How much does a paver patio cost?

Paver patios, paths, and landings consist of 3 important elements: subgrade, border, and the pavers. For the sake of this post, I am going to focus on a standard square 10’x10’ Holland Paver patio without specialty cuts, installed in place of grass, on a relatively flat backyard, at ground level, and simple access. These elements are why pricing varies greatly from site to site and requires an in person project walk to get a more accurate price. See paver patio below:

The project starts with demolition: remove any grass, plants, or debris from the area to be excavated. Dirt should be excavated up to 8” below where the pavers will be installed, 5/8 minus gravel spread, and then a healthy amount of compaction should be performed. A key mistake here is hand tamping the gravel. At minimum, a plate compactor should be run over the area - amateur vs professional installation comes down to time and tools. This example assumes the area for the patio is a typical PNW space which will require a substantial displacement of water and the minimum required thickness layer of paver sand. To bring it back to cost, the price for just this portion of the job will range between $800-$1,200.

After the excavation and base prep, we now place the pavers. In this example, we’re installing a simple pattern that doesn’t require any custom cuts. The pavers are place in a symmetrical simple pattern (like the picture above) and the a basic sand is swept into the pavers. This example assumes we will not need polymeric sand because the pavers will not be under direct rainfall or storm water run off. Finally, the border will be installed - we don’t use the cheap plastic edging borders and you should not accept this from a professional. The cement border is mixed and installed. The cost of this portion of the project will be between $2,800 and $3,000.