Paver Repair & Re-Sanding in Independence Township

This is ski-hill country, and the grades that carry Pine Knob Ski Resort run through the neighborhoods too. From the lake subdivisions near Deer Lake to the wooded lots off Clarkston Rd and Sashabaw Rd, the ground is rarely flat. A front walk steps down from the drive, a paver drive may climb from the road, and a walkout patio sits at the foot of the lot, on the shaded back of the house. Each gets the water from everything above it. The Concrete Masonry & Hardscapes Association (CMHA) recommends stabilized joint sand on slopes steeper than 7 percent and wherever water concentrates, as it does below downspouts and along eaves, because moving water carries plain sand out of the joints.

The foot of the slope takes the most water. A walkout patio collects runoff from the slope, and out of the sun its joints are slow to dry. CMHA names a saturated base among the causes of sunken areas, and saturated bedding sand can pump out through the joints under traffic; stains on the pavers are one sign of it. Resetting those pavers without correcting the base only rebuilds the low spot. If a downspout empties onto the patio, we will point it out, though moving it is drainage work, which this service does not include.

Driveways bring a different failure, which CMHA calls horizontal creep: tires that brake, accelerate and turn on the same pavers push the pattern along until straight courses develop a wave. A drive that climbs a hill gets braking on the way down and acceleration on the way up every day.