Square and Lay Pavers Like a Pro! (DIY)

Join me as we square up and lay this beautiful concrete paver patio! I will show you a bunch of tips and tricks to make installing a patio of your own seem very possible. Let me know what you think in the comment section, I would be happy to answer any questions. Also, feedback of any kind is always welcome!
- The pavers on this job were made by (Genest) ‪@genestconcrete‬
- The main patio pavers are called (Grand Katahdin Stone) with a color tone called (Meadow)
- The border pavers are called (Eastern Bay) with a color tone called (Charcoal)
To see how we screeded this area in more detail, check out this video right here 👉 • Screeding for a Paver ...
Check out all the videos from this project by clicking this link right here 👉 • Paver Patio, Block Ste...
#pavers #patio #howto #concrete #hardscape #landscapeconstruction #landscape #landscapedesign #landscaping #concretepavers

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

If you haven't seen how we screed the bedding stone for these pavers, check it out by clicking this link right here 👉kzbin.info/www/bejne/j2bPaKuCeL-Yr80 Enjoy the video and feel free to leave feedback of any kind! ✌

[@kidkingjames]

Hello Christian how do I get in contact with you

[@randybusse1206]

So after you had your pavers all set. Did you run a compactor over the pavers? Plus you also put palameric sand in the pavers and compacted again?? I also think you do a very good job of explaining your work. Thanks

[@TheTennisMachine]

Hello Christian, great videos. My wife would like me to install large pavers 12 x 24 in. Would you recommend that I use the three paver systems instead of large papers since this will be my first time and installing in the backyard. Thank you

[@SarahS1214]

I love this patio. Thank you for showing how to do a knot! That’s why I like your videos because you explain steps!

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

This one came out really nice... That knot has been very helpful my entire career. ✌

[@Dan-op4zl]

I could watch your videos all day long,and I will,lots of good tips and information! I'm about to build a small one for my grills with a prep area and a larger one with a fire pit ,you take allot of the stress out of the job and can make the average home owner look like a pro!.......a big thank you to you and your crew!!!!

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

My pleasure! I love hearing feedback like this, thank you! I'm very happy that the videos are helpful and entertaining for you. Good luck on your projects! ✌

[@paulbodder3354]

All in the details.... great looking patio.

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Thanks, It was a very fun project! ✌

[@veronicaalessandrello1022]

I love the property, it’s location is stunning and your work is truly professional. 🙏✨💎

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Thank you, It really is a beautiful property. They made a good decision by investing in a nice patio to enjoy it even more! ✌

[@joe-zi1yw]

Thanks for a great video. The pipes are a great touch. It makes it a lot easier to get the area level.

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

My pleasure, those pipes are key to installing pavers 👌

[@mblankenship15]

Love your channel brother!!!

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Glad to hear it, thanks man!

[@Stardust-yw1tm]

Your stone wall is also very beautiful❤❤❤

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Thank you! ✌

[@Hillsidelanscapemanagement]

As always, a great video

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Thanks man, glad you liked it ✌

[@sk8rmunk]

Can't wait to see some more plowing videos when we finally get the weather for it

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Me too brother, no snow yet and the forecast looks like nothing anytime soon.... Crazy winter so far. ✌

[@JP-vq7wg]

Enjoying your videos.

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Glad to hear it, thanks for the feedback! ✌

[@gordonharmon6024]

No 4 ways , I commented on a guys video about having 4 ways and he says ,says who ! Thanks for confirming

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Yea man, no 4 ways is pretty important in my opinion. ✌

[@ThatPainterGuyKy]

Nice shout out to victory…love that channel too…good work

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Yea buddy, he has a great channel.

[@skilledhands8198]

Amazing skills bro!

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Thanks brother!

[@joncindiroeck1298]

Love these videos great work I live in Wisconsin and am thinking about doing a project like this. It would be cool to see a job that was done a couple years old, through a few winter cycles. Keep up the great content!

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Thank you very much, plenty more content to come! And its funny you asked about older projects... I just uploaded a KZbin Short where I revisited a job from 2019. Here is the link to that video 👉kzbin.infoshs7p1rnmXI

[@fabricioalmeida348]

Looks amazing 🤩

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Thank you!

[@kidkingjames]

Do you have Instagram? How can I get in contact with you.

[@fabricioalmeida348]

@@kidkingjames you are asking me or the Christian??? Thanks

[@kidkingjames]

@@fabricioalmeida348 Christian my apologies

[@yordypena56]

Great job

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Thanks ✌

[@ericlenzi2718]

Very nice

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Thank you ✌

[@Michiganmtb]

What’s it like working with Ben Affleck 😂. Great video. I’m learning a lot bud. Appreciate it. You fellas do great work

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

🤣 LOL, Nice! Thanks for the feedback and I'm glad you are enjoying the videos! ✌

[@mohghtil1705]

Good morning. Thank you from me and my wife

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

No problem, thank you both for the support! ✌

[@mohghtil1705]

​@@TheChristianHardscaperHello, my wife and I are with us

[@joemillay9758]

I do hardscaping in ME & I watch your videos then regurgitate it my supervisor and he takes my advice haha

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

🤣 That's awesome man! Glad the video are helpful and I appreciate the support ✌

[@petedthird]

Great job! I want to see how did you get that stairs done.

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Thank you, here is a video link for the staircase build 👉kzbin.info/www/bejne/e4fQe2mqg76Va5o

[@rogue4564]

Awesome video! So much info :) I'm going to be using EzJoint for the joints, so would you fill that 1" gap between the patio and foundation with EzJoint sense it's permuable or would you fill it with bedding stone like your doing in the video with poly sand joints? I'm doing open base btw. Thanks for putting out great quality videos!!

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Thank you, I'm glad it has been helpful! I would still use the bedding stone along the foundation. It just provides a nice buffer between the 2 structures to allow slight movement throughout the seasons. The open grade base will not let you down, good luck! ✌

[@Matt-tn4xl]

I visit Lake placid NY every summer, and they have redone a lot of their sidewalks with pavers. In between the pavers they used the fine stone that looks like what you use for bedding stone. It looks great actually, just curious what your opinion is on doing that? Could be less maintenance for the town of Lake Placid.. and they definitely get some extreme weather so maybe that handles their freeze/thaw cycle better? I would definitely be interested to know your thoughts on it.

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Oh nice. That is a method of laying pavers called (Permeable). When you use polymeric sand, the surface becomes (Non-Permeable). The benefit of the stone in the joints is that the surface water will drain right through the joints and into the clean, crushed stone base stone like I talk about a lot on my channel. This is very helpful and has been proven to be one of the best methods for laying pavers. Unfortunately it is not the best for patios... The stones can end up on the surface and make a bit of a mess. But in many states, you can't install a huge (Non-Permeable) surface simply because it diverts the surface water to the town / city drains. Having a large (Permeable) parking lot, driveway or sidewalk allows people and companies to install pavers where otherwise you can't. It is a great way to go in some situations. ✌

[@sidenek5950]

Thump up

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

✌

[@patrickdoherty723]

Looks class if you and benny ever fancy a contract in Ireland I have one 🤣

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

🤣 That would be an awesome trip for sure! I've never been interested in traveling really but visiting Ireland is on my bucket list. The most beautiful country in the world in my opinion... and that's just from seeing pictures. Tons of beautiful stone work there I would love to see. Someday....✌

[@UncleRu]

Thanks for the videos. I subscribed and watch all of them. If you could please answer a quick question. Before I ask, you are 100% correct on using 1 1/2" base. Im in Northern Colorado and everyone uses road base up here, but the local rock supply told me a lot of the paver patios had problems this year due to the extra snow we had..... yet they continued to suggest road base 🤦. Ok, here's my question. I'm building a 10 x 12 ft patio. I have about 4 more inches of 1 1/2 inch base to go before I would top it with 1/4" chip stone, but now I find nobody around here sells 1/4" chipped stone. The alternative appears to be breeze but im concerned the breeze has so many fines that it would just sink through all the spaces over time and cause sag. Maybe a thin layer of 3/4" crushed granite topped w a thin layer of road base and then topping that w breeze or sand? I realize this is less than ideal but again it's a small patio and despite calling all around Fort Collins I cant find 1/4" chip stone. What would you recommend?

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

No problem, glad the videos have been helpful! I am glad you decided to use the open grade base method, you will be happy you did. The 1/4" stone can be hard to find. I recommend looking around for 3/8" crushed stone for bedding. Worst case scenario, use 3/8" (pea stone) for the bedding material. It has more rounded edges than crushed stone but is still far better than sand or road base. If you can find that and you have to use sand for the bedding, you need to put a layer of fabric over the base stone and then spread / screed the sand.

[@nicolavirgilio7410]

Love your videos, many thanks! God bless! I've learned so much from you! Surprisingly not easy to find 1/4 inch stone in my Area (Montreal, QC, Canada) :( frustrating! Do you have any videos on driveways by chance? Would you also use 1/4 stone as top bed for driveway pavers?? Everyone in my area seem to use stone dust, and top bed 3/8 over final height, expecting it to go down following the use/passing of the vibrating plate...

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Glad to hear it, thank you! The 1/4 inch clean crushed stone can be hard to find. Sometimes you have to go with 3/8" clean crushed stone which will work just as well, it takes a little longer to screed, but it can be done. Stone dust is the worst thing to use under pavers. Worst case scenario, you can't find it, use sand. That is better than stone dust. ✌

[@nicolavirgilio7410]

@@TheChristianHardscaper Thanks a bunch for the reply! Got ya! Good continuity! A++

[@sharky_spike]

JUST SAY "NO 4 CORNERS"😂

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

I like "4 Ways" better lol... it's like a 4 way intersection of joints.

[@Mangold2865]

What do you recommend for paver bedding base if 1/4in clean/chipped rock isn’t a available in your area?

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

1/4" bedding stone can be very tough to find. I haven't been able to for awhile actually... I have been using 3/8" clean, crushed stone. There are only a small percentage of them that will be 3/8" and there is a lot of 1/4" and less mixed in. So look around and see if you can find the 3/8" crushed.

[@jabirahmed8090]

Can you show how you install the French drains

[@johnobrien5688]

Love the videos man, do you leave any gap between the pavers?The reason i ask is i want to do my own patio and its says leave a 3mm gap between, cheers

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Thanks, We do leave a gap. Most pavers have tabs on the sides which makes the gaps automatically.

[@RigoMariscal-wc1zz]

I am working on a DIY 20x30 paver patio. Should i place the pavers against thr foundation?

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

I always leave about an inch gap between the pavers and foundation wall. Then I fill in that gap with chip stone.

[@RFing22]

Taking on a project like this myself this summer. I’ve watched all your videos. Do you start screeding where you expect the highest part of patio or lowest?

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Nice, glad the videos have been helpful! And 90% of the time we start screeding at the high point but depending on the circumstances, we sometimes start at the low point.

[@tashrayt4398]

Thanks for sharing this video you guys do amazing work! Question for you: what do you guys normally do when a house has a sump pump leech drain pipe that is buried 6-8 inches below the outside basement wall that is wrapped around the house? Is there a specific way you work around this when digging to prep for the area? My fear is that I would possible damage or start running into the pipe depending on where it is and how deep. I plan to make a patio like this under our deck this fall. Thanks for any tips on that!!

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

No problem, thanks for the feedback! I would just recommend digging by hand around the area the pipe is supposedly. Once you locate it, you can dig by hand if it is not very deep and if it is really deep, you will know at that point and be able to stay away from it. Good luck!✌

[@tashrayt4398]

@@TheChristianHardscaper thanks brother!!

[@freeagent3117]

I've seen a lot of people use sand to compact the soil before laying pavers. Is there a preferred method between stone and sand? Thanks!

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Sand is a more traditional method. I used to use it over 4 years ago, now I only use clean crushed stone. Here is a link to a video I made on how we backfill with the (Open Grade Base Method) 👉kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZnEe5hpf9Z3bKs

[@jimjones3535]

Hello. I love your videos. Really helped with my paver patio I just put in. Question though: after the poly the pavers seem hazy. How do you prevent that and how do I fix it?

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Glad to hear it! Sometimes the poly can leave a slight haze, but there should not be much of that really... I would recommend letting the poly set if you have not already and just try washing it with water and a medium stiffness broom. See what happens with that. What kind of polymeric sand did you use?

[@jimjones3535]

@@TheChristianHardscaper G2 Poly Bind complete.

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

@@jimjones3535 Ok, so yeah, just let the sand set a bit and then give it a good rinse with the hose and sweep it with a broom while it is wet. See if that helps.

[@HallelujahJaffar]

Curious - why no polymeric sand between the finished pavers? I'm not sure I've seen a finished patio before with the gaps left empty

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

We did use polymeric sand in the joints but we did it off camera, after this video.

[@yorkycastillo4037]

Hi, I like the job you doing, and I learn from you videos, but one question, do you put any join sand when the job is finish? Or is not necessary? Thanks in advance

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Nice, glad to hear it. We use polymeric sand in the joints for all our paver projects.

[@RootBeerBanditz]

Great video. Did you wait for concrete to cure before sanding joints? Does compacting pavers after concrete cures cause any issue?

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Most times we do the concrete edging a day or 2 before sanding. You just have to be easier when tamping the border. And if you installed the border like we do, Setting them high and hammering them into place, you should not have to tamp them hard anyway. But the absolute best way is to do the polymeric sand right after you install the concrete so the bond does not get ruined at all. ✌

[@Maynardd]

@@TheChristianHardscaperYES! i’ve been looking for the answer to this question. Thank you. my online training is now complete and because of you I can start my walkway. 😂

[@manjarikapashi9195]

You didn’t use drainage! Was it not needed? Because I am getting my patio done and not sure if I should put drainage. Though I have a slope which could probably take care of it. Please advise thanks

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Correct, I did not use drainage. 90% of paver patios do not need additional drainage measures. The only time I add drainage pipes would be in heavy clay sub soil conditions. But when you have well draining sub soils, you will be all set. Especially when you use clean, crushed stone as your base like I do..

[@zulongaili848]

I really like the work you did! I also live in MA, was wondering if you could come by and give us an estimate. Look forward to hear back from you!

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Thank you, what part of MA are you from?

[@affordablelawncaresprinkle6697]

Hello Christian I love see your videos… one question do you have pavers course installation please let me know how to contact you. I am very interested on that thank you

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Thank you! I do not have a paver install course... Just what videos I have on here. You can contact me by email ([e-mail])

[@lbell6855]

I live to far to hire you but do you sell blueprint ideas if pictures of our yard are sent to you? Or you could come down and take vacation with your crew and your with the Mohawk, flight is included 🤷🏾‍♀️

[@barrymarson9658]

I noticed that you don't place sand under the aggregate. Why not?

[@christiancastro5746]

Haha Ben Afleck

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

🤣 ✌

[@TheOfficialMcWaka]

Is it okay if pavers were to hug up against a concrete foundation?

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

You want a joint in between the pavers and concrete that can be filled with either chip stone or polymeric sand.

[@sharky_spike]

did u tamp down the last layer b4 laying?...if not, why not?

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

The top layer does not get tamped, we screed it loosely and lay the pavers. Then we tamp / compact the pavers into the bedding stone. Even if you compacted it before you screed, it would not help because when you go to screed it it will loosen up again... ✌

[@christopherblake8088]

Looks like you are using red for your chalk lines. (I know pencils can also come in red)If you ever need to remove excess red chalk off pavers, chlorine wipes will take about 95% off. I would definitely recommend only using blue for your chalk lines.

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

Thanks for the tip, good to know! We use red crayon pencils that you can get from Home Depot, if they sold blue I would definitely buy them because it is a way better color to see. ✌

[@charliesteele9397]

I noticed that you didn't use any sand.

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

I used polymeric sand but did not show it in the video. ✌

[@barrymarson9658]

Oh i now see that you have 3/4 minus then 1/4 minus instead of builders sand. What's the benefit of using 1/4 minus rather than sand? I assume sand would be a little more forgiven.

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

The base prep method I use is called (Open Grade Base) It uses clean crushed stone for the base and bedding material so that water can travel right through it and permeate into the subsoils very easily. This method has been proven to hold up better than dense grade / sand. The sand washes out / sinks and shifts very easily. The 3/8" clean crushed stone for bedding material is much more stable. Here is a video I made that explains my base prep method in much more detail 👉kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZnEe5hpf9Z3bKs

[@bigcartoonyIIV]

I laid some of these a last week. It was silghtly annoying. Everytime I laid out my base , and have it nice and smooth, I come back and the owner and her dog have footprints or dog s** in my base..lol

[@TheChristianHardscaper]

I feel your pain man, that has happened to me on a few projects... If the customers have pets, I don't prep any further than where I can lay to any more... very annoying. ✌

[@sharky_spike]

why dont u MITER the corner stones instead of using butt joints?....it wud allow a larger corner piece to be added and avoid all the 4 corners places between the edges & the main stones if u shifted the edge stones over by a half stone width

[@JA-wp6cj]

Accent and voice 😂

[@sharky_spike]

please LOWER ur head camera...many times the point of interest is below the bottom of the actual video frame