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.

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!