Repair Examples:

By reading through these The Brick Paver Dr. project examples it will become apparent that there are an unlimited number of scenarios which can be encountered with brick pavers. There are three key factors that influence the final job robustness 1. how well is the original installation performed? are ICPI standards and guidelines followed? 2. what is the brick design and pattern? and 3. what is the paver environment? weather conditions, poor irrigation or run-off, underground objects, ants, roots etc.

Example A:

This is an example of a very basic repair. It is difficult to see in the before photo but the bricks adjacent to the post are actually raised and at an angle. The post (deck support) is actually at a low elevation compared to the home with a walk out basement. It was obvious by the amount of water that the water table was high at this location. What happened here is the brick paver contractor installed the bricks very tight to the post. In the winter the posts actually moved vertically due to the frost / ice pushing them up. The bricks followed the posts in the vertical direction. When the posts actually came back down, because the bricks were so tight, they stayed at an angle and were not able to get to their original installed position. It was also observed that slag was used as a base instead of aggregate.

  Deck Support Post:

Before                        After

The Brick Paver Dr. first photographed the project. All bricks associated with this problem were all removed and cleaned. All the sub materials were then removed.  New materials were then put in place in accordance with ICPI brick paving standards. The bricks were then cut, removing about a ¼ of an inch, to create a clearance with the post to prevent this problem from occurring again following the next winter. Using the photo as a reference the bricks were installed to their original location. The bricks were then plate compacted and sweeping sand was applied to the joints as you can see in the after photo. The finished project was then photographed prior to being sealed.

Before                        After

Porch Landing:

Before                        After

The Brick Paver Dr. first photographed the project. All bricks associated with this problem were all removed and cleaned. All the sub materials were then removed.  New materials were then put in place in accordance with ICPI brick paving standards using the original bricks. The bricks were then plate compacted very carefully especially, the steps to avoid sending the vibrations through the porch and possibly causing damage to the brick foundation. Sweeping sand was then applied to the joints as you can see in the after photo. The finished project was then photographed prior to being sealed.

Example C:

This is an example of project where due to the sever deterioration of the paver structure, due to poor installation and ants, the only option was to completely remove and re-install all the bricks. The Brick Paver Dr. first photographed the project. The bricks were carefully placed away from the actual paver location to insure the pattern was maintained and then cleaned. All the sub materials were then removed. New materials were then put in place in accordance with ICPI brick paving standards using the original bricks. The bricks were then plate compacted and sweeping sand was applied to the joints as you can see in the after photo. The finished project was then photographed prior to being sealed.

Walkway:

Before                        After

Example D:

This is a before photo of a walk way leading to a front porch. As you can see this appears to be a beautiful pattern and job in general. It is difficult to see but, there are several locations that are not level and an area where the bricks were actually raised. An early investigation revealed that the contractor did not use any type of restraint and the base material was slag instead of the required aggregate material. The only option was to completely remove and re-install all the bricks in this section of the walk. Upon excavating the area we discovered that a downspout drain tile ran underneath the walk and was completely plugged with 20 years of accumulated, decomposed tree leaves. This made the raised area more severe since water was probably backing up and causing the walk to rise when it turned to ice. The bricks were cleaned and then re-installed following ICPI brick paving standards. This repair may have possibly avoided the future flooding of the homeowner's basement. Another interesting point is the homeowner had a severe gutter ice damming problem on the roof above this area. This problem was also probably improved.

Walkway with Poor Base, No Restraint & Plugged Down Spout:

There are many more project examples and a wealth of experience at The Brick Paver Dr.

The Brick Paver Dr.      Specialists in Hardscape Repair, Restoration & Maintenance    

www.thebrickpaverdr.com    Ph: 248-854-1657 E-mail vlgriff@tir.com