# Back Patio Renovation



## thelawnpirate (May 19, 2019)

Finally getting around to the back patio and backyard after numerous projects inside the house. Moved into the house about 3 years ago. I'm a couple weeks away from installing 950 sq ft of TifGrand in the backyard. The current patio situation perplexes me, as the previous homeowners put a layer of pavers on top of one corner of the concrete pad.

The main question of this post is for the two levels between the pavers and the concrete pad. The two levels of patio bothers me, as I'd rather have one level. I'm ready to bring in another load of sand and was hoping to have the final elevation of the patio be determined to help grade properly. The pavers on the patio appear to be mortared in (why??). See pics for reference, excuse the mess.

Do I -
1) try and match the pavers and fill in the remaining concrete pad area? The current pavers have an edge pattern already, so it could look odd. Also trying to find the exact paver match could be difficult. 
2) remove the pavers and do something completely different?
3) add a slim composite deck on top of both the pavers and concrete pad? I have about 2.5 inches between my back door threshold and the paver elevation. 
4) other

Backyard things done so far:
- new fence done
- odd circle shape concrete patio area removed
- old rotted pergola removed
- initial kill of existing CB and weed salad
- load of sand brought in to raise grass
- paver edging 90% complete to define flower beds
- relocated/installed 18 back sprinklers, reconfigured existing zones

Upcoming:
- More sand to the backyard 
- add weed barrier and gravel to the flower beds
- figure out patio situation
- add raised flower bed


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## Lawndress (Jul 9, 2020)

Wow. That is the dumbest looking patio I may have seen.

1) try and match the pavers and fill in the remaining concrete pad area? The current pavers have an edge pattern already, so it could look odd. Also trying to find the exact paver match could be difficult.

Nope. It will look terrible. They change lot to lot in color.

2) remove the pavers and do something completely different?

Yes. Do whatever extensions or whatever that you want (like if you want an extension in place of the weird circle thing) and tie it together with a stamped concrete refacing. It'll cover the damage from taking the pavers up and tie it all together.

3) add a slim composite deck on top of both the pavers and concrete pad? I have about 2.5 inches between my back door threshold and the paver elevation.

No. Not tall enough for the structural support needed and also kinda weird.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

I'd fix that fence first. Then, I'd either match the brick or rip it all out and put down one thing that matches.


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## corneliani (Apr 2, 2019)

Cant fathom what those owners were thinking with that one, unless they only had so much material and that's as far as it got them. If this was me personally I'd tear that brick work out. Rent a small demolition hammer with a 6" scraper on it and they should pop right up. Depending on how much money you want to put into that project I'd consider buffing that concrete slab down, cleaning it real well, and sealing/painting/etching/epoxy-ing it.

Edit: It may be worth trying to break the edging off with a hammer first to see if just the edge was mortared in.. it may save you $100 tool rental if so


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## thelawnpirate (May 19, 2019)

Lawndress said:


> Wow. That is the dumbest looking patio I may have seen.
> 
> 1) try and match the pavers and fill in the remaining concrete pad area? The current pavers have an edge pattern already, so it could look odd. Also trying to find the exact paver match could be difficult.
> 
> ...


Thanks @Lawndress. Yeah, it's very dumb. I've since renovated the back lawn and flower bed area, but it's getting time to dive into the patio. I agree that #2 would be ideal, but a little nervous to find what's underneath that section. Knowing other issues we've had from the previous owners, would not be surprised to see something covered up just under that raised paver section. Don't know if I can sink that much money into tearing all the concrete out (only if it's needed) halfway through the project and starting over, but I may not have an option.


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## thelawnpirate (May 19, 2019)

SCGrassMan said:


> I'd fix that fence first. Then, I'd either match the brick or rip it all out and put down one thing that matches.


@SCGrassMan Fence? One picture has the old fence, the rest have the new one we put in last year. HOA is fairly strict on what we can have unfortunately.


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## thelawnpirate (May 19, 2019)

corneliani said:


> Cant fathom what those owners were thinking with that one, unless they only had so much material and that's as far as it got them. If this was me personally I'd tear that brick work out. Rent a small demolition hammer with a 6" scraper on it and they should pop right up. Depending on how much money you want to put into that project I'd consider buffing that concrete slab down, cleaning it real well, and sealing/painting/etching/epoxy-ing it.
> 
> Edit: It may be worth trying to break the edging off with a hammer first to see if just the edge was mortared in.. it may save you $100 tool rental if so


Thanks @corneliani. When you say trying to break off the edging, so you mean the brick border around the pad, or the outside edge pavers on the raised portion?


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## corneliani (Apr 2, 2019)

thelawnpirate said:


> corneliani said:
> 
> 
> > Cant fathom what those owners were thinking with that one, unless they only had so much material and that's as far as it got them. If this was me personally I'd tear that brick work out. Rent a small demolition hammer with a 6" scraper on it and they should pop right up. Depending on how much money you want to put into that project I'd consider buffing that concrete slab down, cleaning it real well, and sealing/painting/etching/epoxy-ing it.
> ...


I was thinking the pad itself, since the edging may be the only brick that's mortared in. Hopefully the rest comes up easily.


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