Building a Paver Patio with Brock Paver Base – Better than Gravel?

I need to build another paver patio and I’m going to build this a different way using the Brock Paver Panels, instead of the thick gravel layer I used for the back patio. There are both pros and cons to using a gravel base layer for pavers and using the Brock Paver panels. One is tried and true the other is newer and can save you time, but how durable is it, are the places it should not be used, and does it save you money or actually cost more, and which method do I prefer? Watch and find out!

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Hand Tamper tool
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#diy #homeimprovement #patio pavers

00:00 Intro
01:58 Comparing Paver Panel to Gravel
05:22 Preparing the area
12:25 Checking the measurements and how much sand
17:50 Installing Landscape fabric, sand and panels
22:00 Installing pavers

there are pros and cons to using gravel as a Bas layer for your pavers and using the Brock paav base one is Trident true and when installed correctly will last for decades the other is newer can save you time but are there places that should not be used how durable is it and will it save you money or actually cost you more let’s find out welcome to brew builds your place for DIY Home Improvements I’m Paul I’ll be building a small PA patio using some leftover concrete pavers from the backyard makeover project I’m going to build this a different way using the Brock pav panels instead of the thick layer of gravel that I used on the back patio to turn this into this when I built the patio in the backyard I used broken concrete and gravel as my base layer I want to encourage you to watch that video as well it will help you determine which Pap base method will be best for you since this is my first time using the Brock Pap panels at the end of this project I’ll have a very good understanding of both methods and I’ll be able to compare the differences between the two bases there is a third product that I looked into by Aspire pavers they use lightweight pavers made from recycled products looks cool the pavers and the base fit together like Lego but in my opinion it’s rather expensive tools and items needed patio pavers sand P based panels a hand tamper halfin pipe or a rebar a long 1×4 or 2×4 a string level 4ft Box level a tape measure paer Edge restraint and spikes a rubber Hammer a carpenter square a wheelbarrow some shovels a rake and pick a stuckle tril a marker knee pads gloves and safety gear and for my project I needed a concrete saw and plate compactor if you’re just building a small simple patio these panels will work well for you one of the most apparent benefits of using a paper based panel is that they require less digging so if you’re doing the work yourself this will save you time less stress on your body and you won’t have to try to figure out where to put a bunch of dirt however if there’s the potential of a lot of weight being on the pavers like a driveway or equipment or a bunch of people then these panels should not be used on the Brew scale technical ability I rate between a novice and an expert you need to make sure all your measurements are correct and square before placing the pavers physical ability I rate as hard there may be a lot of digging involved and lifting carrying and placing the pavers starts to add up when I built this patio I was in the need of a gravel base for the slab that I was pouring for the fireplace and barbecue structure so it made more sense for me just use a gravel base everywhere also for this larger project it was less expensive to use the gravel over the panels to build the first patio I had to break up some concrete which I ended up using as part of my gravel base it took a lot of time to break up into smaller pieces but it saved me the cost of having to haul it off to the dump and then purchasing basically the same stuff since the new patio was double the size I needed to buy some bulk bags of gravel to add to the broken concrete to create my 4-in paper base this with a lot of work I built this a little model for you so I can show you the differences and how much dirt you need to remove if you’re using gravel as a base layer or if you’re using the panels as your base layer on the gravel side you remove 7 to 8 in of dirt and then you add 3 to 4 Ines of gravel compact it using a plate compactor then you add 1 in of sand and then the P will sit right on top of the sand on the Brock panel side you remove 3 and 1/2 in of dirt and then you use a tamper or a plate compactor on it add in a/ inch of sand and tamper that then you place the Brock panel on top of the sand and then the pav goes on top of the Brock panel cost-wise it takes about three bulk bags or one cubic yard of gravel weighing 3,000 lb to to cover a 10x 10t square area 3 to 4 in deep you will need 20 Pap panels to cover the same area but weighing only 20 lb however they cost two to three times more than the bolt gravel even with them on sale plus a 10% off coupon the Spire paver system will cost you about 10 times more than that but they do include the pavers so depending on where you purchase your pavers from the Aspire system can cost you twice as much as the P panels which will cost more than using gravel we purchased our pavers from a discount materials yard at about a quarter the price of retail they had a limited selection but we saved a lot of money on some quality pavers if you like saving money and are flexible with color choices check out the B stock at local material yards over the large box stores you may find yourself a great deal I already have this area Dugout leveled and I’m almost ready to start installing the panels I just have a few more things I need to check to determine how deep you need to dig down you add together your p height the panel thickness and then the leveling sand which means you add 1 and 1/4 in to the height of your pavers my pavers are 2 and a/4 in so if I add the sand and the panel that will bring me to 3 and 1/2 in that I need to dig down the first thing I needed to do is clear out the area so I can measure and mark off the space for the new patio I’ll be building about an 8T X 12T Square PA patio in this area the foam Pap panel is much easier to cut than a concrete P so determine your rough measurements from the pavers you’ll be using not the panels there are a lot of different types and variations when it comes to concrete patio pavers if you have the ones that you’re going to be using lay them out on the driveway or in a flat area that way you can make a more precise measurement this is easy for me to do since I’m using the same pavers I did in the backyard even though this is called an 8in pav there are little Nubs on the sides to allow sand to get in between and lock the pavers together so 12 of these 8in pavers measures out to 99 and 1/4 in not 96 in I’ll be using 11 pavers about 91 in by 17 pavers or 141 in which will be just a few inches short of an 8 by 12T patio you need some type of edging to hold your pavers in place you could pour a concrete Edge use concrete block or treated lumber all which require more digging or use something like this now this is the easiest to install but not the cheapest four of these Edge strips plus the spikes cost me about half of what I pay for the 20 panels that I purchased 6×6 treated lumber would be about the same using concrete block would be about about half that cost your cheapest option would be to pour concrete edging but if it’s done incorrectly it can and it most likely will crack if you’re installing this type of edge restraint these will sit directly on top of the paper panel and the spikes will go through the panel so add 2 to three inches for each side to your rough measurements for digging I’ll be using this walkway as one of my edges when I built the patio in the back I used some blocks from an old retaining wall that I removed as some of the a paper edging now I did notice that this was bulging out a little bit in this area and I needed it to be straight and square fortunately I purchased the concrete saw when I did the first paper project so I was able to cut a nice straight edge here that I can put these papers up against to cut the walkway I got my old trusty string line out and stretched it out between two pavers I ran the string line along the edge of the straight part of the walkway and on top of where it needed to be cut the gas company poured this newer section about 2 years ago when they replaced the main gas line out to the street if you don’t know exactly where the gas line is underground be sure to call 811 before doing anything like this fortunately I was here when they installed it so I know I won’t be cutting anywhere near the gas line using a straight edge I marked a line double checked the distance from the house and started cutting [Music] [Music] that’s a much better Edge to start my pavers up again you want to skim the dirt and avoid digging down deep the soil beneath the panels needs to stay compacted however if you have a lot of trees and you know you have tree roots I would dig down further and remove as much as you can over time these tree roots will grow and if they’re close to the surface they will start to lift your papers up one of the biggest hurdles for me was to get an old tree trunk roote dug out of the ground this took a while to dig and chop and pry and cut and move and pry and cut but with some help from my son we did get it out and then I decided to run a drain line through this area from the backyard which required more digging this yard has a slight slope to it from the back to the front and the new pavers could block the floor water during a heavy rain adding in the drain pipe will help to avoid any flooding from digging the trench for the drain pipe I knew that there were some roots in this area that I wanted removed plus some old pipes from a Jacuzzi I knew that their pipes weren’t connected to anything because they used to come up out of the walkway by the gas meter I used the rotor tiller to help dig down about 3 to 4 in then if I felt it hit something I would use a shovel to dig down and remove the pipe or the root after getting everything dug out I filled the holes back in with dirt and then used the hand tamper I can now start to remove the 3 and 1/2 in of dirt required by skimming the shovel across the top soil the biggest challenge with this part is where to put all the dirt I’m adding mine to a mound that I already have behind the wood pile I’m going to remove some of the Pebbles and then add some of this dirt into the front yard where large tree removed and I had to rebuild the brick wall because I did so much digging I had to use a plate compactor on this soil if you just skin the surface without digging down a hand tamper will work fine we have clay soil and when it rains which it did it can turn into a mushy mess when it gets compacted so I had to let it dry out for a couple of days after a few more attempts I was able to get a good compaction on the dirt now I can work on grading it and getting the area smooth as possible Brock recommends plus or minus a/4 in which is very flat I used a rake a hoe a hand tamper to get the area flat and smooth and remove any loose material I tried using a 2×4 across the surface to fix the high and low spots but all the little Pebbles made it quite difficult using the top side of a rake actually worked the best you want a slope of about a/4 in per foot for proper drainage I’m going to match the same slope as the existing walkway which is probably about half of that I still need to double check my measurements and make sure that the area is square since I’m stuck with this fence post for now eventually I’ll rebuild this fence and gate and run the pavers out towards the driveway but for now this will be staying so I’ll square everything from this corner put in three stakes in the other Corners take my String Line run it around the perimeter and then I can verify that I’ve removed enough soil and I can also double check my grading to make sure that the water will drain away properly this 1×4 repr reprs the edge of the papers I’ll square it to the walkway using a carpenter square if you don’t have a square use a 3 4 five triangle rule I marked 48 in along the walkway so 60 in on the tape measure should meet up with 36 in on the level with this corner marked I can measure from here and add the other two stakes for the corners run the string line and check that the diagonal measurements match to do a quick check of the grading I set the string at the same distance up from the dirt at each Stak and put a string level in the middle looks pretty flat across and sloping slightly with the walkway which is good for more precise grading you’d level the string then measure the distance to the dirt water will flow from lower to higher numbers I just need to remove a little more soil from this back Edge and corner and this area should be ready it’s a good idea at least for me to remove the string line when I’m done otherwise it just becomes a tripping Hazard since most walkways were poured using a 2×4 as a form that would make them 3 and 1/2 in thick which is the same depth that I needed to dig down so in theory you should be able to remove an old walkway or patio and replace it with your P the p panel in the sand without having to dig any dirt now that is a definite plus Brock recommends using a/ in layer of sand under their panels which isn’t much to do this you can use a half-in rebar EMT conduit or copper pipe but not halfin PVC or galvanized pipe because they have an outside diameter of 3/4 in not a/2 in I have some of the/ in PVC pipe that I dug out of the ground but that would make it 3/4 in diameter so I need to dig out a little bit of the dirt that way I can set this further into the ground and that will give me the/ in layer of sand that I need this took a lot longer than I was expecting having so many little rocks in the soil didn’t make this easy to do so buy the halfin rebar a conduit and save yourself some time and hassle I did find a halfin piece of steel tubing in the garage as well that I will use to keep the sand level I also want to check the height with a panel and paer to see how well it aligns with the walkway not sure if something caused this section of the walkway to raise up or if this side is sinking I also used a level and a 1×4 to double check that I’ll still have the proper grading the directions state to put down a landscape fabric I thought to myself what do you need a weed barrier for what are the chances of a weed growing through one of these holes well this isn’t really for preventing weeds it’s to hold the sand in place so it doesn’t erode away you don’t want anything eroding eroding eroding ering eroding another way to prevent eroding is to leave enough fabric on the edges so you can fold it up and over the panel and hold it in place with the edge strip time to go pick up the sand but first I need to put on my thinking cap and figure out how much I’m going to need to do that you multiply together the width the length and the depth or you do it the easy way and you just find a construction calculator online if you’re doing the calculations yourself remember to convert the/ in depth to feet which would be .042 so for my area it’ be 8 * 12 which should be 96 * 042 which would be 4 cubic feet but to make it even more fun you don’t buy volume you purchase by weight in either 1,000lb bulk bag or 50 lb individual bags a 1,000lb bulk bag is a third of a cubic yard or 9 cubic feet so 20 50 lb bags of sand would equal a3d of a cubic yard to figure out the cubic yard amount multiply the cubic foot amount by 037 so my 4 cubic feet will become .15 cubic yards which is about a half of a third good all fractions you can purchase a 1000lb bulk bag for the price of about 750 lb bags so buying bulk will save your money especially on larger projects I’ll probably end up using around 700 lb of sand to cover this area fill in the gaps and lock in the pavers we do have a pickup so it’s easy for us to pick up and transport a bulk bag and I’ll be able to park close enough that I can shovel the sand directly out of the bag and onto the landscaping fabric most places do offer delivery options so that is something that’s worth looking into sweep or blow off the area before putting down the landscape fabric remember to leave enough on the end so you can fold it over the panels try to overlap the fabric at the seams I didn’t have enough fabric to do this once the fabric and the pipes are down you can start adding the sand start at one end and work towards the other end using a 1×4 or a 2×4 as a screed [Music] I was having a hard time getting the sand level a half inch isn’t very much sand to compensate for any unevenness in the surface I’m also finding that the sand is sliding across the landscape fabric which is leaving some gaps I found when I used the gravel base layer in 1 in of sand it was easier and quicker to get level I’m not sure why they only recommend using a/2 in layer of sand for these panels another difference between the two methods is with the panels you can pack the sand with a tamper after screeing it before putting the panels down with the gravel you place the papers directly on top of the screed sand I’m going to do one pass compacting the sand then add another layer of sand scre it and compact it again I’m hoping this will help the sand to stay in some of the thin spots it’s looking and feeling better this was definitely more challenging to get level than it was when I used the gravel I think I’m ready to pull out the pipes add in some sand and then level that off with the stuckle float then I can start placing some of these panels [Music] [Music] [Music] time for me to go eat then I’ll cut some of these panels and put the pavers down these panels are easy to cut with a utility knife I thought I would beat you efficient and just cut the panels in half but then realize that they would be 3 in short and the edge restraint wouldn’t be sitting on top of the panel fortunately I caught this mistake before cutting too many of the panels you do want to stagger placing the panels between a full panel and a cut panel so the seams don’t line up I also need the width to be 6 in wider I’ll add some 6 in panel pieces in the center to keep the full panel size on the ends these panels are directional with an over underlip to help them stay lined up with each other note to self don’t use a leaf blower after putting down the panels I didn’t get that on video but I do have a review video on the leaf blower if you’re interested I set my first row of 11 pavers in place and checked that it was Square to the walkway as I mentioned before these cement pavers were purchased from a discount yard for about the quarter of the price they were sold as is by the pallet the large pavers equal to two of the square ones which is equal to three of the small pavers I’m pre- stacking the 17 rows I need for the patio with one large three small small and S Square which is the equivalent of 11 Square papers this will help me create an organized but random pattern if that makes any sense some paper companies will provide a pattern you can follow with their papers let the games begin [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] I’m using the same sand as the base to fill the space in between the papers I could use polymetric sand but I had good results using regular sand with a patio in the backyard brush the sand back and forth and at different angles to work it in into the cracks use a hand tamper over the entire area to settle the sand into the pavers sweep up the excess sand then spray the pavers with a little bit of [Music] water this is a great Improvement and I’m looking forward to getting better use out of this area I’m not 100% sold on the PA panels though walking around I can feel some of the pavers move a bit compared to the Pavers that were installed over the sand in the gravel in the backyard especially these larger ones maybe using the polymetric sand would help with this when using gravel as the base the p is placed directly on the sand which does a better job leveling the individual pavers and you can use a plate compactor on it with a rubber mat to make sure you really lock them into place this seems less permanent which in some ways could be a good thing if you decide to redo your Landscaping in the future you could get rid of all this very easily and replant the area without having to get rid of a bunch of gravel it will also be easy to change or extend which I think I’ll do here along the walkway with the two panels I have left over I can easily pull the edge restraint back up dig out some dirt add the sand panels and papers I hope you’ve enjoyed this video and it’s been helpful to you leave a comment hit that like button and subscribe to brew builds and be sure to watch my other video where I built a Pap patio using gravel as a base I believe this panel is really designed for the diyre that doesn’t own a bunch of construction tools and they just want to build a small patio in their yard its biggest plus is that it requires less digging and you don’t end up with amound of dirt in your yard but if you want something that you know will last and you don’t mind doing some physical work then I would skip the lightweight stuff and go with some gravel as your base thanks for watching Brew builds let’s keep building he