# Sub base for Backyard Pavers!



## MooF (Mar 3, 2010)

wouldn't the pavers act as a drain themselves? If you use the existing slope or create your own to run away from the home, and use 3/4 crush gravel, compact, screening, compact, then lay your pavers and use polymeric sand as a flexible concrete sealer for the paver joints/cracks... 
... Then your pavers become one large flexible slab but water will always run over & away if installed properly.


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## Kurtzilla (Jul 12, 2010)

*Sub base for Backyard Pavers*

Don't worry about the water draining through. Once it hits your sub-base it will continue to drain. The vast majority of the surface water will shed off the surface of your pavers. Always maintain positive pitch away from your structure. If you get a chance, I have published a complete install guide on paver installation, cover soils, base, bedding sand, installation and final compaction. You can view the articles at goarticles.com. Here's a link for the soils article. http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=3087659 you can look up the rest on site. Hope this helps. Any other questions, let me know. I've been doing this, my whole life.


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## concretemasonry (Oct 10, 2006)

If you are using interlocking concrete pavers (interlocked because of the sand vibrated between the pavers), they should aways be set tight on a 1" thick concrete sand setting bed placed on top of the compacted base. Spread fine sand over the surface, sweep it into he joints and vibrate to make the surface smooth and parallel to the base graded for drainage. If necessary, apply and vibrates a second spreading of the fine sand. Polymeric sand is a selling tool with a limited life and is not used in real paving installations where tightness, durability and strength are necessary (like streets, airport taxiways or heavy duty ship unloading harbors).

Just use a compacted base (not dirt) that is sloped to reflect the final drainage pattern and then add the 1" setting bed..

Dick


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