Is this connected to your house? If so, I would be really careful about sloping this away from the house. Also, you would of course need to figure out some way to contain the sand and pavers.
Yes:( It seems the builder must have poured one slab of concrete without a firewall connecting the kitchen and the patio. This is a tri-level house with only the living room and kitchen on the main slab. We know the tree roots have pushed the concrete up, but now the tree is a great shade aspect of the yard? Is there a somewhat inexpensive way to make this look better? My hubby does have areas draining the patio from three sides and we have drain tile around the rest of the house. Thanks.
Pavers are usually cemented around edges that are on grass side,driveway edge. Once the sand is brushed in and watered down, sand won't go anywhere. It becomes like cement. Be sure to use the right kind of sand.
A newer product has come out for those wishing to install pavers, paver edgers. I used the long strips of paver edgers to define and retain the flagstone I used on my walkway; once all stones were placed, I came back with polymeric sand and filled in between the stones. The polymeric sand is will permit water to perk through it and drain. So, if you would like to use these products, I would think you could break through the cement in some areas to create French drains, then come back
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with your pavers and other materials to complete the project, but, I'm no pro in this subject.
Thanks so much; I must admit I don't know what a paver is, but we can find out. My hubby is handy but he doesn't know if we can put something on top of the raised concrete areas without causing drainage problems. Another thing we'd love to know is would the stones lie flat enough? We are open to other ideas....unfortunately we are in our 60s and can only do so much. But, we sit outside more than we've ever done and it would be nice if we could make it entertaining.
If you want to get rid of the concrete and replace it all you need is a sledge hammer and some elbow grease, add a strong back and viola concrete gone, somewhere else anyway. Then you will have a bit of a cavity in the ground and you can replace it with pavers, concrete, or what ever you like. You can put anything on top of the slab as is but if it is ridged the slab will need to be very stable or your new covering will crack and fall apart. If you go the paver route you will need a border
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of some sort that rises above the concrete to hold in your aggregate (crushed stone, or sand) like Steve said.
Unfortunately, this type of project is expensive no matter what you do. If you plan to be there for years to come, do some planning. Get a coffee can and start putting a few dollars in there for this project. For now, Just keep it clean and set out a couple pots of flowers and enjoy this shady spot. Temporarily, you can put some stain on it to help hide the blimishes. Or if you know it is coming up one day, get concrete paint and paint it a bright color! Go wild! This would not be
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costly & will suffice for years to come. But eventually, you have to get this up and that is a job for a young man and should not be taken on during Georgia's hot weather unless you are used to manual labor...wait until fall. Once this is up, your options are unlimited. (Are tree roots coming to the surface causing the problem? You need to determine this before you put anything else down.)
If done properly, you can place pavers on top of the slab, but if the slab moves, so will the pavers at some point. Pea gravel would work well and have more give than pavers to the moving cement. It is also a very nice look.
Last year I demo'd part of a concrete "covered" porch area and installed a deck over the broken slab. The heavy demo work was done by renting a Jackhammer.
Hey, you have nothing to loose....I say go for it, if it works, you've saved yourself a bundle. I'm sort of in the same situation, but only with our driveway. My plan is to sledge hammer whats left of the existing driveway & install a pebble/gravel driveway myself! Having a new driveway installed professionally is just out of the question, financially.....and I have nothing to loose - it will fit right in with my plan to 'zero landscape' the front yard!
I have read all the comments and would suggest: Don't do a thing except put in some pretty pots for summer. Sit out there and enjoy...trees are wonderful! Busting up concrete by hand is a young man's job. Contact a driveway company and ask them that if the next time they have a job in your area they might be willing to drop by and bust up that patio? You might get a great price. With their backhoe, they can have it busted up in a matter of minutes. You can either ask them to dispose
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of it or you take care of it. Old concrete slab pieces make wonderful accent pieces...you can make a fire pit area or a private garden sitting area at the back of your lot...even a solid walkway around a garden spot to keep feet clean while picking. When you go to put in a new patio, keep in mind that it does not have to be a square and make consessions for the tree roots or you will wind up with the sam problem again!!! Irregular edges can be planted with easy to care for decorative grasses so a lot of edging will not be needed.
Easier yet, You could have some top soil brought in, then lay some sod down. Cover it all up. I have uncovered busted up concrete digging up the yard for projects. If I never dug to find it, I would of never know it was there. Just a thought to throw out there.
Another idea is to get some leveling compound and smooth out the rough, uneven spots a bit. Be careful to keep the slope away from the house. Then get some concrete stain in colors that will coordinate with your home and plans and have at it.
You live in an area that has a couple of freezes and thaws per year. That's where the cracks and heaving came from in the first place. I don't suggest using pavers or any other covering, or your
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money will be put toward more heaving. Learn to use the 'aged' look that your concrete can provide. It can be used to your advantage without breaking the bank!
That is beautiful, Becky. I appreciate all of your hints and suggestions and I think for now I will follow Jeanette's advice :) We will consider all the others but we will 'beautify' with flowers and enjoy our trees. Seems I have no choice for a while. I tore my meniscus and am scheduled for surgery tomorrow. Hubby bought some flowers and potted them Saturday. They look really nice. It will be a nice place to sit and recuperate. And hopefully put up some money. Thanks to all.
we have "lighting" cracks and loose pieces on our driveway. we were discussing to add matching coloe stepping stones to replace those loose pieces. only way we can afford to do that way.
I have seen people cut out portions of their driveways and install brick, pavers or turf block in continuous lines or patterns, and it looks really good.
becky h, exactly, we plan to do that to replace those loose pieces on my driveway w/ matching color stepping stones. that will do for less $ instead of do all over on the drive way which was 2 times here.
Good luck.
http://www.networx.com/article/how-to-use-a-...
You live in an area that has a couple of freezes and thaws per year. That's where the cracks and heaving came from in the first place. I don't suggest using pavers or any other covering, or your ...»