an unloader that made easy work of dumping the gravel off the truck bed, some of the best money I have spent! Once the gravel was in place and spread out to a surface that we were after it was time for some serious time with the hand compactor. Another great tip is to give the surface a good soak with a hose, this will really help compact the area. After the 21AA is set it is a good idea to add some compacting sand or paver sand to make sure you don't have any bigger gravel rocks preventing a smooth surface.

Now it's time for paves! With my helpers we moved everything in place and went to town with an easy and repeatable pattern. Nothing special here, just make sure that you hold straight lines and check back with every few rows to make sure you don't stray. Angles can be easily cut with a tile saw or a concrete saw. Once the pavers are all set go back over with the compactor to make sure everything is smooth. After the first run with the compactor add some play sand over the pavers and sweep the sand into the cracks of the pavers, then go back over with the compactor and back over with the sand....you will need to do the process a few times to make sure you have the pavers set well.

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