Shoutout to the old timer who showed me why my paver patio kept sinking

I redid my whole backyard patio two years ago and it looked great for about six months. Then the pavers started shifting and a low spot showed up right by the grill. I figured I just needed better gravel underneath. Then my neighbor Bill, who's like 70 and has lived here since the 80s, watched me digging it up and asked if I used geotextile fabric. I told him no, I thought that was just for driveways. He laughed and said that's why sand keeps washing out from under my pavers every time it rains hard. I pulled up the shifted section last weekend and sure enough, all the base material had mixed with the dirt below. Bill said he learned that trick building paths in the 90s before it was common practice. Has anyone else had a patio fail because they skipped the fabric layer under the base?

4 comments

4 Comments

tara6421mo ago

My buddy Mark put in a paver walkway three years ago and skipped the fabric. Last spring after a big storm, half the walkway dropped about two inches and water was pooling in the middle. He dug it up and found the base sand had washed right into the clay soil underneath. His neighbor who did it with fabric still has a perfect walkway.

rubyk261mo ago

Oh man, I actually think people overhype the fabric thing. I did my whole patio without it like 5 years ago and it's still totally fine, just depends on your soil and how well you compact everything. Sounds like Bill just got in your head a little.

joel_clark371mo ago

Makes you wonder if Bill's been losing sleep over your patio for five years, huh? I mean, if it's holding up, maybe he's the one who needs a hobby besides policing other people's gravel layers. Just tell him you've got "good vibes soil" and see if that calms him down.

the_diana1mo ago

Wait, who did your patio rubyk26? Was it you or did you hire someone? Because if you did it yourself, I'm curious what kind of soil you've got. I've seen way too many people skip the fabric and end up with a wavy mess after a few hard rains, especially if you've got clay or sandy soil. The whole point is that fabric keeps your layers separate so the base doesn't mix with the dirt underneath, and once that happens you're basically starting over. Bill was probably right to call it out, that old school knowledge about separation layers is the difference between a patio that lasts and one that turns into a slip-n-slide after a storm.