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Brick Patio Inclination
JamesD12
Posts: 7
I am building a brick patio (for the first time) and I have a question about leveling.
My backyard slops downwards from the house. This is done for drainage. My patio will go from the house, out about 12ft. I'm guessing I should build it with a slope aswell. However all the guides I read say to level the gravel/sand/brick and say nothing about inclination.
1. Should I build it leveled or inclined?
2. If inclined, should I level the gravel then start changing the inclination with sand?
The drop will be roughly 2-3 inches from top to bottom.
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Posts
It's easier to make the base flat. If you're using bricks (or paviors) it's not necessary to slope it UNLESS you plan to mortar all the joints, which will make it impermeable. Then you might get 'ponding' on the surface and potentially problems with damp into your house so a slope would be sensible. If you lay it the traditional way, with 'open' joints and sand brushed in, water drains through the gaps and soaks away so there's no need for a slope.
Don't lay the patio with the surface above your dpc in either case.
If you want to slope it, it'll probably be easier to do with the sand and a long level. Doing it with gravel would result in a rather wavy surface, I should think. Sand stays where you put it more reliably, as long as it's damp and you use a whacker on it to compact it (which you should do anyway).
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Modern block pavers are supposed to be permeable so a slope isn't strictly necessary. That would change if you plan to seal them after laying to prevent weed growth and algae.
Last edited: 09 April 2017 09:45:55
Perfect! Thank you for the explanation. I will now level the patio and ensure I have gaps between the stones so that it remains permeable.
Question: What does "dpc" stand for?
DPC stands for damp proof course, your new patio should be a minimum of 150mm below it. To find it on your house, look down the brickwork and you will either see different coloured bricks near the bottom, or a joint between the bricks that is about twice the size as the others, if in doubt, post a photo on here and I will identify it.
If you want to slope it away from the house (always a good idea whether you mortar the joints or not) get the base sloping correctly, and use a uniform thickness of sand. The DPC is the damp proof course, you should be around min. 150mm below this. Good idea to leave a small gap backfilled with gravel between the patio and the house.
Last edited: 10 April 2017 16:00:52
Got it. I've found the DPC and I will certainly be below it.
I have another concern now that I'm planning things out. Attached is a picture of the layout.
Orange: A river rock bed to both sides of the patio.
Light Orange: A wall mounted AC unit. River rock will also be placed underneath.
Purple & Blue: Patio stones.
The patio will run from fence to fence (with approx. 7" from each fence). As you can see I have very little access on either side and no access on the top (where the house is). Whatever I do I have to work from the grass (bottom of image) and work up words (unless I want to step on the sand).
However I want to start the patio from the house and work down as I only want to leave a 1/4" gap from the house to the stones. If I start from the bottom theres no way I could accurately measure this. I'd end up with a huge cap by the time I got to the house.
What I would like to do is lay the 1" sand and level a good 3-4 feet strip starting at the top right of the image going all to the way to the grass (bottom). Then lay 2-3 rows of stones from house to grass area (top to bottom). Then, finish the rest of the sand layer and flatten it. Then continue laying stones from right to left.
But would this cause problems? In all the instructional videos I've seen they always lay the 1" sand and flatten it completely before starting to lay stones. However in all the videos they have full access to at least 3 sides of the area!
If you are using a whacker plate to tamp down the sand then you should have no worries about walking on it as long as you are careful. You should leave more than 1/4 inch between first row and house - more like 4-6 inches, infilled with gravel.
@hogweed, I like your idea about leaving more room along the house, it will allow me to start from the grass and work towards the grass more comfortably. However I want to confirm what you said about tamping the sand...
I've watched about a dozen different brick/paver videos and read a bit more and none of them reference tamping the sand layer. They all use the 1" tube technique and screed along the top giving you a nice clean, flat 1" of sand. They've never recommended tamping this sand down. They do however recommend tamping down the bricks/pavers once you've set them.