I did a search on this as we are getting ready to put in a huge patio in the back and the contractor said he would tie it into the house to keep it from moving. We're in MI with poor drainage - lots of clay ground here. What is the recommendation for that type of soil other than the obvious of proper ground prep?
Are you talking about a large concrete pad ? .. or a wooden platform structure ? Either way - ask your local building inspector a few questions - he will need some info for the building permit anyway. Our regulations require a building permit for a wooden deck -
- if it is tied to the house - even if it's a low height < not requiring a railing >
Not tied to the house _might_ eliminate the need for a permit. John T.
We had a badly worn and cracked poured concrete patio in our backyard right off a sliding glass door from a family room. The patio was flush with the outer wall of the cinderblock foundation. There was considerable deterioration of the near edge of the concrete due to chronic moisture and slow settling of the concrete creating a non-parallel surface against the foundation. Our masonry contractor strongly advised us to have him leave an inch of space between the foundation and near edge of the new one to minnimize the risk of similar problems with the new pour. We took his advice. 8 years later the entire patio slab, including the area immediately adjacent to the house looked as good as the week the slab was poured.
Cindy Hamilton
Tying the patio to the house sounds like a very bad idea to me. You must be thinking of using concrete, I wouldn't do that either. Concrete moves around and cracks. You'll end up damaging your foundation too.
Use pavers.
I put one in by myself about 20 years ago. Still looks great. If I did have a problem I could just lift up the damaged pavers and replace them.
The concrete patio I replaced was cracked and uneven. Fortunately it wasn't tied into the house. That would have just made things worse.
I hope he's not thinking about anchoring a large concrete slab to his house < ? > 1. Why ? A properly-done concrete slab should last many many years - - concrete is often used for driveways ! .. much more stress and heavier traffic than a patio, yes ? The modern patterns and colouring and pebble effects that can be achieved with concrete can look great - just don't choose the cheapest contractor ! My neighbour's driveway and patio are georgeous ! ... done by his brother who is an experienced concrete tradesman. John T.
The secret of stable concrete is a stable base under it. I would compact about 4" of gravel as a substrate then pour at least 4" of concrete with steel in it. 6x6 #6 wire works but a lattice of #3 rebar
12-18" OC is better. When I did my driveway in Md, a road crew wanting to make a few bucks on the side came by and put down #3 24" OC plus the wire and my ex says it never cracked (1976 or so to date).
I agree that concrete can look great and last a long time.
I think there is nothing that looks better than a paver driveway. Even patterned and stained concrete.
I don't have any figures but I'm guessing pavers will outlast concrete by a wide margin.
Do you mean "brick" pavestone ? < what we used to call interlocking brick >
I do agree that it looks nice when first done - but for the long haul - I'll take concrete - - no weeds in the cracks requiring yearly round-up ; - no refreshing the crack-sand every few years .. John T.
Yes.
On the patio I built I used those key shaped pavers.
There is that.
This year I discovered I can make a really quick pass with the weed whacker and wipe out the weeds in seconds. I'm not so meticulous that I feel the need to mess with the sand.
I find the repeating pattern really appealing to the eyes. My driveway is asphalt now but I keep toying with the idea of pavers.
I did my own patio, but the driveway is a bit more than I want to undertake.
For the last few years, I've been using double-strength vinegar on my gravel driveway weeds - applied with a hand-pump garden sprayer - it works fairly well - ~ 3 or 4 applications per year - ie : not as lethal as round-up - .. but it adds up to ~ $ 15. worth of vinegar and no PPE. ps: I'm a paid-up member of the Green Party so I gotta make it look like I really care .. :-) It's gotta be the 10 % cleaning vinegar - accept no substitutes. I've used it on the walkway pave-stone weeds but worried about the possible staining and/or acid effect on the bricks over too-many years of use .. ? Weed-whacking the crack weeds is ~ 5 times per year for me ... and takes 5 times as long as doiing it on the old ugly pre-cast sidewalk slabs ... more cracks = way more weeds ! John T.
I like to preserve the environment but the environment has no business on my patio. Let green things grow around it but not on it.
I'm already out there with my battery weed whacker edging the lawn. My patio is about 20x20. It really only takes 60 seconds or so the get the weeds. What I really like is it picks up the moss and sends it flying. Roundup didn't do much to the moss at all.
As for vinegar I think you may be right an acid isn't going to be so good for bricks. Then there is this:
If we studied this stuff to death, who knows how Roundup would stack up against vinegar. My attitude is don't use more than you need to and don't worry about the small stuff. I want my patio to be inhospitable to plant life anyway.
Anyway just mowed the back an hour ago, good time to go out there and edge it. Later.
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