How do you relevel settling paving stones?

Pat Creeden
by Pat Creeden
We just bought the middle unit of a 4-plex in January. Now that the rainy season is here the paving stone patio area in the back is sinking. My backyard is totally fenced in with no access except through the house so dumping a truck load of dirt isn't an option. What can I do to resolve the problem?
The patio area slopes downhill
This is the worst spot. I'm afraid it will undermine the shed slab if I don't do something.
  8 answers
  • Dianacirce70 Dianacirce70 on Jun 21, 2018

    I would say get bags of sand and life the pavers and put sand under them until they are level again. They might not have had that done before they were placed, and if they are sitting on plain dirt they are going to sink. Likewise, it might be an area that used to be swampy or wetlands before it was developed and might be inclined to sink in heavy rain.

  • Nancy Turner Nancy Turner on Jun 21, 2018

    You could buy bags of top soil, they can be found pretty cheap at a lot of places. You could level them row by row leveling them to where you want them. Just make sure you pack down the soil really well and do spot leveling to make sure they stay level. We checked by walking on each one to make sure that all four sides didn't rock with the weight on them.

    • Liz Liz on Jun 22, 2018

      NO do not use dirt. you need sand which allows for drainage from rain Dirt does not allow for this. You could also change these out for larger blocks. Or, you could mix cement and make a patio of a slab.

  • Joy30150932 Joy30150932 on Jun 21, 2018

    You need to lift the bricks, add sand to the area, level the area by tamping and then reinstall the bricks. Put a little dry mortar in some sand and then sweep it into the cracks.

  • Sea R Sea R on Jun 22, 2018

    My husband built roads for 59 years and was very particular about his cobblestone edging. He would take them completely out and use a string and two posts to get a level---he could do it by eye but most of us would use a level. Also, look for underlying problems---chipmunks and other critters are really cute but they make underground tunnels that compromise your stone placement. You may have to place a drain with some pvc pipe.

  • Liz Liz on Jun 22, 2018

    The drain is a French drain. drill holes along the top of the pvc pipe prior to setting in the soil. then, cover with gravel. Note, the PVC pipe needs to be angled away from the home to drain excess rain water.

  • Patricia Q. Patterson Patricia Q. Patterson on Jun 22, 2018

    Only way I know of is to take them up and put sand or crusher run gravel down and re-level.

  • Dee Dee on Jul 08, 2018

    If I were re-leveling those stones, I would take them all out, then put a layer of sand, but bags of sand at HD or Lowes, pour the sand and tamp it down and make sure it is level. I would then replace the stones, and pour more sand into the cracks. You need to do that many times. Use a broom and let it settle, then dopour more sand and keep brooming it until level