LANSING, Mich. — Make greater use of your outdoor living space by creating your own unique patio. Consider using sturdy, beautiful concrete patio blocks or pavers for your project as they come in a variety of styles, shapes, and sizes. Keep the following considerations in mind as you create your new patio.
Easy Maintenance
A patio can be created with many different types of materials. Although the initial cost may be higher, using patio blocks eliminates the need to stain and seal a patio continuously, saving you money in the long run. Use water to keep it clean, it’s that easy.
Eliminate Weeds
Use landscaping cloth to eliminate weeds, moss, and vegetation from growing up between your patio blocks, especially when placing blocks over rich soil. A layer of sand between the cloth and the blocks is recommended.
Plan for Drainage
It’s important to have a level patio, but make sure it slopes away from your home’s foundation towards an area that can handle the additional drainage.
Keep Blocks Tight
To help minimize the blocks from moving around, plan for a good solid edge by using extra pavers or some sort of edging. This will also help eliminate creeping weeds from developing.
Use Interesting Colors
Pavers tend to slightly differ in color and texture, just like you’d see with wood or tile flooring. Mixing various blocks together can potentially create a more natural look.
Set the Blocks
If you are creating some type of perfect or abstract pattern, you’ll need to cut some of the pavers at some point during the project. Use a cold chisel or wet saw to make the cuts. Set your pavers in place by applying a layer of sand over and between them until the cracks are completely full. This will help keep them in place, eliminate weeds and allow for drainage.
Extra Blocks
It’s a good idea to keep a few extra pavers on hand to make repairs easier. Broken pavers can be removed by prying them out. Remove the sand, add the paver and repack it with sand to complete the job.
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