Hello,
I am new to the boards & to home maintenance. Please excuse basic questions & if I’m posting in a less-than-optimal place, please let me know where I should be posting.
We have an inground pool surrounded by concrete pavers. Over a few years, 3-4 of the pavers that are adjacent to the house have begun to settle unevenly: some of them are tilted toward & some tilted away from the house & none are flush with the other pavers around the pool. We were concerned that this cosmetic issue may lead to a more serious functional issue: rainwater (not pool) may drain/leak into foundation of house. Since we do not have a basement, we don’t have visible clues that this is a problem. We’ve sought estimates from contractors & everyone tells us yes that it is a problem requiring expensive work but no one seems to give a consistent & clear explanation. We’re concerned that parties who want our business are not the best source of advice on whether there is an actual functional problem in the first place. Can unevenly settled pavers lead to water drainage into foundation of house & how can we verify & soundest solution? Thank you.
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Replies
Can uneven pavers cause water to drain into the foundation? Yes. In fact, this is a leading cause of "wet basements". Will it be a problem for your foundation? Less certain. In theory the water flow could cause the foundation to be undermined, but that would take several circumstances falling into line, and is not especially likely.
Likely your biggest problem would be a wet crawl space, leading to high indoor humidity, moisture damage, bugs, etc. If the crawl space is remaining dry, however, then you probably need not worry (though keep an eye on it).
But you say these are "concrete pavers". Not clear from that whether you mean precast concrete "stepping stones" or poured-in-place concrete. If you have the precast pavers, and if they are simply set over a bed of sand or gravel, and if they're a reasonable size (under, say, 3 feet square), then it should be a simple matter to lift the pavers, level the substrate (or better, make it slope slightly away from the house), and reset the pavers. In fact, this is a perfectly feasible DIY project for most people.
If it's poured concrete then it's less of a DIY situation, but there is still relatively inexpensive solution: You can get the area "mud jacked" to raise it back up to the correct level/slope. This involves drilling holes in the concrete every few feet and injecting "mud" into the soil below to lift it up. Cosmetically not ideal because it leaves patched holes in the concrete (which can be hidden by "painting" the concrete with a concrete finishing material), but several times cheaper than having the concrete replaced, and something that can be done in a few hours with minimal mess.
(Note that mud jackers tend to be small independent operators, and you may have to hunt around to find one -- asking at building supply places, etc.)