Overwhelmed with a project and feeling stuck in place

[Matthew Bennett DC]

Wow, you guys had great suggestions and I think there's a pretty good solution forming in my head right now.

How about this... I add one more step on the concrete pad which would be above the ground by a few solid inches.

Naturally, I would extend the end of the fence to wall up the new step. Which will enable me to raise the pavers high enough which will solve all of my problems. Now I just need to figure out how to add a new step because I believe pouring new concrete on top of old concrete won't work.

[Matt Day]

Instead of raising the level of the pavers at the house side, can you excavate down in the area 12’ away from the house? Add a retaining wall and drainage of course. This would lessen the slope toward the driveway too, and I think would eliminate a topper course at the stairs. Speaking of which, there should be a handrail at the stairs regardless of the plan.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Add a retaining wall and drainage of course. This would lessen the slope toward the driveway too, and I think would eliminate a topper course at the stairs. Speaking of which, there should be a handrail at the stairs regardless of the plan.

Been in the building industry for over 50 years, I think this is the best answer.

[Stan Calow]

I have a paver patio, struggling with drainage issues. The slightest amount of water will find a way to the natural slope and gradually wash away the sand through the retaining wall, causing slumping in some areas. I would only use pavers in a very even flat setting with drainage away from house. I like the deck idea myself.

[Ted Calver]

Do it right. Protect your house and basement from flooding and regrade. It would be a fairly simple job for a small excavator to get in there and regrade 1:12 minimum away from the house and trench out an area around the outside of the patio for a 15"-17" above patio grade seating/retaining wall. Usually anything less than 2' does not require a permit. If possible, regrade the hill so there is a swale behind the wall to direct storm water away from the wall so you don't get wash over.

[Mel Fulks]

Some fixes are easy but expensive. My reading is that if a footing for the pavers is too expensive some of the other things are out too. But maybe we have succeeded in nixing the friendly presently unknown expert who would come to site and yell instruction while wildly waving arms while two fingers are possibly pointing at stuff. The ending is a slow easily understood "how about $150?"

[Mike Cutler]

Instead of raising the level of the pavers at the house side, can you excavate down in the area 12’ away from the house? Add a retaining wall and drainage of course. This would lessen the slope toward the driveway too, and I think would eliminate a topper course at the stairs. Speaking of which, there should be a handrail at the stairs regardless of the plan.

I like this answer also.
Your problem is not the patio you want to install, but the site. Push the site level out to a distance beyond the patio, on all sides, and direct the runoff away. A low retaining wall might add a little "dimension" to the project.
Backfill to level the patio with that concrete pad. Your going to be removing a lot of material and backfilling with even more.
That pad is your most "fixed" point of reference. Slope/level off that concrete pad.

[Jim Becker]

Yup...you have a grading issue that really needs to be dealt with before you tackle the paver project. You need to get things so that moisture drains away from the house first. Given the terrain, that's going to involve removal of a bit of material to create a lower area on the side of the patio/pathway than the adjacent slope.

[Ray Newman]

This is starting to sound like one of those do-it-yourself projects where it would be better, easier, quicker, and cheaper to hire it out...

[Matthew Bennett DC]

Hello everyone,

It has been a few days since I have been here. Mostly because I needed the time to digest the information you guys were nice enough to give me. It is clear that there is no clear and obvious solution to resolve the grading issues.

1. I already ordered pavers, gravel, and sand so I cannot consider doing a deck instead.

2. The order already arrived and I now have over 32,000 LBS worth of material in my backyard which make it incredibly difficult to regrade the backyard. Therefore, I will have to figure out way to raise the patio and resolve the concrete pad issue. Once the patio is done, I'll spend the time regrading the backyard to ensure proper water drainage.

BOTTOM LINE: I think it's time to throw in the towel and hire a company to resolve the issues on their own. I already contacted a few patio companies today and hopefully they will contact me back soon. Do anyone know of someone who have experience and would like to take on the job?

Anyway, since the patio project will take more money and time than originally expected, I will have to exercise enormous self-control and put my workshop on the back-burner for a few months.

Sigh... oh well.

Thanks again for all of your feedback and time taken to respond especially when this is not a paving forum ;-)

[Mel Fulks]

I would hate to have to deal with even small points of making a plan with all the materials in the way. You need someone who really knows how to deal with difficult grade. Make it clear you won't pay for arm waving. Good luck to you.

[Matthew Bennett DC]

Thanks Mel, appreciate it. I do hope to have a completed patio by the time spring rolls by ;-)

[Stephen Tashiro]

. Once the patio is done, I'll spend the time regrading the backyard to ensure proper water drainage.

If you're hiring a landscaping company, have them regrade the yard under the patio so the patio slopes away from the house. They should have the equipment to move the building materials out of the way. If you hire a company and only set them the task of building a patio over the existing grade, they may say "the customer is always right" and the result won't be any better than a bad homeowner improvised project.

[Matthew Bennett DC]

Hi, actually this is going to be a paver patio which will have a foundation consisting of 6 inches of compacted gravel and 1 inch of sand. Also, the patio will be sloped away from the house at 1 inches per 10ft.

I am just limited by my inexperience so I don't know how to solve several technical challenges which is why I am trying to find someone to finish what I started.

Nothing wromg with swallowing my pride and ask for help