How to Fix Settled Pavers on Pool Decks and Sidewalks

November 09, 2021

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Pavers are excellent landscape options for your pool deck, patio or sidewalks. But sometimes, they settle, leaving visible dips where water can pool. Such settled spots are unsightly and can be tripping hazards.

Luckily, fixing these spots is easier than you might think.

 

Remove the pavers

First, you want to remove the pavers in the affected area. Professionals often use a specialty tool called a paver-puller for this, but that’s not a necessity. A pair of flathead screwdrivers or a couple of heavy-duty putty knives can get the job done. The putty knives will give you a larger surface area to grab onto the stone.

Put the head of the screwdrivers or the blades of the putty knives on either side of the paver and use them to leverage it slowly out of the ground until you get a grip on it with your hand to pull it the rest of the way out. Once the first paver is out, the job gets easier.

Remove all the pavers in the sunken area, plus about a foot or so to make sure the pavers on either side of resulting hole are level.

 

Level the base

Take the sand that was beneath the pavers out. Fill in the depression that caused the sunken area with gravel, tamp it down and level it out. Add new concrete sand and use a trowel or a screed board to spread it into a level surface about an eighth of an inch below the level of the remaining pavers.

 

Return the pavers

This is the part of the job that’s probably easiest to mess up. You want to avoid dragging the paver across the base material while placing it. This could cause gaps between the pavers or create a sunken or raised spot in the base, which will lead to problems. Essentially, you want to properly align the paver and the drop it straight into place.

The easiest way to do that is to line the back and side of the paver with the adjacent pavers that already in place with the bottom of the new paver slightly lower than the top of the adjacent pavers (but not touching the base sand!). As soon as you have maneuvered so you hear the new paver contact the adjacent pavers, drop it.

Once all the pavers are back in place, tamp them down and sweep joint sand across the top. This will fill the joints and help keep the pavers in place.

 

Contact us!

If you have questions or want to look into how pavers can beautify your home, contact us.