HO has a paver patio going in and the landscape designer has the pavers meeting the back of the house right at the same level as the patio door threshold.. up near the subfloor height. Wayyy above grade.
She wants me to build some PT ‘boxes’ out from the wall/foundation so the patio doesn’t meet the house/siding but at the patio door she wants the pavers right up against the house.
I told her the pavers shouldn’t really butt into the house anywhere–PAC NW rains a LOT here–but well below the mudsill IMHO, but if she had to do it this way, to at least butt them in BELOW the door threshold to allow some type of flashing.
? is, am I being too conservative?
She’ll have me replace the bottom two courses of siding, which are damaged anyway. The Pressure Treated 4×6 or 8″ boxes I’ll build, about 8″ out from the foundation wall will isolate the paver patio and keep things away from the siding. (What would you stake those in with, permanently?) But where she wants the patio to meet the house, right at or under the threshold of the patio door, I’m not sure of the best way to waterproof this area. The house has no Eaves so water WILL get in there between the house and the patio.
Can someone point me in the right direction? Waterproof membrane, as in tile showers? Grace Ice and Water barrier?
Am I out of line to suggest the patio should be much lower? They’re trying to get it to slope from the house adequately and can’t really dig it down lower due to bedrock.
Help! The landscapers are waiting on me…
Replies
Pavers over what? What sort of joints? What is the threshold composition? Is the setup such that you'd get a "wave" of wind-drive water on the patio?
Pavers on landscape fabric, crushed rock and sand. Permeable pavers. Threshold is now PT that somebody spliced in but down the road I will replace this door with a pre-hung unit/alum. threshold for her.
This backyard goes straight up the hillside and yes, there are deluges that will completely saturate the patio and probably drive water right up to the house.
Landscape designer is trying to slope 2% away from the house.
Thanks for quick reply.
Where there can be rain drive across the exterior surface, you should have a 1-2 inch step up to prevent rain from being blown in. And you should also have a step up or other provision to keep water from infiltrating any joints below the threshold level. Finally, of course, special provisions are needed whenever ground-contact masonry comes in contact with wood.A possible solution would be to insert a threshold drain betwen the patio and the threshold. This would permit a reasonably flat transition without excessive danger of rainwater entry into the structure.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin