You’ve been dreaming of this all year. You’ve saved up some money, and now you finally have the time to dedicate to building that patio you always wanted. But how long does it take to do a paver patio?
For an expert, installation time is expected in around four days, depending on the complexity requested. This could take a week or much longer for your average homeowner, depending on base knowledge, skill, and time availability. Managing a project and knowing when to scale back or up is vital to success.
Overall, it may feel a little bit intimidating, like trying to do your taxes for the first time or going through a divorce, you don’t know how things will go down.
Well, have no fear! I’m here to help. In this article, we will explore how much time it takes for people new at paver patios.
When paired with how much experience they have with construction work and the number of hours per week they can devote to their project, and this should help you gauge how long it will take you.
It’s worth noting that people are different in how they approach their work, how fast or how slow they move, and how much time they devote to something.
That means that there can be a tremendous amount of variance in how many hours line up with how many actual minutes at some point during the project.
How long should it take to lay a paver patio?
When looking to plan out the time to lay out a paver patio you are looking at how much time it will take to do the following:
- Remove old paving if necessary and prepare your work area in order to get ready for pavers.
- Lay out your pavers where they will be positioned.
- Place a layer of sand down over the base material to protect against weeds, acidity, and moisture.
- Set each individual paver into place.
- Once all the pavers are set up you move on towards making decorative paths that intertwine from one section of the patio to another while adding beautiful accents such as flowers, lighting fixtures, or other decorations.
For most homeowners without previous experience, this will take up to 2 weeks of 8 hours per day.
However, this amount of time would go down if you had previous experience with how long it takes to lay a paver patio or how much time pavers take to set up.
How much time will it take me? On average someone who was laying a paver patio for the first time without any prior experience might take around 1 to 4 weeks to get the entire job done, depending on how many hours per day they can invest.
Certain factors can force you to slow down your pace or speed it up, like removing an old patio, concrete, or similar materials.
This may seem like a significant chunk of time but keep in mind how much more you will be enjoying your patio and how much longer it will last than a standard stone or concrete patio.
Quick Tips For Building a Patio
Here are some tips to help you decide how long it will take for you to build a paver patio:
Set Realistic Goals For the Project
If this is your first project, allow yourself more time than if this were not your first project. Even still, don’t set yourself up to fail or be unpleasantly surprised at how long it takes.
Plan for how often you will be able to work on your project, how many hours a day/week that will be, and how much time is in between each step of the paver patio building process.
Have realistic expectations about how much time it will take for all parties involved but don’t be pessimistic either.
If there is too little pressure on people to work hard and deliver results, how much are they going to care about how long it takes?
Know Your Time Constraints
Understand how long it would take to do things if you were working alone and how time-consuming certain project parts are likely to be based on how experienced people are at them when they start doing them.
Plan on how many days it will take if you were working alone as well as how long tasks are likely to take in a group and how often work is likely to stop because someone is tired, they have a headache, their back hurts, or they just don’t feel like doing anything else that day/week.
How many days off are you going to take? If you need more time, how will you get it? Are there other people who know how to do this sort of work, and how can they help out if you want or need them to?
When Possible Break Up Large Projects
Break up bigger projects into smaller pieces, making them feel more doable and like less burden.
Make some realistic timelines and plans for how certain processes will happen during construction before you even begin your project. This way, you won’t be caught off guard.
Don’t take shortcuts when creating timelines or plans—if ‘estimating’ how long the project is going to take gets you through how long it takes, then you are still better off than if you just give up early or don’t finish.
Understand Your Initial Knowledge
Keep how much of a learning curve there is in mind as well, if someone has never done something before and they weren’t taught how to do it by someone else who already knows how then how easy/difficult will the task be for them?
How easy was it for people doing this work to make mistakes when starting?
If they had been told how to plan out their work beforehand, would that have helped them estimate how long things would take more realistically and thus let them know whether or how they could finish?
Set Who is In Charge of Decisions and Final Say
Who ultimately has the final say, and who can give permission? Do these people want the job done in a reasonable amount of time, or do they not care how long things take as long as everyone else is satisfied?
Is it Worth Building a Paver Patio in an Area with Grass?
When it comes to laying pavers on grass, it’s important to consider the long-term benefits. While a paver patio can add value and aesthetic appeal to your outdoor space, it’s crucial to properly prepare the grassy area before installation. With the right planning and maintenance, it can be worth building a paver patio in an area with grass.
Final Thoughts on Paver Patios
It depends on how many people are working on it and how long they’ve been doing it. If you have never done something before, don’t just assume how much time a project will take by looking at it.
Instead, ask someone who knows how to do it to help estimate how fast or slow things went when other people did them in the past.
Once you know how long it took people how long it takes you to do a project, how many days off there is, how much pressure there is and how big of a workload someone has then you can come up with an estimate of how long something will take.
