Brick Pavers Cleaning & Sealing Now in Season for Summer

The summer season has began for cleaning & sealing of brick pavers in Southeast Michigan.  As the temperatures and dryer weather prevail, the conditions for an optimal sealing of brick pavers exists. These homeowners in Canton, MI decided to have their brick pavers done in June. 

Spring in Southeast Michigan presents a lot of challenges for cleaning and sealing brick pavers.  Weather and temperatures are erratic and can cause anxiety and frustration when executing a brick paver sealing project.  I usually would recommend that cleaning & sealing of brick pavers be scheduled after mid-May to insure optimal conditions for the best appearance.  The cleaning and sealing season will usually end by the end of October.  

The desired temperatures for brick paver sealants is between 50-90 degrees.  When deciding to seal pavers at the 2 extreme temps, its important to take in effect sunlight, humidity, and wind.  Cleaning of brick pavers and re-sanding of paver joints does not really have any weather restrictions.  Brick paver projects that do not involve using sealer, I will perform as early as late March to Thanksgiving.  

Cleaning & sealing of brick pavers can be performed as a DIY project or by a professional brick paver contractor.  Depending on which approach the homeowner decides to take, great patience and detail must be executed to have an optimal result and appearance.  

Brick Paver Patio Repair & Redesign in Canton, MI

One of our biggest request this year from homeowners who seek repairs to their brick pavers patios is to redesign the patio to be more functional.  In the past, multi-level raised paver patios were designed with aesthetics in mind but not always functionality.

This brick paver patio in Canton, MI needed some extensive repair to it's settling wall block & cap retaining wall and sunken brick pavers.  The homeowner was also frustrated with the design because it functioned like 2 small patios instead of one large one.  After placing their patio furniture and outdoor accents, they found flow of traffic very difficult.  When entertaining friends & family, most people had to
co-mingle in the yard.

My recommendation was for us to raise the lower ground level area of the paver patio to the raised or elevated portion.  We re-used most of the current paver products and obtained additional wall blocks, caps, and some more paving stones to complete this redesign.

Repairs and releveling was performed to the elevated portion of this paver patio and the new raised patio area was made flush to create one larger and functional outdoor living space.  The homeowner was very happy with the final product and immediately ordered some new patio furniture so they could entertain and enjoy Summer sunsets.

One of the major advantages of brick pavers is it's versatility and opportunity to make changes or repairs without any obvious signs or flaws.

3, 2, 1, ...Let's GO! Brick Paver Repairs

As Michigan flutters between Winter & Spring this week, the rush by homeowners to begin there Spring projects is ready to explode.  The anticipation of Winter ground frost exiting the earth is teasing and slow this March in Southeast Michigan.  Once it is clear, the seasonal madness of brick paver repair, installation, cleaning & sealing, and maintenance will begin!

Each day the weather is warm or sunny, my phone line is busy.  Each day the weather is snowy & gray, my leads come to a halt!  The reality is that Spring is coming soon and to wait will only delay a homeowner's time frame for having their brick paver restoration project completed.

Many proactive homeowners have contacted or contracted with us since late January to insure an April or May completion of work.  The position on the calendar is more important than the current weather outside.  Spring will come fast! 

From 0 to 60 we will be in full brick paver production in a few weeks.  As always, if you require some type of brick paver repair or installation services, hire a qualified and reputable brick paver contractor over an inexperienced landscape contractor or handy man service.  See you soon!

How Deep Freeze effects Brick Pavers

Brick Pavers are designed to withstand the effects of Winter Freeze Thaw Cycles

As a deep freeze comes over Ann Arbor, it reminds me of the advantages that Interlocking Brick Pavers offer.  All pavements are tested this time of year.  The expansion of the subgrade and actual paverment materials will test the strength of concrete, asphalt, and pavers.

When we are talking about Winter Frost, we are not talking about frost on your car windshields or frost on the lawn. We are referring to the actually freezing of the ground or soil below.  In Ann Arbor, MI, it is typical for the ground or soil below to freeze on average of 3ft deep in a normal Winter. 

The Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute (ICPI) defines "Winter Frost" or "Frost Action" as the "freezing and thawing of moisture in pavement materials and resultant effects on them".  Northern United States, Canada, and most of Northern Europe experience the devastating effects of Winter freeze thaw cycles.

The ICPI defines "Frost Heave" as the "raising of a pavement surface due to the accumulation and expansion of ice in the underlying soil or rock".  Heaving or "humping up" of pavement or pavement slabs is a common occurrence.  I see slabs of concrete lift making lips or toe catchers at cracks or relief cuts.  Asphalt or brick pavers will stretch or hump up creating a pimple like bump or pot hole.

Brick pavers have always offered the best performance to the effects of Winter Frost.  First, brick pavers offer the best Freeze Thaw durability testing.  Pavers have the least absorption rate of moisture when totally immersed in water.  Second, the installation of brick pavers requires the most stringent use of base materials below.  Normal poured concrete and asphalt installations require only a fraction of the use of base materials that brick pavers specify.



The biggest advantage of interlocking brick pavers is the low cost of repairs compared to the other pavements. By properly designing, installing, and maintaining a brick paver project, an experienced brick paver contractor can increase your long-term success and performance of your pavers.

Winter Frost or Mother Nature can NOT be totally defeated.  There is no thing as a "permanent" solution.  Every pavement has a life cycle and brick pavers is your best option. Brick pavers can easily be restored at a nominal cost.  The advantage of re-using the paving stones offers the unique advantage that poured concrete, stamped concrete, or asphalt can't offer.

Simple and Beautiful Raised Brick Pavers Patio Installed

Brick Doctor Bill and crew installed this simple & beautiful Raised Pavers Patio in Scio Township, MI this past month.  We removed old wooden decks for 2 other family members of this homeowner and replaced their decks with functional, low maintenance, and creative raised brick paver patios.

 This homeowner did not currently have any outdoor living space structures and wanted us to build them a spectacular patio that they will enjoy for many years to come.  Entertainment space and traffic flow were key factors in the homeowner's needs for a paver patio.

We discussed in detail their needs and budget.  We designed and executed a simple design with some creative touches using patterns, colors, and functional paver pads.  We designed a  permanent set of Paver Steps out from their Four Seasons room that transitioned safely down to the newly installed paver patio.

Due to the large back yard, we designed a 500+ sq.ft raised paver patio area that would facilitate patio furniture, loungers, and space for entertaining.  We designed some functional paver pad areas down from the raised patio space to facilitate a grill, smoker, and decorative fire pit.  This design of added paver areas off the raised paver patio helps with traffic flow and comfort.  All of our brick paver installations are custom designed for needs & budgets.


This raised paver patio has a popular "kidney" shaped design and we custom cut each and every wall cap.  Using the traditional Holland 4X8 paving stone laid in a herringbone pattern gives this patio a dramatic look at an economical cost.  The homeowner upgraded to Fendt's Spectrum series color in the paving stones to give deep pigment color appearance.  We used a contrasting lighter color in the Wall blocks & caps framing the raised pavers patio and paver steps.  Not only did this give some dramatic contrasts but it also aids in safety.


When a raised paver patio is properly installed by a qualified brick pavers contractor, the end result in detail, execution, and construction is superior. Design, products & tools, proper compaction, and precise saw cutting all contribute to the overall success of a brick paver installation.  Long-term performance is optimal when both contractor and homeowner are educated on seasonal maintenance requirements too.

Old Paver Patio Replaced with New Brick Pavers

Homeowner elects to replace old Brick Pavers if total rebuilding of Patio is required

This homeowner in Ann Arbor, MI had Unilock Classico Pavers for a patio for over 16 years.  The trend in the mid 90's for paving stones was circles, fans, and spirals to create fancy designs & European styles.  Though this homeowner enjoyed this creativity of pavers for many years, they now wanted a more conservative design that best met their change in style.


The current brick paver patio required some extensive rebuilding & repair.  The paver patio had not had any maintenance done for over 16 years and the paving stones had become uneven, loose, gapped, and areas pitched back towards the home.  The paver joints had been taken over by dirt, moss, weeds, and other organic matter due to neglect and lack of sand sweeping over the years.  

My recommendation was for total re-installation & cleaning of the paver patio.  The "band aid" approach of repairs was not an option in this case.  Cleaning & sanding would only be a temporary improvement to the appearance unless the extensive repairs where done.  Due to the cost of this paver repair & restoration service, the customer wanted to explore the option of replacing the existing paving stones with a new style of paver.  Though the overall cost of the restoration project will be more, the paver patio will be brand new & updated!

They now wanted a style of brick pavers that was more linear, geometrical, and tighter fitting, while having some flexibility of being creative.  I suggested using the traditional 4" X 8" Holland Paver shape.  Even with it's simple shape, there are many laying patterns & colors that allow for some easy creativity at an economical price.  By using "quilting" techniques like colors, textures, & shapes to achieve creative designs, brick paver contractors can use re-invent boring old paver patios, walkways, driveways, and more.

Every paver repair &  restoration project that I quote, there needs to be a cost / benefit analysis by the homeowner as to the approach to take in restoring their brick pavers.  Function & performance is always the most important approach.  Improved appearance, creativity, and design is then evaluated whether the additional cost is worth the benefit.  For this homeowner, the additional cost to use new pavers was well worth the additional costs.

We slightly changed the dimensions of this paver patio and installed an impressive design that the customer loved and admired.  The size was increased to create two usable patio areas, one for seating & dining and the other for casual seating, lounging, or sun bathing.  The homeowner plans on adding a decorative fire pit or chimnea to complete their outdoor experience.

 The simple creativity of this new pavers patio is not only functional, but improved the appearance of the home's landscape. Now educated and aware of simple routine maintenance, this homeowner will never need to restore their paver patio again. What turned out to be a undesirable situation for the homeowner resulted in a very positive experience and new addition to their outdoor living space.

November Brick Paver Tip: Remove Leaves

Simple Brick Paver Maintenance steps will help you avoid unnecessary costs

As leaves fall from trees & bushes here in November, remember to remove them from your brick paver patios, walkways, driveways, porches, and more. Easily blow them off with a leaf blower or sweep off with a broom. Try to get this paver maintenance tip done before it begins to snow.

  Most people think it is because of the obvious reason for leaf stains. Leaf stains will usually disappear from high density concrete pavers in the Spring as the acid from the stain wears off. So do not worry about leaf stains this time of year if you see them already.

The biggest reason you should remove leaves from your brick pavers is the fact that leaves break down into compost, in other words, dirt & soil.  This organic transformation will fill paver joints with unwanted soil that will restrict drainage through the pavers and aid in the germination of weeds & grass. 

In the Spring I can usually identify the areas where leaves collected on paver patios and walkways going into the winter by observing the dirt stains areas in corners or along landscape beds.  It will require cleaning of the paving stone surfaces and paver joints to remove this organic matter. 

Simply blowing or sweeping leaves off brick pavers in the Fall will save time from performing this avoidable paver maintenance step in the Spring.

Raised Paver Patio Replaces Old Wooden Deck

Homeowner chooses lower maintenance & aesthetically pleasing advantages of Brick Pavers

Many of our installation projects are replacing old worn & high maintenance wooden decks with interlocking pavers and retaining wall blocks and caps.  With the versatility of paving stones & modular retaining wall blocks, multi-level or raised paver patios and steps are possible.  When properly installed and maintained, raised paver patios are unmatched in beauty, function, and long-term costs.

This homeowner was tired and frustrated from the continued maintenance costs & time of their wooden deck.  It was time to consider another option and my team and I were here to satisfy their need.  After reviewing the layout & heights, I was able to design a raised paver patio that met their need for function, space, and pleasing appearance.  My team executed a timely & detailed installation that will insure optimum performance for years to come.

Paving stones offer a variety of colors, shapes, and textures that will complement any home structure or yard.  After careful selection of products and colors, this plan came together with a shared vision of homeowner & contractor. The new pavers patio needed to be elegant and simple with a strong design and construction for long-term success.

We began by completely removing the existing wooden deck. We then began to construct the modular retaining wall blocks & caps, FENDT's Country Manor in Limestone color, to build the outside framing of the new raised paver patio while filling up the structure with base material, all along compacted in 4-5" each lifts.  A back wall was constructed along the elevated four seasons room to insure strength and avoid cave in.
   
Filter fabric was used behind the wall blocks to restrict any base material from filtering through the blocks.  This step of installing a geo-texile blanket behind walls is often missed by inexperienced landscape contractors who install raised paver patios or retaining walls.

Once the outside framing was complete and the base material was set at the proper height, we spread the bedding course material for screeding. After screeding the entire paver patio, the pavers, FENDT's Hollandstone Paver in Polar Ash color, were laid in a herringbone pattern with a soldier course border. The soldier course border is laid inside the wall caps and along all other edges butting up to the house or steps.  The diamond saw cutting piecing was completed, joint sand was swept in the paver joints, plate compaction was performed, and then another sweeping of joint sand was executed.

We completed the project by cleaning up the site & installing soil around the new raised paver patio until the homeowner can properly landscape. Landscaping around paver patios is crucial to long-term success by reducing or preventing any erosion that may compromise the installation.  We left the homeowner an extra bag of joint sand for future touch-ups of paver joints and explained the expectations for on-going low maintenance needs.

These homeowner's were originally reluctant to bring a brick paver patio into their landscape but were now ecstatic with their decision.  I was confident we would meet or exceed their expectations and needs.  This combination of four seasons room and raised paver patio is now the envy of this condo development.  So when you finally have had it with your old high-maintenance wooden deck, consider the option of installing a raised brick paver patio.

Brick Paver Patio Cleaning

This past week we performed a brick paver patio repair, cleaning and polymeric sanding on a paving stone patio in Ann Arbor.  As you can see in this pic, the paver patio was in an extreme need of cleaning.  The abundance of moss was the direct result of moisture and shade.

We performed a brick paver repair by lowering the paver edge restraint that had raised from frost. The raised edge restraint was not only unsightly but it created a dam around the paver patio and did not allow water to run off the paving stones.  Therefore creating a lot of moisture on the paver patio and allowing moss to thrive combined with the shade in this area.

Reinstalling the plastic edge restraint is not easy. Grass & roots grow around the edge restraint and the spikes rust and make it very hard to remove.  We removed @18" of sod around the paver patio so the client could install enviro mulch or stone mulch. We reinstalled the paver edge restraint properly by making sure the top lip was at least 1" below the top edge of the paving stone border.

The cleaning of this paver patio required an aggressive approach to power washing.  We spent over 2 hours at a high PSI blowing out ALL the paver joints freeing them of dirt, moss, and weeds.  There is a need to be careful not to wash out the bedding course under the paving stones. This may result in paving stones sinking. After the paver joints where free of debris, we widen our spray nozzle and cleaned the individual paving stones to remove dirt, stains, and mold.

When the paving stones and paver joints were dry, we returned to sweep in polymeric sand in all the paver joints.  Keeping up each Spring season with polymeric sand will almost eliminate future accumulation of dirt in the paver joints which allows weeds to fester.  Moss on the other hand can still grow on top of paver joints and paving stones. Moss can be easily controlled by keeping a spray bottle mix of clorox bleach & water.  Also, moss can be sprayed off fairly easy with a traditional hose & spray nozzle on jet stream.

Brick Doctor Bill was able to help this brick paver patio regain its function and luster.  We spent the time to educate the homeowner on the easy & timely brick paver maintenance steps to keep their paver patio at it's best.  Another satisfied client in Ann Arbor!

Paver Patio Repair and Cleaning in Ann Arbor

We are currently working on a Paver Patio repair and cleaning in Ann Arbor. This paver patio had severe settling along the house foundation and due to no ongoing paver maintenance, the paver joints where full of weeds, grass, moss, and dirt. This particular brick paver repair will cost the homeowner $950 to clean & re-install approx. 90sq.ft of brick pavers & base, aggressively power wash the remaining 200 sq.ft. of brick pavers and paver joints, and re-sweep with polymeric (bonding) sand. Below I will explain the cause of these brick paver repairs and some steps to avoid costly patio repair in the future.

This first picture is of the paver patio area we needed to re-install the patio pavers.  This area experienced severe settling due to one major factor: WATER !  See the gutter coming down on the house in the left portion of the picture. It has been dumping water into this area of the patio since the paver patio was installed. The brick paver contractor should have designed or ran a drainpipe out into the yard to redirect this water flow. The customer said it has been a slow 4 year process of settling. Once this paver area began to settle, all water from the paver patio began to flow back into this area too.  Each Winter's frost feasted on this area due to the presence of water & moisture. The result: The pavers buckling and sinking over a foot down! She lost the use of about 1/3 of her paver patio since it became hazardous and unsightly.

To help avoid this brick paver repair, always make sure that all water from gutters is redirected into grass areas by buried drainpipes or gutter extensions. Also, at the first sign of settling and the water flow of the paver patio is moving back, it must be addressed or the damage will become more severe and expensive. Not to mention that this may cause water damage to your foundation or basement. We did connect a gutter extension so the water would flow out into the yard.

In this second  picture of the paver patio, you will see the results of brick paver maintenance neglect.  The paver joints have alot of dirt, weeds, grass, and moss growing in them. Grass has actually grown over the last 2 rows of bricks on the outside of the paver patio. This customer in 4 years has never re-swept paver joint sand in the joints each Spring. She was not aware of this small paver maintenance step since her landscaping contractor did not educate her on this need.  Now she is paying $300 to clean her patio pavers & paver joints and have re-swept with polymeric sand ! It would have cost her @$6.00 worth of regular joint sand and 20 minutes of her time each Spring to keep her paver patio looking good and functional!

We completed the work with 3 workers in a day but it was pretty grueling. The customer was ecstatic to have her brick paver patio & pride back! I took the time to educate her on some brick paver repair preventive steps that she can perform. If she is too busy, we can perform these brick paver services at a nominal charge. Do not let your brick paver patio get to this despair, it will only cost you money & heartache.

You can check out the finished results of this paver patio in a few weeks when we return to take some snapshots at Paver Repair Before & After on our Website. Look for our next job post within the week.

Brick Pavers Installation : Step 2 Prep & Excavation

After doing some PLANNING of your brick paver project, it is time to PREP & EXCAVATE the area to install your brick paver patio. Mark out the location of your brick paver patio, walkway, or driveway by using marking paint or use the family garden hose to outline your paver project. It is always a good idea to contact MISS DIG in your area to have all utilities, phone, & cable marked before excavating for your paving stone patio.

The tools that will be required for PREPPING your interlocking brick pavers are simple at this step. You will need a wheel barrel, pointed shovel, rake, and some sweat equity. Always remove any sod (grass), mulch, stone, or existing concrete where you will be installing your patio stones. You can strip your sod or concrete out if your paver patio is not that big, but often it is best to rent a power sod cutter or air jack to help in removals. No sense physically burning yourself out in the early stages of this project. Once the area for your brick pavers is prepped, it is time to excavate the area for base material.


EXCAVATING for brick pavers is usually the hardest physical part of any paver project. Most homeowners do not have a skidsteer or tractor to dig out the area to be excavated for a patio, walkway, or paver driveway. This step will require some sweat equity and is important not to be skimped on. MAKE SURE YOU EXCAVATE DEEP ENOUGH TO ALLOW FOR THE PROPER BASE DEPTH to help insure long term performance of your brick pavers. In the earlier posted PLANNING step 1 I detailed how to set your heights. Now, from the top of your brick paver height, you want to excavate down @9" . I determine this measurement from 2.75" of paver thickness, 1" of bedding (screed) course, and average 5" of gravel base. For a brick paver patio or brick paver walkway, 4-5" of gravel base is sufficient if the soil drains well. For brick paver driveways, you will excavate down @13" from the top paver height. Basically you are doubling the gravel base thickness for normal driveway applications. If you experience clay soils, I would add 2-3" of gravel base thickness for patios & walks, and add 4-5" for driveways. It is important to excavate brick paver areas @4" wider along all outside edges so you have base to install the edge restraint on and also give yourself some flexibility in the final layout when installing the brick pavers.

Once these physically challenging steps of PREPPING & EXCAVATING for brick pavers is complete, you will begin to enjoy the "fruits of your labor" as the paver patio begins to evolve. Check back soon for Step 3 : Base Material for Brick Pavers.

Brick Pavers Installation : Step 1 PLANNING

For over 25 years I have been assisting homeowners and contractors with design & installation of brick pavers and modular retaining walls. Whether you are installing a brick paver patio, walkway, driveway, planter, or steps, a good guided plan is needed to insure a successful paver installation that is not only aesthetically pleasing but economical.

The PLANNING stage for a interlocking brick paver or modular retaining wall installation will be your easiest step in terms of labor, but probably the most important step. A poor plan of designing, ordering, or installing your brick paver project can lead to alot of frustration and unneccessay redo or repair.

For simplicity we will discuss a game plan for planning out the installation of a paver patio. We will also assume we do not need any steps to transition down. Start by taking measurements of the area that you want to install your brick paver patio and transfer the dimensions of the brick patio area onto some graph paper (boxes). I like to use 1 box = 1 sq.ft. (or linear foot) if the dimensions will fit on one sheet. If not, try making 1 box = 4 sq.ft ( or 2 linear feet). If your paver patio will have a curved design, use the garden hose to layout on the grass the shape & size that you are looking for. If you already have patio furniture, grill, or chiminea, place them in the patio area you mapped out to make sure you have enough room to move around comfortably. Take several reference measurements and transfer the points onto the graph paper.

Now, your first important piece of information needs to be calculated ... SQUARE FEET! This number is easily calculated by WIDTH X LENGTH = SQUARE FEET. When calculating FACE FEET for retaining walls, replace the WIDTH with HEIGHT in the equation above. By transfering your design to the graph paper, you can easily count the boxes to determine the square feet of your pavers patio, especially in a curved design. This square foot number of your brick paver installation will be the crucial information used for ordering your brick pavers, base materials, and other paver products.

The next important piece of information that you will need to know is the ...LEVEL of the EXISTING GRADE! This the level of the land in the area that you will be installing your brick paver patio. This information is very important for ordering your base materials and also important for how deep you need to dig down to install your paver base. We use a surveyors level to perform our brick paver installations but most homeowners do not need to rent one to obtain this information. Get a spool of string, a few small stakes, and line level bubble. Install a stake at the house and tie the string at the level you want your patio pavers at the house. Install another stake at the farthest point out of your patio. Pull the string from the stake at the house and wrap around the new stake while using the line level bubble on the string. Pull the string tight and wrap around the outside stake so the bubble shows level. Mark this spot on the outside stake with a marker and remove the string if you like. In the brick paver industry we will use a rule of thumb for slope of 1 inch per 10ft length. This is just a reference and you can use any slope as long as it is a "positive pitch" away from the home. The more slope you have the better but remember you do not want to create a brick paver patio that is a ramp or your furniture is leaning. 1 inch per 10ft lengths is not that noticeable to the naked eye and seems to work quite well in drainage. For our example paver patio, we will say the outside stake (patio edge) is 20ft out from the house stake. So, we will make a second mark (another color) on the outside stake 2 inches (1" per 10ft) down from the mark that was level. This will represent the height of our patio out in the yard. This is an important reference point so we can see how high our paver patio will be out in the yard. You will be able to determine whether you can just landscape up to the brick pavers or whether you will need a retaining wall to retain the patio.

The last piece of important information will come from re installing the string line from the house stake and wrapping the string around the outside stake where the outside paver patio height was marked with the slope. Now you can measure down @9-10" from this string line to reach the bottom of your digging for installing the proper paver base materials. This will answer one of the most frequently asked questions from homeowners, "How far do I dig down?".

We will go into more detail about prepping for your paver patio in Step 2 but this PLANNING stage will set the "ground work" for a better brick paver patio installation. This is the stage to mentally obsess about the details before you begin to stress your muscles with labor intensive steps, so enjoy!

Brick Paver Repair Options

On many of my brick paver repair estimates, I am asked to give pricing options for the repairs of their brick paver patio, sidewalk, driveway, porches, steps, or retaining walls. Usually these pricing options include doing the paver repairs using the "band aid" approach or the total reinstalling of the interlocking brick paver or modular retaining wall project.

The dilemma for the homeowner is to decide whether to accept the "band aid" approach which is usually considerably cheaper, or biting the bullet and accepting the commitment to properly reinstall the paver project. Because of the price disparity of these approaches, their are considerable questions and angst by the customers.

The "band aid" approach is referred to as the "cosmetic" approach. The homeowner wants me to just "make it look better" at a minimal cost. I tell customers that the "band aid" approach is a short term repair method that will improve the appearance but not necessarily the long term performance of their brick paver installation. I usually have this request from people that are going to be selling their homes in the near future or if a pressing safety issue exists. Basically this approach is to "cosmetically" repair the paving stones or landscape walls without addressing the sub base below or the major issues that may result in future failures. I will only give a 90 day warranty on these type of repairs. I believe that this brick paver repair approach is more suited for minor settling or heaves from frost. The "band aid" approach should be used early on to correct any minor or small brick repairs that become visible. Too often customers let minor settling or heaving of pavers go unattended which results in major repairs & costs.

The other approach to brick paver repairs is to completely reinstall the brick pavers or modular retaining walls from the bottom up. This will require not only lifting up the paving stones or landscape blocks but completely removing and reinstalling the base & bedding course. Obviously the cost of this type of brick repair far exceeds the "band aid" approach. The customer does save the product costs which is the major advantage of interlocking brick pavers and modular retaining walls. I will usually warranty any total reinstallation project for 1-2years since I am completely reinstalling to my specifications which meet or exceed any brick paver manufacturer's, such as, Unilock or Belgard, recommended installation specs.

It is very disheartening to me for customer's to pay $1,000's of brick paver repairs after making a considerable investment in their paver patio, sidewalk, or driveway. Brick Pavers are NOT no maintenance. Paving stones & landscape blocks require some minor touch up maintenance to keep them beautiful and functional. It is much better to pay "band aid" prices of $100-$200 each couple of years with brick paver maintenance then to wait 5 years and let the pavers or walls collapse and cost $1000's to repair.

Brick Paver Patios versus Decks

Many customers want to know the pros and cons of a brick paver patio versus a deck. For the purpose of this discussion, I will use the height of 2-3 feet to compare paving stones and modular retaining walls to wooden decks. This will eliminate the ground level (at grade) brick patio. I will use what is referred to in the brick paver industry as the "Raised Patio" for the comparison. I will use a wooden deck with wolmanized under structure with cedar or composite deck boards & rails.

Here is a picture of a raised brick paver patio for reference.

PRICE:
It surprises a lot of people that a raised brick paver patio is price competitive to a wooden deck. Though brick pavers require a modular retaining wall system to create the outside walls & steps to meet the heights required, the cost per sq.ft. after factoring in the raised wall blocks and base material inside can be very similar to the square foot cost of a cedar or composite deck. The cost per square foot for cedar or a composite like Trex is a lot more than the square foot cost of most common interlocking brick pavers. Decks on the other hand are usually cheaper to construct the under structure or set the height than a raised brick paver patio. In the end, raised brick paver patios and decks are very similar in price.

Aesthetic Value:
The aesthetic value of brick paver patios far exceed the capabilities of wooden decks. Admittedly, composites have added a lot of value but falls short when it comes to color, shapes, and textures that paving stones offer. Paver quilting, the technique of using different colors, shapes, and textures, when installing brick paver patios, walks, and driveways has become the new craze. These added accents make each brick paver project more custom and can meet the design tastes of customers. Realtors will also tell you that a brick paver patio versus a wooden deck gives you a step ahead when selling your home. I do not claim that you will get dollar for dollar on your brick paver investment but your resale value will benefit.

Durability:
Assuming that both the raised brick paver patio and wooden deck are installed properly, the paving stone patio will outlast the deck. Composite decking will definitely increase the performance of decks, but most interlocking brick pavers and modular retaining wall systems come with a lifetime warranty from the brick paver manufacturer. The warranty is for the structural integrity of the high density concrete products. The typical pounds per square inch (PSI) density of a brick paver is 10,000 -11,000 psi. Modular retaining wall blocks are in the 6,000 psi range. Poured concrete is usually in the 2,500-3,000 psi range. The absorption rate of a brick paver is less than 3% so moisture or elements do not penetrate the brick. Therefore, the the structural integrity is not compromised like a wooden deck. Paving stones do not have to be sealed like a wooden deck to preserve their life.

Maintenance:
This one was not even close before composite decking came to light. Composite decking has less than 10 years of feedback so we will see if they present maintenance cost savings. Like I mentioned above, brick paver patios do NOT have to be sealed. Sealing is more for aesthetic value than for preservation. Decks require constant maintenance every 2 years or so in extreme climates like those in Ann Arbor. To properly maintain a brick paver patio, walkway, or driveway, you only need to keep jointing sand swept in the joints. I have gone into detail about these benefits in other posts, so I will not bore you again. Brick Pavers in general have been studied to be the most economical pavement or decking over time. Spending a couple of hundred dollars each 2-3 years for maintenance and brick paver repairs will gain endless benefit and value of your brick patio!

I hope this comparison of brick paver patios and wooden decks will help you make a more educated decision on that outdoor living space you decide to create.