# Matching paver patio to multiple surrounding elevations



## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

You might consider having the sidewalk levelled. Foam jacking. 

you might consider the block wall that is on the right side of your picture, One row on the grass side of the fence so the patio can be lower than the grass.


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## dtbingle (Jul 19, 2017)

Those are good ideas! Instead of doing a row on the grass, what about a raised border on top of the patio along the grass line? That would account for the 1.5-2” inch difference between the walkway and grass. Could have it slope towards the grass then too and leave small weep holes.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

Sloping toward the grass is a must, there is a window well, there to the right on the house. 

A short raised edge to allow for egress to the grass would be nice. 

And a drainage system, weep, French drain, or something.

ED


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## 3onthetree (Dec 7, 2018)

dtbingle said:


> what about a raised border on top of the patio along the grass line? That would account for the 1.5-2” inch difference between the walkway and grass. Could have it slope towards the grass then too and leave small weep holes.


Don't know if you mean "setting/gluing" a paver on top of the main pavers. But weep holes will act in reverse, you'll get dirt washing back onto the patio. 

There are a few ways to do this, the matching blocks is a good idea because it alerts you in color change/texture to step up/down. You could do soldiers as well. For only a 2" step, that's more annoying than anything. I would dig the yard down a ways back to eliminate any tripping hazard.


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## dtbingle (Jul 19, 2017)

We'll see how it works out, but think I have a plan. First off, I added some drainage as suggested to handle any water that collects near the sunken portion. It just dumps into a landscape fabric/stone drywell along the perimeter near the fence posts. Forgot to take pictures before covering, but that's the general layout.










Going to do 1-2 rows of pavers next to the concrete walkway that follow the sunken "V" shape so that 1) everything on the house side drains into the drain and 2) no tripping hazard transitioning from walkway onto pavers.

Then going to use 3.5" landscape wall blocks for the next row to make an obvious step up to the main surface area that will sit just a hair above the grassline. 

That white fence will be going back up on those posts and then plan to fill a small area between the paver perimeter and grass line with some decorative stone that the patio can slope and drain in to. Ran out of stone base, so we'll see how this goes after buying more haha.


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## Spyder (Jan 11, 2019)

I'm not a landscaper, or a paver guy, just a homeowner. 
I'd consider 1 of 2 options.
1) cut out the sidewalk right next to the house( leave the walk on the other side of the fence) and replace the area with pavers. I'd consider putting a planting strip by the house for plants to add some interest and texture, i feel like running pavers up to the house make it look like a parking lot. You could then put the pavers at the height you want to provide appropriate drainage. On the other side of the fence adjust the height of the sidewalk edge to meet the pavers, or vice versa. 

2) Install the patio at the height to match the existing sidewalk and regrade the area immediately around the patio to allow for drainage.


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## 3onthetree (Dec 7, 2018)

Since that area will be completely closed in with fence, have you thought about putting the "step" just outside the fence line? It could then be as high as you need it to go. Not sure if the post footing heights interfere with the pavers, but could extend the pavers around the posts too.


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## dtbingle (Jul 19, 2017)

Thanks for suggestions everyone. Ended up doing this pad and not entire area. Was close to running out of crushed stone and leveling sand to do it properly and decided to stop here. Not exactly how I intended for it to turn out, but oh well.

Realistically, this is a second patio area that was previously filled with ~8 inches of pea pebble and only used to dump nasty water, wash off tools, empty shopvac, etc. We have another main patio area that is facing away from all of the neighbors and much more private. The main reason for doing this was for a bar area for our backyard wedding. The pad is big enough for a bar setup and the compacted limestone is actually solid to walk on vs. pea pebble. And to top it off, we are seriously considering an addition in this area down the road, which means less paver patio tearing up in the future haha.


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## Calson (Jan 23, 2019)

The surface height next to the existing concrete should be no higher and slope away from the house. The amount of water that flows to the grass is going to be trivial.
Lower the area where the gravel lies to the point where you can add the pavers or rock. Two guys with shovels or a rented small Bobcat tractor can do this in very little time ($200 for half day).


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