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I want to use 16" paver stones to cover a 12'x12' area. That means 81 stones. Do I need to buy extras-- I mean, of course I'll buy some extras, but how many-- do they break easily?
How much sand do I need to put down first? Is there a certain kind of sand that's better?
What else do we need to know about a project like this?
I ask you guys because whenever I look up DIY projects online they seem to make them sound wayyyyy harder/more expensive than is actually necessary compared to talking to real life people
i suppose the biggest issue is leveling. The area slopes towards the house and obviously we want to fix this first. Do we dig the ground around THEN add the sand or do you just add extra sand? How would you do it?
You forgot the crushed gravel layer and excavation!
All I know is that my husband - after seeing all that went into our paver patio - was really happy that he did not do that job himself.
What they got done in three days would have taken him all summer to do.
Well we can't afford to hire it out, it's only 12'x12' so we're gonna do it ourselves. I can't believe it's that complicated, although my husband would love to put it off. but I want to get it done so I can enjoy it all summer
I personally built several paver patios. The only labor my DH contributed was hauling all the materials to the back of the house. Just follow the directions in the link a few posts up. You can also add in landscape fabric to cut down on weeds, but I never did that step.
I used a hand tamp to compact each layer really, really well. You excavate IF the patio will be too high after adding in the gravel, sand and pavers. I leveled each paver as I went to fix a drainage problem instead of trying to get the whole area leveled perfectly first. Each night, I would go out and put in another few rows.
The 16" pavers are really heavy, so be prepared!!!
ETA: I wanted to clarify that I still did the majority of the leveling first and just fine tuned the leveling with sand as each paver was laid down.
Last edited by msm_teacher; 06-07-2010 at 06:57 PM..
Reason: clarify
My parents lifted our house on a jack and moved it to a new location, and saved all the original late 1800s hand-cut bricks that composed the original foundation, and stored them in the barn. Years later, they used the original foundation bricks to make a large brick patio. It was totally DIY, and with no internet to investigate. I was a little kid helping my dad with it, but I remember tamping down sand with a hand tamper. 25 years later, it's still really rustic and beautiful.
My mom did hers with just sand, no gravel (lotsa sand, as she says) and it has held up really well.
I would need to excavate to level it and lower it a bit, but not much. mostly the leveling would be the thing. But we'd have to do that for whatever method of patio/deck we chose, or even if we did nothing we should probably work on it anyway
I will have to figure out if I can borrow one of those tampers somewhere, I didn't know about those.
My mom also spread some sort of sealant on hers, then swept it into the cracks btwn and it helps it all stay together? Anybody know about this?
Why even ask the question if you are going to do it the way you want to anyway?
I almost didn't answer your first post because of the comment you made about you looking it up online but they seem to make them sound wayyyyy harder/more expensive than is actually necessary compared to talking to real life people.
This told me that you researched it but still wanted to cut corners with the job. Why even ask the question if you know you're not going to do it? Also why even spend your time and money to do the job half-ass when it would cost you a little more money and labor to do it right?
By the way, you can compact the sand without a compactor with something you already own at your house that is free, but why should I waste time telling you how to do it if you don't take my advice.
Make sure the area is level. My neighbors just did theirs a few weeks ago. Of course we told them it was nice but its really not. The pavers are unlevel already and it looks like a good trip hazard. As the ground shifts, it will get worse. There are projects that really need an eye for detail and following the rules. Its labor intensive as well so if your gonna bust your rump doing this, make sure you do it right. Otherwise you will have a mess that you will want to tear out eventually. Good luck!
A hand tamp wasn't very exensive when I bought it, and I doubt they have gone up a lot in price. I could not have built a stable patio without it.
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The pavers are unlevel already and it looks like a good trip hazard. As the ground shifts, it will get worse. There are projects that really need an eye for detail and following the rules. Its labor intensive as well so if your gonna bust your rump doing this, make sure you do it right. Otherwise you will have a mess that you will want to tear out eventually. Good luck! 
