Do It Yourself Backyard Patio Made With Pavers

Measure the thickness of your selected pavers. Add 6 inches to this measurement. This tells you the depth you need to excavate the ground for the patio.

Spray paint the patio's outline onto the ground. Dig out the ground within this outline to the depth you determined in Step 1, using a shovel. Keep the dug-out ground as level as possible. Lay a 4-foot level over the area occasionally to check. Tamp down the entire area with a hand tamper.

Pour crushed gravel into the excavated patio area. Use a metal rake to smooth the gravel over the entire area into a level 3-inch layer. Lay the level in a handful of places to check that the gravel does not create a slope. Compact the gravel with a hand tamper. Pour more crushed gravel over this first layer. Spread this gravel into a second 3-inch layer. Use the level to check that there's no slope and compact this layer with a hand tamper.

Cut 1-inch conduit pipes to the length of the patio, using a pipe cutter. Lay the pipes across the patio, spacing them about 3 feet apart. Pour leveling sand over the entire patio surface. Rest a straight 2-by-4-inch board on edge across the patio, perpendicular to the conduit pipes.

Slide the board down the length of the conduit pipes to create a level 1-inch-sand layer. Slide the conduit out of the patio area, taking care not to disturb the surrounding sand layer. Use a shovel to fill the groove the pipes left behind with sand.

Begin laying the pavers in one corner of the patio and work from the corner toward the patio's center. Follow the pattern blueprint you drew to determine each paver's orientation in the patio. Check the pavers occasionally with a torpedo level. If one of the paver's ends sits too high, hit the high end with a rubber mallet to push the paver into the leveling sand.

Cut pavers to fit in small gaps around the patio's edges, using a wet saw. Place the cut pavers on the sand and level them the same way you leveled full-size pavers.

Place a plastic retaining edge tight against the sides of the patio pavers on the edge of the patio. Hammer the supplied spikes through the retaining edge's holes and into the ground. Backfill behind the retaining edge with dirt to hide the retaining edge and help hold the patio in place.

Pour sand over the patio's surface. Use a broom to spread the sand, allowing it to fall into any gaps between the patio pavers. Water down the patio's surface with water from a garden hose to compact the sand. Allow the patio to dry, then repeat this step.