I'm considering a paver patio that extends from my asphalt driveway into my backyard for some outdoor lounging and grilling. Ideally, I'd like it to function as a driveway as well. How does the cost and labor differ for a standard paver patio compared to one that's designed for vehicle traffic? I've heard that typical patios are dug out to about 6 inches deep; would I need to dig deeper for one meant to handle cars? Also, do I need to use heavier-rated pavers?
2 Answers
If you're going vehicle-rated, expect your costs to roughly double. For a standard paver patio, you'd usually prep the subgrade with about 2-4 inches of material, but for vehicles, you should bump that up to around 4-6 inches. If your soil isn't ideal, you might need even more excavation. Paver thickness matters too; regular patio pavers are about 1-1/4 to 2-3/8 inches thick, but for light vehicle use, you need at least 2-3/8 inches, and for heavier vehicles, 3-1/8 inches is recommended. Just keep in mind the condition of your subgrade as that will heavily influence how deep you need to excavate and what materials you'll need to use.
Great insights! Just ensure you have the right depth based on your soil type; clay can be tricky.
Don't forget to check out permeable pavers as well. They have some great options that can handle high vehicle loads.
I'm considering that too, but I want to make sure water drains away since my driveway is close to my foundation. Would permeable pavers still work in that situation? Are regular pavers typically non-permeable unless specified otherwise?
This is really helpful! I live in the Northeast, so there's a lot of clay in the ground. I’d probably use it for parking my car for a week or so while I'm on vacation or when working on repairs. I'm not fully sure how deep we typically dig around here, but I know it's about 4-6 inches for a regular patio.