Our home is in Maryland.

We are going to redo our brick paver patio, and someday we might build a an aluminum patio enclosure kit on this patio. If the enclosure may or may not ever happen, is there anything worth doing at the patio stage to make it easier if we do add an enclosure later.

I'll found our if the local code would require an actual foundation. It barely seems necessary for an enclosure kit. It the paver ever shifted, it seems like the best solution would be to just reset the pavers, and we could drill some bolts into the patio to stop the walls from shifting laterally, but I understand that neither of those options would effectively bolt the structure to the ground if hurricanes tried to lift it.

If we put post footers under the bricks or installed a floating concrete slab patio/foundation instead, how would we handle the j bolt problem? We wouldn't want J bolts poking up through the patio before the porch is installed. Can you drill in bolts later instead of setting J bolts?

Thank you.

 

*IF* you knew the exact size and position of the patio room walls you could at least put the footings in, (which you would cover with pavers, excavate later, and add stem walls to get them above grade) but I really don't know what that would save you later. IMO you would just be paying for it twice by doing half now and half later. And if any part of the plan would change down the road it would all be money wasted.

If you were doing a pad that was the exact size and in the exact place it was supposed to be, then built your paver patio around it, that might make the most sense. Bolts can be epoxied in later, if you are thinking of a pad, but the problem with anything built on grade is water coming under walls and doors with weatherstripping (storm doors) that drags on the ground. A stem wall gets the structure up off the ground. At a minimum, if it's on a pad, that pad should be a good inch higher than any surrounding finished surface.

And you would need to get a transit out there to ensure that the next 3" rain wasnt going to create an unintended lake in, or next to your room. You will have a lot of runoff from that area that will need to go somewhere.

 

Thank you. I think we will consult with a contractor about final porch layout and the cost of putting in a pad.

Regarding the "on grade" issues, I think you mean don't install any other adjoining patio surfaces at the same grade as the pad? All adjoining surfaces should be at a lower grade to avoid water flowing toward porch walls. Correct?

 

Yes, they should be lower AND they need to be pitched away from the pad. The pad needs to be high enough that it will not get flooded by heavy rains and standing water. And you dont really want the pad to extend out any farther than your walls will be. You want your walls to be right at the edge of the pad or just a little bit beyond.

 

One other item not mentioned is the grade.

The slab or footings would be level while the paver patio would be sloped to accommodate drainage.

The slab or footers would have to be well below the patio and then the patio torn out for your stub wall for the enclosure.

A lot of work, time, and money for a might be project!

 

If you decide to install your footers now then proper documentation will be important. An inspection dept usually won't accept your word for what is buried in the ground. You don't want to go to the expense of installing footers only to have to excavate for your final project so the inspector can see and approve your old footers.

 

Thanks everyone. As I thought through porch layout a bit more, I remembered that the plan I made years ago, and it still works. I knew we might build a porch on the left side of the back of our house, and installed a concrete paver to the right of the porch site with the plan that if we build the porch, we would keep the patio and there would be a 3' planting bed strip between the porch and patio. I think that plan still make sense. If we build a porch, we would just add the porch and keep the paver patio too.

That brings me back to my original patio problems. The wood retaining timbers I used have rotted and the concrete pavers are badly faded. So, I want to reshape the patio a little bit and replace the pavers and retaining wall, but I'll be able to relay most of the new pavers on the existing sand and aggregate.

So, if I use clay brick pavers this time and properly install polymeric sand can I expect the patio to remain weed and fade free for many years? In addition to the patio retaining wall, there will be significant lengths of additional garden retaining walls, and I want to use something that I can just set in place with gravel/sand. What's a good retaining wall choice to go with tan/brown clay bricks? If I use fake stone concrete wall blocks, how can I avoid fading problems?

 

Weeds will always find a way. Polymeric helps alot but it's not magic. You will still need to keep an eye out for any weeds and deal with them immediately and before they can enlarge any cracks.

Everything outside in the sun fades. Pick materials in their natural color to minimize the afffect. So, if using pre-cast concrete retaining wall blocks pick the natural gray color. Anything that is dyed and especially if it's dyed a darker color it will fade.