Marcus Delvecchio · June 25, 2026
Last summer, I finally tackled the 620-square-foot paver patio I’d been putting off for two years. The pavers were down. The polymeric sand was set. All that stood between me and a finished backyard was the sealer application. I grabbed my old 1-gallon pump sprayer — the same one I’d been using since forever — … Read more
Marcus Delvecchio · June 19, 2026
Last spring, I made a classic DIY mistake. I rushed the polymeric sand installation on my 380-square-foot backyard patio, and within six weeks, the sand had turned into a crumbling, weed-inviting disaster. If you’ve ever had to remove polymeric sand from pavers, you know exactly how frustrating that situation gets. The stuff hardens like weak … Read more
Marcus Delvecchio · June 17, 2026
Last spring, I tackled a 320-square-foot paver patio in my backyard. It should have been straightforward. However, my biggest enemy wasn’t the weather, the weight of the pavers, or even the rocky clay soil I was digging through. It was the base. Specifically, getting a perfectly consistent, level screed rail paver base leveling system that … Read more
Marcus Delvecchio · June 16, 2026
Last spring, I tore up about 180 square feet of sunken patio pavers behind my garage. The base had shifted badly over two winters. Every time I walked across it, something wobbled. I knew I needed to repack the gravel and sand before relaying anything. That’s when the hand tamper vs plate compactor pavers debate … Read more
Marcus Delvecchio · June 15, 2026
Last spring, I decided to tackle a 420-square-foot patio extension in my backyard. I had the base compacted, the sand screeded, and about 300 concrete pavers stacked and ready to go. Then reality hit me hard during wet saw paver cutting: my old angle grinder with a diamond blade was turning every single cut into … Read more
Marcus Delvecchio · June 14, 2026
Three years ago, I finished what I thought was a perfect 220-square-foot paver patio off my back deck. Solid base, proper slope, tight joints — I was proud of it. By the following spring, the edges had crept nearly two inches into the lawn. Without a reliable paver edge restraint system, all that work slowly … Read more
Marcus Delvecchio · June 13, 2026
Last spring, I was three days into relaying a 220-square-foot patio in my backyard. The project called for concrete pavers — 12×12 and 16×16 inch pieces — and I needed clean, precise cuts around a curved garden bed edge. My first paver cutting blade angle grinder combo had chewed through two cheap segmented blades already. … Read more