Brick Pavers gaining recognition by Pavement Industry

Interlocking pavers were once seen as a luxury item but now are a viable pavement solution

Interlocking brick pavers are becoming an increasingly viable & economical solution for residential, commercial, and municipal applications.  When properly designed & installed, interlocking concrete pavers will not only offer aesthetically pleasing appearance but offer substantially reduced long-term maintenance & replacement costs compared to poured concrete & asphalt.

These advantages that brick pavers offer have gained recognition throughout the pavement industry in the United States.  With almost 60 years of experience & feedback from Europe, Australia, & Canada, the interlocking paving stone's structural integrity, shapes, colors, textures, and permeability have greatly improved.  Education for architects, engineers, manufacturers, contractors, and the general public have contributed to the proper applications, designs, and installation techniques that best offers long-term success & performance.

The Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institue (ICPI) released an article in their February 2012 magazine that states the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International has approved a new standard practice for rating the condition of interlocking concrete pavements.  The ASTM International develops international standards for materials, products, systems and services used in construction, manufacturing, and transportation.  Their guidelines are strictly used by the brick paver industry to insure maximum performance.


ASTM E2840-11 was added to an existing rating method known as the Pavement Condition Index (PCI) used for evaluating existing concrete & asphalt pavement conditions.  The ICPI was the driving force that proposed including interlocking concrete pavers for pavement management & data.  

ASTM E2840-11 provides private & commercial project owners and municipalities specific guidance for required maintenance needs & costs and rating severity of current conditions & distresses.  It is amazing how over the last 30 years, so many city street scape projects extensively used interlocking brick pavers but have left them for dead due to lack of maintenance & neglect.


One of the best advantages of including interlocking brick pavers into the PCI rating system with poured concrete & asphalt is that now a more accurate comparison can be made between these alternative pavements.  Evaluating long-term performance &  maintenance costs will especially help municipalities for future projects.  It will also help guide in setting maintenance budgets and schedules.


It is very important that the public is aware that there are standards set in the brick paver & modular retaining wall industry.  There needs to be minimum requirements for products, designs, base materials, and installation techniques to insure long-term success and satisfaction for any paving stone project.  Too often, inexperienced or uneducated contractors install paver patios, walkways, driveways, etc... that only result in failure and client frustration.

Interlocking brick pavers are gaining more and more momentum in the pavement industry.  In the past it was considered a luxury item because of the upfront higher cost versus  poured concrete & asphalt.  Stamped concrete cost is usually the same or more than interlocking brick pavers.  But when you factor in long-term maintenance & replacement costs, interlocking brick pavers are the most economical solution by far. When you factor in the flexibility of designs, colors, textures, and function, there is no comparison either!

Another Repair of Brick Paver Patio Steps & Porch Step

Brick Paver Steps  Repair

Our continued brick paver repair services took us to another paver patio steps & front porch step reconstruction this past week.  For the sake of not sounding redundant, this blog post will be brief with before & after pics.  My previous post went into more detail regarding the enormous need for paver patio step repair through out Ann Arbor & Saline.

Settled Paver Steps

This raised pavers patio has been in for over 5 years, slowly the brick steps leading into the patio door wall and front porch began to settle & shift.  They were currently in desperate need of repair for safety & appearance purposes.  This client called in the brick paver expert and we began to solve their issue.

Once the base material below is compromised, the complete paver step structure is going to fail. Large gaps begin to allow water to erode behind and below the paver block steps & caps.  The brick paver landing on top begins to sink and tripping hazards begin to appear.

This client's front paver porch steps exhibited the "smiley face" appearance which occurs often when a contractor does not compact the interior base material properly.  They just fill in upwards as they build each step without compacting the base in 2-3" lifts when building brick steps.

Before reconstructing

As we did with the earlier brick paver step reconstruction, we completely tore down the entire structure and rebuilt from the ground up.  Upon tearing down the block & cap steps, we discovered a reason for the paver steps settling.  The landscape contractor did not fill in gaps or holes (see picture) in the modular retaining wall blocks as needed.  This resulted in an inferior step or wall construction that was destined to fail over time.  Open spaces allow for base settling, erosion, and reduces the overall mass of the step structure.  We did relevel, recompacted, & filled all joints and holes.

When properly installed, brick paver patio & porch steps can give years of performance & spectacular appearance. Paver steps do require some basic maintenance over the years but will be minimal in time & costs if addressed in the early stages of settling or erosion. I expect that these newly repaired paver steps will give many years of safety and appearance that a brick paver client expects.

Remember to address the first signs of the brick pavers settling in the top landing, block & caps sagging, or caps coming loose.  Small periodic paver repairs will avoid very costly reconstruction in the future.

Extreme Brick Paver Repair in Ann Arbor

I did this brick paver repair call today in Ann Arbor. When I came around to the back to see their paver patio, I was shocked at the extreme need for paver repairs. After consulting with the homeowner on the history of this paver patio, it became evident why this brick patio was in such dispair. This brick paver installation makes me upset because it does not give interlocking pavers or modular retaining wall the credit it deserves.

The homeowner informed me that she had a local landscaper in Ann Arbor install the brick paver patio about 4 years ago. This was her first mistake. Back in the 80's thru about year 2000, most brick pavers were installed by brick paver specialists, companies who's main business was installing interlocking pavers and modular retaining walls. This trend quickly changed when landscapers, even lawn service companies, began to advertise that they install paving stones and block retaining walls. Often they would add "brick pavers" to there list of services on their company vehicles or advertising adds.  Without any formal training or experience, these landscapers began installing paver patios, walkways, & driveways.

I'm sorry but after a landscape expert designs a landscape plan, anyone can dig a hole or put down mulch.  But paving stones and landscape blocks require an added expertise, skill set, and experience to properly install pavers or retaining walls for long term success. I will admit that brick pavers are considered an unskilled labor project, but not for the foreman or supervisor handling the detail layout, cuts, compaction, or foresight to meet specifications. It is true that interlocking pavers and modular retaining wall projects are 70% grunt work or sweat equity, but that 30% expertise will determine the long-term performance and appearance of your paver projects.

The second mistake the homeowner made with their paver patio was not doing any seasonal paver maintenance like paver joint sand sweeping. Because they hired an uneducated landscaper in Ann Arbor, they were not educated on the maintenance requirements or brick pavers.  Simple Spring paving stone joint sand could have prevented at least half of the paver repairs they face today.  The homeowner informed me that the landscaper did not finish sweep with any joint sand at the completion of the job. When asked by the homeowner if there was any maintenance to do to their paver patio, the foreman replied with "NO, brick pavers have no maintenance!".

Though this homeowner has some responsibility for the extreme brick paver repairs of this paver patio, it is the responsibility of landscapers who advertise they install brick paver patios to have trained, experienced, and educated  paver installers before performing this work.  At the very least, they need to educate their clients of the yearly brick paver maintenance requirements needed to maintain the homeowners investment.

The paver patio I have shown in this post will need to be completely torn apart and rebuilt. Though we can reuse the paving stones, retaining wall blocks, and base materials, the homeowner is going to have an undeserved paver repair cost that is going to make their original investment even more costly.