Hi. I have zero experience with this so please pardon some basic questions....
I have a 4" x 8" clay brick patio without mortar that is subsiding in the center. There is virtually no space between bricks. A spirit level indicates that the far end (away from the house) slopes back toward the house, in part. And part of it is level. My goal would be to reset the bricks in the problem area so that it slopes downward away from the house to correct it,
and then prevent/delay settling in the future
I assumed that there was sand beneath it so I bought three bags of sand, took out a brick and found 3/4" gravel.
Questions:
1. Can sand and gravel be combined to any positive effect?
2. Is a hand tamper adequate over an area of about 80 square feet?
3. Does it make sense to finish with polymeric sand over part, but not all, of the patio?
4.For an area this size do I need rails and a screed board?
5. If I need a small amount of additional gravel, is there a way to get it without purchasing a half cubic yard or whatever?
Thank you very much for any help you can provide!!!!
SOP is a 1" layer of bedding sand on a compacted layer. I cannot tell from the pictures if what you have is compactible material. If not, the sand will just filter through it. If it is compactible, it is likely pretty compacted now due to time alone even if it was not properly compacted during installation. Hence, you will need to remove whatever material it takes to create your proper slope or potentially quite a bit of material if this is not a compacted base.
Your stone doesn't look very compactable because of it's uniform, rounded size. You might have difficulty with sand as much of it will sift down into that type of stone over time. I hate to say it but sticking with a similar stone as you already have would probably be the best.
I would remove all the pavers in the sunken area. Since it's about 80 square feet I would set up to screed the new stone. Because that type of stone doesn't compact much you could use a hand tamper though you may have difficulty leveling the stone and you probably shouldn't walk on it after compacting. That is a big area for a hand tamper though, so it will test your patience and stamina. A vibratory plate compactor would be a lot faster and do a better job. Then I would set the bricks and tamp to set them in place. I probably would not use anything between the joints.
Hi again. I did some digging and learned that there is a French drain under my patio...hence the gravel. The rest is sand over gravel as it should be.
The brick pavers use a running pattern parallel to the perforated black flex drain pipe.
French drains hate sand and brick patios love sand.
Question 1: Can I get the sand any closer to the drain? I think the gravel bed is about 16-20" wide.
Question 2: The point of greatest subsidence was over that drain inlet. Is that supposed to be a very slight bowl in the bricks? Wondering if that makes a difference. It does seem, after 25 years, that there is not much of a bowl leading down toward it.
Thanks! YOu have been extremely helpful to me through the years and I appreciate it.
Last edited by debeze; 11-04-22 at 05:32 PM.
Reason: typo
I would be covering that drain with landscape fabric to keep solid materials out. This has now become a non--standard installation, as the compacted base is supposed to be sloped to move water away but a compacted base will render your drain useless.
Hi all. I wrote earlier in this week about an uneven brick patio that seemed to have 3/4" gravel under the bricks.
[color=#222222]I did some digging and learned that there is a French drain under my patio...hence the gravel. The rest is sand over gravel as it should be.[/color]
[color=#222222]The brick pavers use a running pattern parallel to the perforated black flex drain pipe.[/color]
[color=#222222]I presume perforated pipe French drains hate sand (true?) and I know brick patios love sand.[/color]
[color=#222222][b]Question 1:[/b] Can I get the sand any closer to the drain to make the brick leveling easier? I think the gravel bed is about 16-20" wide.[/color]
[color=#222222][b]Question 2:[/b] The point of greatest subsidence was over that drain inlet. Is that supposed to be over a very slightly angled bowl in the bricks? Wondering if that makes a difference. It does seem, after 25 years, that there is not much of a bowl leading down toward it.[/color]
[color=#222222]Thanks! [/color]
[img]https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.doityourselft.com-vbulletin/320x240/img_5737_e0f2544486f25c93e768b09d7a8df972238a5556.jpg[/img]
[i]You can see the perforated drain pipe, with a cleanout/drain at the lower center.[/i]
Good day!
I just did my balcony grouting, then realized maybe I need an expansion line, it's a small outdoor balcony, not sure if it is needed.
Thanks for any advice in advance!
[img]https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.doityourselft.com-vbulletin/960x1280/balcony_tile_grouting_d25400f3b163b9735e54d6216f03887d279d031b.jpg[/img]
10-30-22, 05:49 PM
