When Steve Mitchell, owner of Natures Elite Landscaping in Gilford, N.H., first laid eyes on the 30'x 50' patio overlooking Meredith Bay, he knew that simply resurfacing it would not do.

"The patio was a disaster when we first met with the homeowner. Previously, [the homeowner] had met with other contractors that all wanted to do an overlay of the existing patio - but that simply wouldn't do."

Mitchell knew that if he added an overlay to the existing dilapidated patio, the client would probably get upwards of four to five more years of use out of it before the patio needed repairs again. So, he discussed this with the client and together they decided that it was more advantageous and cost effective for the long-term to have a completely renovated patio that was built from the ground up.

The Process
For Mitchell and his team, the process of constructing an entirely new patio began on the computer. First, they used a landscape design software to create a rendering of the patio, which Mitchell then presented to the client.

"We use the design service for our customers so we are able to show them how spectacular the patio would look when we were finished," said Mitchell. He relates that the design software might have appeased some of the worry the client initially had regarding building an entirely new patio.

Once the design was approved by the client, Mitchell, along with his four-man crew, used a 315F L excavator by Cat to demolish the existing patio and dig down 2'. Once excavated, stabilization fabric, or filter fabric, was laid down and covered with one foot of processed gravel as a subbase. The gravel was then compacted with a Bomag 40/45 reverse-running plate compactor on a 6" lift to ensure stability.

The process was repeated once more, with fabric being laid down and another foot of subbase being compacted on top. Instead of a third layer of fabric, one inch of sand was added to the top of this second layer of subbase and then screeded with a rake.

After the sand was nice and flat, the pavers were placed directly on top. For the last step, several passes of TechniSeal joint sand was swept in and compacted.

Finishing Touches
The fireplace, hearth and accompanying wood boxes are from the Bristol Series of prebuilt fireplaces and are constructed with Weston Stone retaining wall blocks and accented by Arbel and Urbana pavers.

The fireplace stands 9'3" tall and is accompanied by two 3'3" wood boxes on either side. The hearth has a total height of 11" and is 5' wide. All three products were prebuilt, shipped to the project location and quickly installed with a forklift, after the patio was completed.

Likewise, following the completion of the primary patio area, a 2' base of crushed stone was installed, in the same manner as the patio, and used for the stairs. The risers were constructed of Belgard Celtik Blocks and were capped with rock-faced Bluestone slabs to tie the entire project together.