Raised Paver Patio Repaired After Collapse

Elevated Brick Paver Patios need special attention to avoid expensive repairs

This Raised Brick Pavers Patio in Belleville, MI had a severe collapse of its outer retaining wall block & cap.  The brick pavers above sank and washed out making this patio virtually unusable and unsightly.  Finally, the wall blocks & caps fell over this Summer and this brick pavers patio was at a great risk of deteriorating further.

The homeowner noticed about a year after this pavers patio was installed by an inexperienced landscaper that the wall blocks & caps were leaning out.  The outer rows of brick pavers behind the wall caps had sunk lower than the height of the caps.  The homeowner ignored this sign of stress for the pavers patio and eventually he sits here today with a costly repair.

I pointed out to the homeowner that this particular wall block & cap system was not the proper retaining wall system for a raised pavers patio.  This particular wall block the landscaper used is for low height landscape or gardenwalls around the landscape to border beds or create accents.  When the correct modular retaining wall system is used and properly installed, raised pavers patios will give you the best economical performance over the years.

 For raised paver patios, a strong engineered modular retaining wall system must be implemented.   The cost to replace ALL the current wall blocks for a more sophisticated wall system was too cost inhibited for the homeowner so he elected to reconstruct the paver patio with the same products.   With low cost routine maintenance, he will save money then totally replacing the old wall blocks & caps.

My crew and I reconstructed the outside retaining wall for this patio from the ground up, compacting each layer as we go, and filling any voids.  The brick pavers above were pulled up a few feet into the patio and re-installed in the same shape & design.  The end result was a total revival of this homeowner's pavers patio!  We performed several other touch-up repairs to the patio, steps, and walk.  We also cleaned the pavers and re-sanded with new joint sand.

I took the time to explain to the homeowner that even though the landscaper made a huge miscalculation of  using this product, his own neglect to address the early signs of stress contributed to the severe condition and collapse of this pavers patio.  I explained that any time the outside row of pavings stones sink below the height of the wall cap, they must be reset to allow water to flow over the top of the caps, not behind and under them!

Raised Pavers Patio is Redesigned to be more Functional

Multi-Level Paver Patio is reconstructed to One Level for added space

Old Multi-level Patio

This Raised Pavers Patio in Saline, MI was installed by a local landscaper over 5 years ago.  Though the design concept was appealing for the homeowner, the execution of a quality installation and functional design failed.  The quality of detail & cuts was poor to say the least, but the biggest complaint by the homeowner was the lack of useable space.  The scaled drawing they supplied looked so nice on paper but it did not serve the needs of this young growing family.

 The homeowner hired us to re-design this pavers patio to be more functional while using as much as possible the current products on-site so the project was economically possible.  This is where a true experienced brick pavers contractor works at their best.  Any contractor can start a paver project from scratch with nothing there!  Qualified and highly trained brick paver contractors know how to maximize current products and foresee issues & obstacles that may arise. 



My first suggestion was to make the entire pavers patio one level.  This would create one larger patio giving the added space needed for patio furniture, chairs, grill, fire pits, etc.. .  Multi-level raised paver patios are aesthetically pleasing but unless you have a very large design, you end up with 2 smaller patios.  Sometimes the smaller of the two is unusable like in this homeowner's situation.


The pavers patio redesign required us to reconstruct the paver steps coming out the doorwall.  We wanted to make sure they had a safe 3ft out landing step for the young ones & guests.  Because we eliminated the upper level patio and the steps leading down to the lower level patio, the paver steps needed to be transferred to the landing step at the doorwall.  With 12" wide treads, these paver steps were a comfortable and safe transfer to the newly expanded patio.

After disassembling the existing upper level patio pavers, block steps, & sitting wall, the back breaking work of removing the upper level base material began.  We needed to lower the base to the level of the lower level patio so we could install the paving stones flush with the current lower level patio height.  This took 4 workers approx. 7 hours to accomplish. We could not excavate with equipment since it would have disturbed the lower level patio which was to remain.  Many times you have to weigh the decision and trade offs of using good ole fashion man power versus power equipment use.


We completed this redesign and reconstruction of the raised pavers patio in 2 days.  We finished by completely power washing the patio & joints, and sweeping in new paver joint sand.  The transformation was incredible and the homeowner's were ecstatic.  The homeonwers had an upcoming party where they wanted to show off their newly designed patio.  Now, they had enough room for seating and Summer enjoyment!

Small Raised Paver Patio & Steps Restored in Ann Arbor

Brick Paver Patio is Rebuilt to Restore Original Beauty & Function

On a weekly basis, we are rebuilding Brick Paver Patios to restore the original beauty & function that they were intended to provide.  This small raised pavers patio in Ann Arbor needed a complete rebuild restoration.

When giving an estimate on a paver patio restoration, we always provide cost options for the customer to consider.  In this particular project, a total patio rebuild restoration made the best sense for the homeowner.


The homeowner admitted to never performing any seasonal maintenance or addressing the settling of the wall blocks and paving stones the last few years.  Had the homeowner performed some simple routine maintenance and addressed the first signs of settling, they would not have the current cost for a total rebuild of this raised pavers patio.


My very experienced crew attacked this neglected raised pavers patio with precision and resolve.  The paver steps where re-leveled & re-glued. The raised patio wall blocks & caps were totally torn down and re-installed. Lastly, the paving stones where removed, cleaned, and re-installed in the same dimensions, shape, & design that the customer enjoyed so many years ago in the past. It takes alot more expertise to rebuild a pavers patio then to originally install from scratch.

With routine seasonal maintenance and attention to any settling in future years, this raised pavers patio will last a lifetime of enjoyment & function.  When we witness brick paver patios in this condition the major factor contributing to their demise is homeowner neglect.  Treat your brick pavers like any other outside maintenance need or project you address each Spring and the results will be spectacular.