A paver patio looks finished the day it's installed whether it was built well or not. The difference shows up two or three winters later, when one patio is still flat and the other has sunken corners, rocking pavers and weeds in every joint. Almost all of that difference is underground.
Plan before anyone digs
Start with how you'll use the space. A table for six, a fire pit with seating, a grill station and a path to the door all need room, and most patios end up 300 to 600 square feet. Plan where water will go, too. Within 10 feet of the house, a hard surface should slope away from the foundation, at least 2 percent under the same building code section that governs grading (IRC R401.3). A patio that pitches toward the house sends water to the foundation every time it rains.
Seeing a design before it's built helps. We show patio layouts in 3D, so you can judge size, shape and placement before any digging starts.
The base is where patios succeed or fail
Pavers are the visible part, but the base carries the load and handles the water. A proper base:
- Removes organic soil down to firm subsoil. Topsoil and roots break down over time, and whatever sits on them settles.
- Separates the base from the soil with non-woven geotextile fabric, so the stone base doesn't sink into clay.
- Builds up 3/4 inch clear stone in layers, each compacted before the next goes down. A typical patio base is 6 inches deep, and up to 12 inches near the foundation of a newly built home, where construction has recently disturbed the soil. Clear stone has no fine particles, so water drains through the base instead of sitting in it.
- Adds a smooth bedding layer so every paver sits at the same height.
- Locks the edges with restraints, so the pavers can't creep outward.
- Fills the joints with polymeric sand, which hardens to lock the pavers together and resist weeds and washout.
Skipping depth, compaction or edge restraint is how a patio that looked perfect in June starts moving by spring.
Drainage isn't optional
Water that sits in or under the base is what freezes, expands and lifts pavers. A patio needs a slight pitch to shed surface water, and the area around it needs to send that water somewhere useful. Where hardcover limits apply, permeable pavers are an option: they use wider joints and an open stone base so rain soaks down through the patio instead of running off it.
Choosing materials
- Concrete pavers: the widest range of colors, textures and patterns (herringbone, running bond, ashlar and more), and individual pavers can be lifted and replaced. We install pavers from County Materials, Belgard, Rochester and Unilock.
- Natural stone: bluestone, limestone and granite have a look concrete can't copy, and cost more.
- Flagstone: irregular natural pieces for a looser, more organic patio.
- Permeable pavers: for drainage and hardcover limits, as above.
Built-ins like seating walls, fire pits and lighting are easiest to plan in from the start.
Why Minnesota winters change the standard
Water expands about 9 percent when it freezes. Any water trapped under a patio pushes upward every time it freezes and leaves a gap when it thaws, and Minnesota goes through that cycle many times each winter. That's why base depth, compaction and drainage matter more here than in milder climates.
Pavers have one big advantage over poured concrete: they're flexible. A paver patio moves slightly with the ground without cracking, and if a section does settle, the pavers can be lifted, the base corrected and the same pavers relaid.
Freeze-thaw damage: signs and repairs
Watch for:
- Pavers that rock or sit higher or lower than their neighbors
- Low spots where water puddles after rain
- Edges spreading outward
- Joint sand washing out, or weeds coming up through the joints
- Cracks in a poured concrete patio, especially ones that widen each spring
Quick fixes rarely last. Adding sand under a sunken paver or filling a concrete crack treats the surface while the cause, usually water and a weak base, keeps working underneath.
The right repair depends on the patio:
- Paver patios: lift the affected area, correct and recompact the base, fix the drainage, relay the pavers, and refill the joints.
- Concrete patios: surface cracks can be sealed, but a slab that has heaved or sunk usually means replacing that section, or the whole slab.
Repair or replace? Localized settling on a sound base is a repair. Widespread movement, a base that was never deep enough, or a patio that drains toward the house usually means rebuilding the base, and that's often the time to upgrade the layout.
Preventing it: keep the joints filled, send downspouts away from the patio, and use as little de-icer as possible. Calcium chloride keeps working at much lower temperatures than rock salt, so less of it is needed.
What a patio costs
Most of our patios run $20 to $40+ per square foot, and most installations land between $10,000 and $25,000+, depending on size, materials, access and built-ins. A typical patio takes three to seven days to build.