My latest project....

[Deerthug]

So I took the last couple of days off and decided I to get the yard ready for Greek Easter by power washing my brick paver patio surrounded by a stone retaining wall, my front and rear stoops as well as some cement pots and a cement table and benches, and my patio furniture as well. I figured I'd be done in a few hours. Well....I started yesterday at about 1:30 pm and went nonstop until about 7:45 pm last night and the kicker was that I was only half way done. Today I started at about 9:30am and finished at 5:30 pm. My arms and back feel like they've even put through the ringer. There was a lot of moss growing between the joints of the pavers and it took forever to remove it. But I must say it looks great.

[ELMER J. FUDD]

Don't sweat it. You're doing better than me. I set out to pressure wash on Sat. and got as far as taking the damn thing apart because it wasn't pressurizing much! 3 hrs with 2 "assistants" pulling my leg every 5 minutes. I got it back together and called it a day. Looks good.

[Deerthug]

Don't sweat it. You're doing better than me. I set out to pressure wash on Sat. and got as far as taking the damn thing apart because it wasn't pressurizing much! 3 hrs with 2 "assistants" pulling my leg every 5 minutes. I got it back together and called it a day. Looks good.

I've been in your shoes before. My son and daughter were out of the house and hence out of my hair for the last two days.

[tughillhunter]

Thats a heluva nice patio. Looks great!

[Lawdwaz]

+1 Great looking pavers. Nothing is maintenance free. You get out of it what you put into it and it shows!

[Deerthug]

Thanks Tug & Lawdwaz

Edited April 13, 2012 by Deerthug

[burmjohn]

Nice work... So how do you like pavers? Considering them, but the wife wants a deck.

[fasteddie]

Sheesh --- I tore down my deck because the wife wanted pavers .........

pics when it was almost finished

[burmjohn]

Wow thats really nice too... Did they put that on a concrete slab?

[fasteddie]

No --- It was dug out , then gravel and then Hard Pack was tamped down before the stone was laid .

[Deerthug]

As Freddy Prince used to say: "Looking good" Eddie. I like the pavers. But worst thing about them is you need to maintain them. They get discolored and stained from the crap that falls from the trees early spring. Now that I cleaned them I need to find some chemical to apply to prevent moss and weeds from coming up.

[burmjohn]

Yeah that always worried me about pavers... But those grey ones look like they might be less prone to that?

[tughillhunter]

Wow eddie, that looks great too

[burmjohn]

Welp, I have a paver guy coming for a quote. Also going to checkout some this weekend with the wife to see if she likes. I watched a few video's on install too, doesnt seem to hard. I'm just concerned because I had a buddy get a huge one done in his backyard and its been nothing but a freaking nightmare. Settling, lifting, weeds... Now if it was done on a slab maybe those issues wouldnt exist? Maybe they did crappy prep work and didnt use the right substrate?

[fasteddie]

Off to the left of the top left pic is is part of a raised bed garden I made for the wife . It has dirt but a lot of vermiculite . cow manure , etc .. It works better than just planting stuff in the ground plain dirt . The tomato plants were HUGE last year .

[GreeneHunter]

Nice Work .... Shall we all be looking forward to a Venison Bar-B-Q anytime soon ?

[erussell]

I have to power wash and restain my deck this yr and I am not looking forward to it. 13x32 ft deck and 60 spindles. I think it would have been easier to take care of pavers.

[Deerthug]

I have to power wash and restain my deck this yr and I am not looking forward to it. 13x32 ft deck and 60 spindles. I think it would have been easier to take care of pavers.

Did that to my dad's deck a few years ago. Just make sure you don't have the pressure too high otherwise you are going to end up putting gouges in the wood and then you are going to have to sand it down.

[sg0331]

To keep the moss and weeds from growing in the joints you can use Polymeric sand. In your case you would have to clean out the joints with the pressure washer, and sweep the poly sand into them. It is best to sweep in once, use a plate tamper with a rubber pad, and sweep a second time. Then blow off the excess with a leaf blower, and lightly spray down with water. Once dried, the sand will harden keeping weeds from growing and water seeping under the pavers. It works great and lasts for years. Just a suggestion

The biggest caution before putting down ploy sand it to make sure the entire surface is dry or the sand will leave a residue on the pavers. .

[sg0331]

By the way, you have a very nice patio!

[Deerthug]

To keep the moss and weeds from growing in the joints you can use Polymeric sand. In your case you would have to clean out the joints with the pressure washer, and sweep the poly sand into them. It is best to sweep in once, use a plate tamper with a rubber pad, and sweep a second time. Then blow off the excess with a leaf blower, and lightly spray down with water. Once dried, the sand will harden keeping weeds from growing and water seeping under the pavers. It works great and lasts for years. Just a suggestion

The biggest caution before putting down ploy sand it to make sure the entire surface is dry or the sand will leave a residue on the pavers. .

Thanks. I will definitely try that sand. I assume Home Depot carries it. Project for next weekend.

Thanks it was put in about 15 years ago. Ya should have seen the patio three days ago. Lol.

Edited April 14, 2012 by Deerthug

[sg0331]

Lowes and Home Depot carry various brands, but I do not know how well they work. We use Techniseal Ploymeric sand on all of our jobs. Here is the link to their web site if you want to check them out. I just know theirs work the best. They also offer cleaning products and sealers.

http://www.techniseal.com/web/new_niveau2A_sand.php?pl=1&type=h&sr=us_en/&surface=32