using too much sand?

[back_lash]

I built a small 6x6 patio infront of my door out of pavers. I put down 6-7 inches of gravel and compacted it and everything, but I kind of misjudged how much sand i had to put down, and it ended up being 2-3 inches in thickness. Is this a big deal? I used Bomix pavement sand and 1/2 inch gravel. I know everywhere it says only put 1 inch of bedding sand, I was just wondering if its a bad thing I put a little too much?

Thanks

[back_lash]

Here's what I did... Its crap to what ive seen on this site, but it was my first time ever doing anything with paver, so cut me some slack lol... and I know my outer edge stone is unlevel, i have to go back and fix that

[Grn Mtn]

I can say that anytime I've gone to a "re-lay" job, once I removed the pavers I would find only sand. so my guess is you will have settling over time.

[lawnkid]

Yes because if you use edging restraint, either your pavers or sand will fall off and there will be settling. That's not a big area, rip it out and redo, shouldn't take more than a couple hours by yourself. It's ok to have too much base compacted underneath but sand is important.

[ChampionLS]

I personally don't think anything will happen. If this was a driveway, subject to vehicular traffic, too much sand will cause rutting and/or shifting, but for your little pad at the base of a porch, especially with that thick turf bordering it, I highly doubt you'll have problems in the future. You may get a little wave or shifting over time, but that can easily be fixed. The integrity will depend mostly on whether or not you tamped it after the pavers were laid.

[back_lash]

well I didnt have a gas powered tamper, I was only using a hand tamper so I just put some sand down and went over them with that. I also hammered the pavers in place pretty well with a rubber mallet. But probably not as effective as a plate tamper. I guess I will see how it holds up over winter. i am probably going to want to add another step anyway, so I will probably just tear it all out and redo it. My biggest problem is getting the paver to meet flush with the edger stone along the driveway and back. I can't judge how much the paver will settle. The edger stones is 4 inches high, and the paver is 1 3/4" thick, so I dont know how to make them meet flush.:confused:

[mrusk]

Ok here is what you do. When you have to met an exist grade ie: driveway, steps, walkway, etc you need to add the thickness of your pavers and your sand together. Then add 3/8 for the settling after you tamp the pavers at the end. This will give you the distance from the top of the base to the grade you need to meet.

[GREENTIMEJG]

Do all of you tamp the pavers ? On small jobs i have put the pavers in place hit them a few times with a mallet and checked that they were level and I have not had any problems yeat.

[carcrz]

I tamp all layers - base, sand, & when finished go over the whole thing to make sure everything is completely smooth.

[PatriotLandscape]

Always use a tamper otherwise you don't get any interlock

[Grn Mtn]

I tamp all layers - base, sand, & when finished go over the whole thing to make sure everything is completely smooth.

how do you get your pavers to settle into the bedding sand if you have compacted it?

[Picture Perfect Pavers]

I have found that using 5/8 inch of sand is best. Most jobs I repair have more than an inch of sand. It seems the sand never compacts and the sand just eventually allows some pavers to sink and others to heave. I believe this has to do with water washing the sand due to pitch and the sand never smoothing out again.

[cleancutccl]

We use 1" o.d steel pipe and screed the sand off of that, never tamp bedding sand, it defeats the whole purpose of using the sand. Also why level each paver? Level your base, screed your sand as said above, lay pavers, run tamper over top, patio will be perfectly level. Your taking too much time putting down a paver if your checking level of each one. For the first question, yes its too much sand and you will get very uneven settling

[ChampionLS]

We've tried using 1/2" black iron gas pipes as screed rails when I first started doing hardscaping back in the 90's. There is not enough sand to provide a cushion during tamping. The tamper pounds the hell out of the pavers and too much effort is required by keeping a constant sand layer over the surface to avoid scratching and scuffing. We now use 1" EMT pipe, and everything has been satisfactory since. The one inch layer allows for hand troweling and fine adjusting of grade near doors, or where screed rails meet other screed rails. Upon compaction, the pavers settle perfectly. A few sweeps with Polymeric sand and the job is complete.

Not everything has to be level! Everybody is so worried about optically flat. It's ok to have some slope for run-off, or blending a walkway/pathway to existing hardscapes. Remember- your final job's appearance will be reflected by the actual screeding and base preparation.

[carcrz]

how do you get your pavers to settle into the bedding sand if you have compacted it?

You can still work w/ the sand even though it's compacted. I've only done a few patios over the years, but all of them still look as good as the day we finished.

[Grn Mtn]

...
Not everything has to be level! Everybody is so worried about optically flat. It's ok to have some slope for run-off, or blending a walkway/pathway to existing hardscapes.....

:clapping:
you know this is the first time I think I have read this on this board. Look at asphalt up close and see all the uneaveness.

[carcrz]

a slight slope is fine. You want to make sure there are no trip hazards on any place that people walk.