Even though the deck was not complete, I needed to put down something between the house and pool deck. The kids were walking on the dirt and bringing it into the pool. I needed to get the concrete patio done.
The thought of just a concrete slab did not thrill me. In fact, to get a contractor out to just install a 20-foot x 10-foot patio would be costly. I always liked the look of brick pavers. The project just required sand, pavers, and the desire to do it. I certainly could save money by doing it myself. So, pavers it was for the patio.
Efiwym and I went to check out pavers. We were not limited to the 2-inch x 4-inch pavers, but they seemed to be the most readily available and inexpensive. We decided to go with the concrete pavers. The pavers were all the same size and color. We hemmed and hawed about the color, but we eventually decided to go with a rust-colored paver. Based on my measurements, we placed the order for what we needed.
The company delivered the pavers and the sand. Prior to the delivery, I laid out the location of the patio. I removed any topsoil and grass (more like weeds) and prepared the area. I installed the 4 x 6 pressure treated wood edging so we could contain the sand and the pavers. I secured the edging using ½ inch steel rebar through the middle of each end of the board. Finally, I used landscape fabric to cover the area. I was ready for my base layer of the sand.
Forty years ago, the use of concrete pavers was a new concept. Over the years the process to lay the pavers has changed. A sand base alone is not a good method. I would find out over time that Jack Frost and Mother Nature would play havoc on my patio of pavers.
Using a wheelbarrow with some help from my family, (who wanted to swim in the pool), we moved enough sand from the side yard to the patio to get about a 4-inch base of sand. There was no tamping down of the sand, just placing it within the 4 x 6 wood edging so we could level it off. We were now ready to install the pavers.
Using a notched 2 x 4 so we could level the sand, we would slide the board along the top of the wood edging, knocking down high areas. We would need to go back occasionally as we would need to fill in any low spots and re-level the area. We did not do it all, just enough so we could start laying down the pavers.
Here is where I go off the rails. Instead of just doing a simple running bond, I decided that a herringbone pattern would look better. Let’s make the project more difficult than it already is. Fortunately, I did not make the decision to turn the pattern by 45 degrees so I could make all these angle cuts around the edges.
I remember the multiple times I needed to pull the pavers back because I had the wrong pattern. I would say things like, “This one doesn’t go that way,” or “How do you do it again?” Nonetheless I got the pattern down and moved at a steady pace. This project would take several weekends as I finished up laying the pavers closest to the pool.
There would be plenty of pavers that required cutting to fill in areas where half pavers were needed. Even though I planned it so I would end with full pavers, I still needed to trim some pavers as I got to the other sides of the patio. Using my green Black and Decker® circular saw with a concrete blade, I cut and cut pavers. The saw blade was not large enough. It did not cut the paver all the way through. I needed to break it apart using my grandfather’s mason hammer and then chip away any excess paver material near the bottom.
(I still have that green Black and Decker® circular saw. It is missing the guide, but it is in my tool cabinet for those projects where a saw guide is not needed, like none.)
Once and finally all the pavers were in place, I shoveled sand on top of the pavers and swept the sand into the joints. I did not rent a vibratory plate compactor to compact the sand. The reasoning back then was sand does not compact. It is probably as compacted as it is going to get. However, the compactor could have been used to move the sand between the pavers and locked them in.
I was done. No more dirt into the pool and a nice patio to lounge on. Back to the pool deck.
