Asked on Sep 11, 2013

River Rock Patio

Pat
by Pat
I have a screen room(open to elements),but screened,it has been cleaned and sealed numerous times.At this point in time it looks terrible with a white stain and apparently a mold stain in numerous spots.I would like to replace it but It costs a lot to have it removed.I would like to lay thin pavers over it to cut on maintenance and have it look more presentable Could some one tell me if it possible and the best way to go about it.I live in central Fl and would like to do it myself
Thank you
Pat
  6 answers
  • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Sep 12, 2013
    Have you thought about interlocking deck tiles? Sounds like a much more manageable DIY job to me. There are lots of wood patterns, but they come in granite and other materials, too.
    • See 1 previous
    • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Sep 12, 2013
      @Pat The beauty of them is that they are free-floating. (You could even take them with you if you moved.) Your river rock would just act as a flat base for them. I've seen them for as low as $5 a square foot. I doubt you'd find pavers for that price.
  • Krsy Krsy on Sep 13, 2013
    Oh Pat, I feel your pain! We have river rock just the same from the early 80's and it has tufts of weeds growing up through it. Since we need to also resurface our pool we had quite a few contractors come in and most would not even entertain the idea of taking the river rock up, wanting to place pavers on top. We want it gone as it is not well adhered to the concrete slab underneath in most places. Finally found a contractor willing to do it, but we were ready to slowly do the job ourselves if we had to. Anyway, we are going for a nice stamped concrete instead of pavers, cheaper, easier to maintain and I really like the look of the light color and "flagstone" type finish we have chosen. Am expecting it to last a long long time. It depends how good at DIY you are, I know my hubby could "do it" but since we are having the pool resurfaced, it just was easier (and quicker) to have the whole thing taken care of by a contractor. I will eventually be posting pictures (before and after) when the job is done. Best of luck! :-)
    • See 1 previous
    • Barbara Burnham Dinsmore Barbara Burnham Dinsmore on Nov 10, 2017

      What contractor did you use? I can’t find a contractor who will come to Lehigh Acres. We have river rock also and the hurricane caused chips in the bottom of the pool and the decorative tiles surrounding so work has to be done on the pool also.

  • Jill Jill on Sep 13, 2013
    First off, no matter what you decide to use to remodel your patio with you should use something to get rid of the mold. Otherwise, it just keep getting worse as time goes by, even with pavers and such. Why not just have it resurfaced after dealing with the mold. All you need is some type of aggrate or pebbles and an epoxy. You don't even need to remove the old one. If there are any places where the stone is coming up, just loosen it away carefully, then just lay the new stuff on top. It will also hide the crack you are currently seeing and allow the water to drain thru if you put it on right.
  • Betty B Betty B on Sep 14, 2013
    My back lanai was the same, screened in and occasionally rain and some mold. Had non slip tile put over it and it looks and cleans beautifully. Another solution, my pool deck was the same river rock, which you had to seal every year and repair, had a contractor come in and he put a skim coat of concete all over with slight pattern and then painted it with pool deck paint, now I only have to paint every two years only because it does not have a screen over.
  • James James on Sep 21, 2014
    So you'd recommend the concrete sprayed over the river rock on the covered lanai by my pool? I am so tired of the upkeep and weeds and dirty look of the river rock
  • Johnchip Johnchip on Apr 21, 2016
    Ah, Florida! The retirement Haven of the 80's-90's. Oops, someone forgot to tell you they were building on what remains still a hot, sunny, wet, humid, buggy swamp!