Raised Brick Paver Patio Rebuild in Plymouth MI

Experience is essential when doing Brick Paver Patio rebuilds

This past month we did a total rebuild and restoration of a Raised Brick Paver Patio in Plymouth, MI.  After 15 years of brutal winter frost / freeze thaw cycles, poor original installation, lack of routine maintenance, and just plain total neglect, we were able to bring this brick paver patio and steps back to life!

All the brick pavers and paver blocks & caps were lifted up and rebuilt to similar shape, design, and dimensions.  Any loose original base material was re-compacted and additional base material was added to raise, relevel, and properly repitch from the house.  

Deconstructing the current brick paver patio is a planned method and a strategy that we have developed over the years to maximize the re-use and function of the current products.  

Great care is taken to insure that products can be re-utilized and properly reconstruct the paver patio to its original design and beauty.  

After careful base prep and optimized heights are determined, the original brick pavers and paver blocks & caps are re-installed.

After the raised brick paver patio was totally reconstructed using the same brick pavers and paver blocks & caps, we cleaned and sealed to complete the restoration project.  See the results that you can have for your brick paver patio, walk, steps, driveway, and more!

Our brick paver company is one of the top rebuild and restoration brick paver contractors in Metro Detroit.  This is our signature work and our specialty.  Hiring the right brick paver company is essential for getting the best work & service done when repairing & restoring brick pavers.

Raised Pavers Patio Repair and Restoration

Brick Paver Patio in Canton restored to its original beauty and function

As the 2017 summer continues in Michigan, we are hard at work bringing back some of the original beauty and function of raised brick paver patios.  It has been 20+ years now since the new home building boom in Canton, Plymouth, and Northville, Michigan.

There are many factors over these years that have contributed to the settling, deterioration, and excessive movement of raised brick paver patios.  One obvious reason for settling is winter frost which has ill effects on all pavements in frost states like Michigan.  Also evident for the settling of raised paver patios is the grade settling along the basement foundation of homes over the years.  Another contributing factor of raised paver patios excessively settling was from the original installing contractor not compacting the base in 4" layers or lifts as they built up to

the finish height.  But really the biggest reason for excessive deterioration of brick paver raised patios is the neglect by the homeowner to perform or hire an authorized brick pavers contractor to maintain these structures.

Simple touch up repairs and Spring sweeping of joint sand in the paver joints and periodic compacting will do wonders for maintaining these awesome outdoor living spaces.  Keeping paver joints filled is required for long term performance and compacting the brick pavers to help relock is also essential to the structure.

We also recommend that all brick pavers, especially raised paver patios, are cleaned and sealed every 2-3 years.  Sealing pavers contributes to keeping joint sand harder, thus slowing down any erosion or invasion of foreign organic matter.  Protecting the surfaces of paving stones and  paver blocks & caps will greatly improve the appearance and structural integrity of these popular patio structures.

Raised Brick Pavers Patio is Rebuilt in Canton

Brick Pavers Elevated Patio with Pillars, Steps, & Sitting Walls Reconstructed

As a qualified and professional brick pavers contractor, it is always disappointing to see a brick paver patio installation failing so miserably.  The appearance of severely distressed paver installations is not indicative of a properly designed & installed project.

Usually by inspecting a failed paver installation, the signs of stress and settling will give me the clues and evidence I need to conclude the causes.  Using a simple "cause & effect" approach will reveal the needs for restoration, re-design, and long-term performance rebuilds.


Most brick paver repair situations arise due to both installing contractor and homeowner.

The contractor usually has failed in the design & execution of installing the paver project.  The contractor also has failed in educating the homeowner of the ongoing maintenance needs of brick pavers. 

The homeowner is usually guilty of neglecting and ignoring their paver installation. Most homeowners I deal with in extreme paver repair projects have done no maintenance on their brick paver patios, walkways, porches, driveways, etc.. over the years.  Often I am told by homeowners  " I gave up the last year or two" or "my contractor never told me I needed to perform any maintenance".  Even simple sand sweeping of joint sand in the paver joints would have tremendously reduced the amount of damage over the years.



By the time I see these extreme brick paver repairs, it is obvious that the needed repairs did not just happen in the past year.  It is usually a compilation of neglected years.  So, I can not let some homeowners off the hook for ignoring or putting off the need for a service call.  The more you wait, the more the paver repair costs will increase exponentially.

This recent rebuild project of a Raised Paver Patio in Canton was just that, a poorly executed installation and years of homeowner's neglect that put this pavers patio on the brink of collapse. Another winter frost could have given this homeowner a hot tub ride they would never forget!

The raised patio walls were leaning & gapping. The paver steps leading off the patio were caving in. The curved paver step at the doorwall was falling apart and sinking. This curved paver step was unsafe and made it impossible for their Yorkshire terriers from getting up and down.  The paving stone surface was collapsing around the inside of the sitting walls & pillars and drastically pitching back to the house foundation.


Upon close inspection, the upper paving stone surface had severely settled from water erosion. Any and all low spots began to push water into the patio retaining walls and back toward the house foundation. The flow of water was originally trapped in by the sitting walls going around the perimeter of the patio and eventually water was going to win.

Several paving stones had sunk inches below the surface and created tunnels or drains for water to flow into.  The raised patio walls did not have any filter fabric material on the inside securing the base from leaking through the wall joints.  Lack of joint sand in the paver joints was evident and by the homeowner's admission they had never swept any sand in the joints.

This ongoing process of erosion was stressing the outside raised patio wall blocks and they began to push out and fall apart.  This raised paver patio was in extreme stress and dangerously close to collapsing into the yard.  Another winter freeze thaw cycle may have been the "straw that broke the camel's back" sending homeowner & hot tub on a white water rafting ride into the yard.

We were hired to reconstruct this raised paver patio to its original beauty & function.  The homeowner's budget did not allow for replacing the current raised patio walls with a more structural wall block but I was confident that if properly reconstructed and maintained, this pavers patio can last a 20+ years.

We began by completely tearing down the raised patio wall blocks that retained the patio.  We reconstructed from the ground up, burying block below grade, installing the necessary filter fabric behind the wall that was originally missed, and designing in "relief" gaps to allow water to flow off the patio through the sitting walls.

After the outside raised patio walls were reconstructed, the upper paving stone surface was reinstalled in like design and the proper pitches away from the house foundation and into the sitting wall "relief" gaps was executed.  The paving stones were power washed cleaned and sanded.  The two sets of paver steps between the pillars leading down off the patio where releveled and the curved paver step at the doorwall was reassembled with safe rises to accommodate the yorkies.


A raised paver patio repair like this one requires a very experienced brick paver contractor to perform.  The challenge is meeting several fixed heights with products that have a variable tolerance.  Foresight, tools & equipment, experience, and detail orientation are necessary for proper execution of this brick paver repair service.  It would have been easier to perform this paver work if nothing was there to start but for the homeowner was able to save the cost of products.

Completion of Boulder Raised Paver Patio and Steps

Raised Brick Paver Patios have many options to choose from for construction

When designing a Raised Brick Paver Patio, a good qualified brick paver specialist will consider many options for materials & products to achieve a homeowner's needs & appearance. This homeowner in Ypsilanti, MI wanted a more natural and random appearance to their paver patio & steps. The combination of fieldstone boulders, tumbled pavers, sienna steps, and modular retaining wall blocks & caps achieved this objective.

A properly installed raised paver patio & paver steps begin literally "from the ground up".  The first setting of the bottom wall block, boulder, or step stone must be determined properly because it will set the finished height of the doorwall step, brick paver patio, or interior planting beds.  Through continued checking, forethought, and calculations, an experienced & knowledgeable brick paver contractor will be able to achieve success.

Brick Pavers require proper compaction of base materials to help insure long-term success & appearance.  I have witnessed many landscape contractors just filling up the gravel behind the modular retaining wall system or boulder walls without compacting in 4-5" lifts.  When they complete the job, everything looks fine. But over several months & years, the entire paver patio will begin to settle resulting in negative water flow, erosion, gapping, and in some severe conditions, collapsing. 

Whether you use a modular retaining wall block & cap system, boulders, timbers, or stacked flagstone, for a raised paver patio installation, it is imperative that a geo-textile blanket be installed behind the patio retaining wall.  This filter fabric material should allow moisture to go through but help reduce any base material from seeping through the walls.  If base materials seep through the walls, settling & erosion will quickly deteriorate the performance of your paver patio installation.

This raised boulder wall patio is a common concept in the industry but is usually poorly executed by many contractors.  Boulders or stacked stone offer their own unique challenges of construction.  Unlike modular retaining wall blocks & caps, natural stone does not have set measurements to go by when constructing such a challenging patio installation.  One must channel their "artistic" mind instead of their "engineering" self.  The beauty is that the two mind sets can achieve a functional, unique, and ascetically pleasing result.

Most of the raised brick paver patio repair work we perform daily is from the complete disregard by installing contractors from properly compacting and using the right materials for the job.  Blocks & caps are not used properly or incorrectly made to fit resulting in poor cuts, appearance, function, strength, and performance.

Though we started with a scaled drawing as our beginning reference, many adjustments are needed due to the variances in products.  This is one main reason why experienced and knowledgeable brick paver contractors are needed for your interlocking brick paver & retaining wall installations.  There is no better value than foresight & perseverance.  Repair, installation, cleaning & sealing of brick pavers, retaining walls, and pavers steps ALL have unique & custom challenges.

This raised brick paver patio was installed in 4 days by an experienced crew, proper tools & equipment, efficient site planning, and a functional & aesthetically pleasing design.  Most contractors can do "flat work" (on the ground) installations, but when it comes to more complex raised paver patios & paver steps, a qualified brick paver specialist is a must!

Raised paver patios & steps require some minimal maintenance over time, but the aesthetic and functional value out weighs any other products in the patio market.  Poor contractor installation and homeowner neglect are the only things to fear.  Start with a qualified brick paver specialist to design, install, and perform on-going maintenance services. Then as a diligent homeowner, keep an eye on signs of movement & failure and address them as they appear and most of all, keep your paver joints filled with joint sand!

History of Brick Paver Raised Patio in Canton: 15 Years Later

Pavers in Canton need Repair, Sanding, & Cleaning

This past week we did a much needed repair of a brick paver raised patio in Canton, Michigan. This raised paver patio was installed 15 years ago during the roaring mid 90's.  Canton was a thriving suburban city that was growing at lightning speed during the 90's.  As new home construction soared, this city was encountering the huge benefits of brick paver patios, walkways, driveways, and modular retaining walls. For me this week, it was a time flashback to the incredible pace that was set installing interlocking paver patios.

But the fast pace of home building and landscaping installations created some inherit problems that are present today.  Now that I am inspecting, repairing, and restoring many brick paver installations in Canton, I have molded some conclusions. 15 Years later and my unprecedented  experience with raised paver patios has formed my opinions below about the reasons for the numerous paver repairs & restorations in Canton.

REASONS FOR PAVER REPAIRS in Canton:

• Pace of New Home Construction:  As the home building during the 90's in Canton, Michigan was feverish, so was the installation of paver patios, retaining walls, and landscaping.  Backfill around the basement foundation of a new home needs time to settle. It is best to wait one freeze thaw cycle in Michigan to allow this natural process to occur.  Canton has an added problem because of the abundance of clay soils. When the builders backfilled with the excavated clay soils, this create open spaces throughout the 5-8ft of backfill along the basement walls therefore insuring years of settling.

• Pace of Landscape Installations:  Like many new communities today, there was strict Homeowner Association Rules or Policies which required a new homeowner to have a completed landscape installation within 90 days of closing on their new home.  Though it was beneficial for my business of installing brick pavers, I was not in favor of this policy. This policy did not only allow for the proper settling of the backfill around new homes, but it forced customers to make fast and uneducated decisions on the contractors and landscape products to use. It was a breeding ground for "fly-by-night" brick paver and landscape contractors.  Many where stealing jobs with low pricing, inferior products, and ridiculous 5 to 10yr warranties.  Most of these landscape contractors where out of business within 2 years. 

•  Poor choice of Brick Paver Installers:  During this fast paced time, there was a transformation from homeowners using brick paver specialist to install their paver patios, walkways, porches, and driveways.  Landscapers where now becoming brick paver installers without the experience, education & training, or expertise to execute a quality product. Landscapers offered "landscape packages" that included raised paver patios. Most had never installed one before, but that did not stop them from taking advantage of uninformed new homeowners.  They pressured new homeowners with "if we do not install the brick pavers, we can not guarantee any completion time of the other landscape services (sprinklers,sod, & plants)". Due to the aforementioned Homeowners Assoc. policies, this put added stress and poor decision making on the new homeowners. This tactic worked more times than not, and it amazed me how homeowners, who had all the leverage ($$$), would get bullied by this unethical business practice. 

• Homeowner Do-It-Yourself Paver Installations:  If you inherited a brick paver raised patio that is in distress, do not assume it was installed by a landscaper or qualified brick paver contractor.  During the 90's, there was a huge market for do-it-yourself homeowners installing brick paver patios and walkways. In Canton, most customer's were on a tight budget. So instead of waiting to have a properly installed paver patio installation, they saved some money by installing their patio themselves. Even more than landscapers, homeowners lacked the experience & expertise to execute a quality paver installation. To this day, I rarely see a good brick paver installation by a homeowner.  When it is flat work (ground level) there is some success, but when it comes to modular raised patio walls and steps, there is alot of failure in design and execution.

• Lack of Educating the Homeowner:   When I am performing brick paver repairs in Canton, I am amazed how homeowners are not aware they need to periodically sweep joint sand in  their paver patios, walkways, porches, etc... Some homeowners have not swept in paver joint sand for over 10years!  This is the #1 basic paver maintenance service that is needed each year.  As a brick paver specialist, I spent at least a half hour after we installed a paver installation educating the homeowner on periodic maintenance requirements, landscaping needs, signs of possible repairs, and options for cleaning & sealing paving stones. These neophyte brick paver installing landscapers would tell homeowners that their brick pavers were "no maintenance" and nothing needed to be done over time.  Pavers are a low maintenance option but do require attention to avoid costly paver and retaining wall repair.

•  Lack of Proper Landscaping around Brick Pavers:  Nothing infuriated me more than returning to an installed paver patio weeks or months later, and proper landscaping around the installation was not performed.  It is essential for pavers to have proper landscaping around the edges to insure long term success. Erosion and washout will cause irreparable damage to a paver installation. This will result in unnecessary costly paver repairs. The most important landscape need for a raised paver patio is to cover up about half of the bottom block face with landscape soil, sod, or mulch.  Also, it is important for the installing brick paver contractor to bury atleast half a block below grade if already existing.  If the retaining wall blocks shift due to washout or flush out, your raised paver patio has been compromised and you will experience future repairs.  A good brick paver contractor will temporarily cover all edges with on-site soils, customer tarps, or fabric until the homeowner can properly landscape.

• Poor Design & Execution of Paver Installations: Due to their inexperience and lack of knowledge, landscapers in Canton installed inferior and unstable paver installations. One large landscaper in Canton used garden blocks as the raised brick paver patio walls.  Because these garden blocks are designed for small landscape walls , they can not bear the weight and hydro-static pressure of raised paver patios.  These same "wanna-be" brick paver contractors failed in execution because of the lack of properly cutting pavers, blocks, & caps with diamond blade saws. Most of these landscape contractors would leave gaps that not only left an inferior aesthetic look but also promoted erosion and washout.

• Homeowner Neglect of Pavers :  I want to say that the occurrence of paver patio repairs is not just the result of a poor paver installation by a contractor.  Even the best raised paver patio installation can fail due the drastic effects of the elements and more importantly homeowner neglect. Homeowners are required to keep the paver joints filled with the proper joint sand, especially the joint on the inside of the wall cap. Homeowners are required to make sure that any signs of erosion, washout, or settling are addressed.  When caught early on, homeowners can perform this repair service, or pay an experienced paver contractor a nominal fee.  Letting your brick paver patio, walkway, driveway, or porch fill up with dirt, grass, weeds, moss, and loose bricks, blocks, & caps, is unnecessary neglect. This will contribute to an accelerated deterioration of your paver project.

Canton, Michigan is a perfect microcosm of the success and failure of interlocking brick pavers and modular retaining wall systems in the Midweat. I listed above the variables that I believe have contributed to the avoidable failures that have occurred over the last 15 years or more. The information gathered and the observance of the 1000's of raised paver patios in Canton has guided me and my crew to better paver design & installation techniques.

Daily we are performing paver patio repairs, observing and studying the reasons for failure so we can educate homeowners and contractors alike with articles like this. Brick pavers and modular retaining walls are proven pavement and wall systems that have tremendous benefits if properly designed, installed, and maintained.

 Raised paver patios that are properly installed or repaired will give endless years of beauty and performance.  Multi-level patios with structurally sound steps, firepits, sitting walls & pillars, will create functional and aesthetically pleasing outdoor living spaces. If your paver patio is in distress, all is not lost, it can be restored and enjoyed again.