How NOT to build a Patio!

As you can see, my hands all banged up and I got scars all over. I got mauled by a dog over the weekend, so that suck. Sometimes we break our own rule. In general, I don't like to reuse any landscape materials on a job site. I just don't feel that it's worth it. Like say somebody has a retaining wall that wasn't built the right way and can we reuse the blocks? By the time we peel the blocks apart and then try to clean them and try to prep them to reuse, you're just better off getting brand new blocks. But in today's case, this was some really high-end PA patio tiles and they were reusable. It took quite a bit of work and you're going to see what we're what I'm talking about in today's video. But what I want you to really notice is when we peel these apart, what do you see underneath them? And that is the reason why it's getting peeled apart. So many times you see that the contractor that came in before didn't do the work the right way. There's no base. Whoever built this patio before we came in, slapped these things down, peeled off the the top layer of sod, got it down to dirt, and just slapped these in place. And this is what this these homeowners, these people are paying for is quality work in the first place. But this is the stuff that a lot of times they're not aware of and other contractors are sliding under the radar, not giving them. Now, you're going to see what we do different, and I'm going to point it out in just a little bit. But let's just dive into today's video so that you get a feel for what we're dealing with. And then I'm going to point out some very specifics on what we do different to make sure that what our product what our our customer gets is absolutely something we would be proud of. And hopefully that you guys can see like some of you guys are wondering, you know, is this the right way to do this or what have you. Yeah, you'll be able to see the right way to do things and then to be able to do that for your own customers. And here's the thing, a lot of contractors like to slide under the radar and they optimize their profits and what have you. But my feeling is that always bites you. Always bites you in the back end. You will never the running a business is a marathon, not a sprint. You will never outlive intentionally bad work. It will always come back to haunt you. So, you might as well do the absolute best you possibly can right out of the gate. Even if it costs you more in the beginning, it will earn you more in the long run through repeat customers, through good word of mouth, through a good reputation. All of those things are way, way, way more valuable than saving a few dollars right away. Let's just dive into today's video. All right. Good morning, y'all. We're starting a new project today, and it's uh it's going to be going to be a fun one. Um so, we're basically moving this way. So, we're going to peel up all the rock and all that stuff and shift everything on down this way. Um, oh, so we've been out on uh doing stuff at this house for the last 3 years. And last year, we built a wall and stairs. Oh, you're building stairs to nowhere. Yeah. No, they're putting a deck up there. That's why there was the stairs so they had access and stuff. Look at that. Um, and then only thing that's going to be a little goofy is they got the down spouts coming from this one right here. They kind of screwed us on cuz it is uh it needs to be it needs to be like up here. So, we're going to have to figure that out. We'll make it work. right, good morning everybody. So, there's going to be a fat chunk of uh missing space from the start of this job to today. Zach was gone. Got roped into some bulls. So, here's where we're at. Just getting the uh last lift of um our class 5 set here, and then we'll start setting our pipes for the sand. Um, I just got to complain for a second about all this freaking recycled class 5 that we got to use for this stuff cuz it's cheaper per yard, but with all the concrete and stuff you get in here, it takes longer to lay it. Um, the few times that me and Blaine were doing patios with like actual class 5, we got it laid out in like half the time that this stuff takes. I'd argue that it cancels out, but yeah. All right, that's that. Let's Let's get going on the day. All right, Sambo's actually right on this point. Um, but here I want to define class 5 just so you guys know. Class 5 is a 3/4 inch rock that has uh all sight all different granular sizes down to fines in it and it packs up. But there's natural stone class 5 and there's recycled class 5. Now, one of the benefits of recycled class 5 that we're using in this video here is the fact that once it's in place and compacts, it turns into pretty much concrete again. I mean, it gives you such a solid foundation, but it is a little more difficult to work with than natural stone class 5. Now, coming up here in just a few moments, you're going to see that we're using screed pipes. And the way we ensure that our patio is completely flat and level, actually tech Oh, nope, nope, nope. Flat and level would be the wrong technical term. We do not want a flat and level patio ever, ever, ever because we don't want water to pull. We want to have one inch of drop per 8 foot of run. So to make sure that we hit that perfect proper pitch, say that fast five times, we use screed pipes. And the screed pipes allow us to get everything dialed straight in all the way across without it having to individually level each block. So, as you watch the next segment of the video and you see these screed pipes in and we're using 3/4 in screed pipes and here that's a critical measurement as well because when you put the screed pipes in, you get your you first you get your base in the right to the right depth that you want and that's always 6 in minimum unless you're putting it under a driveway where you got going to have heavy vehicle traffic. Then you want to go 8 10 or even 12 in deeper. But also, you want to have when you've put your fine layer of sand in or in this case, we're going to be using granite chips. Uh you want to have that dialed directly in because when you put a patio down, if you have too much sand, the patio can shift and move, especially if you're using smaller PA blocks. Now, in this case, we're not using smaller PA blocks, but here's the point I want you to think about. If you have your sand too deep, it doesn't compact as same as the base. So, now you've stratified your base material. You've got your your in this case uh uh 3/4 not 3/4 clear your recycled class 5 and then you have your base material and if we were using sand which a lot of people use which is okay it's appropriate if you have that too much when you put your pavers on top if there's a point of pressure on any one of those pavers since this the sand doesn't compact it can actually create an unlevel balance over time to the individual blocks that go into it. Now, in this case, we're using granite chips. We like granite chips. It's a more expensive material, but it also is a phenomenal subbase material. So, you got to have different bases when you put a patio down. You've got your firm base that allows nothing to move. Then, you've got your leveling base, which is where you can fine-tune and adjust everything so that you can get all of your pitches perfectly proper. But, they've got to be to the right depths. Your subbase materials got to be six inches minimum. Your base material or the leveling base is three/ quarter inch. And that's where those three quarter inch pipes come into play. That 3/4 inch pipe gives us the perfect depth for that leveling base. And then on top of that goes your base material. That's one of the key elements, the critical things. It's all about the base. That's it. The best way to build a patio is to build the absolute best base you possibly can. And from there, everything else falls in line. Let's just watch these guys work. All right. Good morning, everybody. I'm back from, as you can see, my hands all banged up and I got scars all over. I got mauled by a dog over the weekend, so that sucked. But I'm okay. Fine. Everything's good. But yeah, we're laying down these giant granite slabs. We got this airlifter we rented from company down in Burnsville. Well, to lift these things cuz they are like chunks of granite and they are heavy and trying to pick them up by hand really sucks. They're They're extremely heavy, but I'm doing what I can, especially with me being injured. But I'm going to g go through grease get up. Well, so I'll probably set you on a time lapse for that. But yeah, then we have all of our ro our chip down over here. Whatot I I'm tired. I had a long night. I'm going to go grace. All right. Sorry, guys. I was going to put it up on time lapse putting down all this stuff, but I completely spaced it and my hand's pretty beat up. trying to block out that pain. It just forgoes everything else. So yeah. All right, let's see if the camera works. I don't know. But the patio is 99% in. And we got like a little bit around there or otherwise rest of it in. Another way to think about projects is not everything has to be done lickety split and or even in the same year. For example, we started earlier in the video, you heard Sam say it before, we actually started working on this property years before we finished up this patio. And that's where if we go back to the beginning of this video where I say your reputation takes you a long way. Well, that's exactly what I'm talking about. Once a customer finds someone that they can rely on, they want to keep going back to them. I don't know how you guys operate, but for me, once I have someone I trust, I don't even look around anymore. I stop shopping. I just look for that one person, that one thing that I know has got my back. And once I get to that point in a relationship with a vendor, with a contractor, with a supplier, I don't I don't care about the pennies. I don't I don't go I don't it's like stepping over a dollar to pick up a dime. I don't care if maybe on something they're a little more expensive, but overall I know that I'm going to get what I what's really the best thing for me. So, I just wanted to wrap that all up. And here's, you know, here's the video. Here's the or here's the video. Here's the end project. I hope you guys enjoyed it. It took a bit, you know, when we're reusing these materials to um to clean them up. So, you've seen us powerwashing the heck out of this thing. That's one of the reasons why we don't typically like to reuse materials, but sometimes when it's a really high-end material or really good material, it's just well worth it. And I think this patio turned out great. Now, in the next video, we're going to do we're going to show you we're going to do something in the front that is something pretty pretty interesting. Uh we're going to be setting some I don't even want to give it away. In the next video at this same site, we're going to wrap up all the detail work that you don't typically get to see in these videos and do an interesting project. But that's it for this one. I hope you guys enjoyed going along for the ride. God bless and go get him, you guys. We'll see you on another one.