So, you’re figuring out how to build a patio. Here’s our number one tip: prep work will make or break the end result. When the patio is finished, you can tell pretty soon if poor preparations have compromised the project. Do you see uneven pavers? Is rainwater puddling in spots? These sorts of problems start below the surface.
Pair a skid steer loader with the right attachments and you can handle most of your prep with consistency that’s hard to match by hand. Oh, it’s a lot faster, too!
The first pass essentially sets the tone for the whole job. Strip all the topsoil and organic material down until you reach stable ground. It’s super important to keep depth consistent over the entire footprint. Any high spots or shallow areas can lead to uneven settling after the base goes in.
We highly recommend leaning on your skid steer for landscaping and excavating — it’s much easier to achieve clean, even excavation with the accuracy of a purpose-built machine. You can use attachments like a tiller to soften soil, a bucket to strip and scoop layers, and a land leveler to even it all out once it’s clear.
This foundational step sets up everything that follows, so take extra care before you move on.
A weak or uneven base causes all sorts of patio issues. If you dump material all at once, you’re likely to see soft spots and irregular compaction. The puddles and tilted pavers we mentioned? That starts here. Your best bet is to work in layers.
First spread, then compact, then repeat, layer by layer, until you reach the target height. Your loader is great for handling material hauling and distribution. Use a big, wide, heavy bucket for both spreading and compacting — it’ll make an even pack easy (much better than a hand tamper!)
It may be counterintuitive, but with a patio, flat is not the goal. You want a slight, controlled grade that slopes away from the main structure. Every patio needs a slight slope to move water away from structures. It doesn’t take much — barely noticeable, really — but it has to be consistent. Aim for at least a 1-inch drop per foot away from foundations so runoff doesn’t hang around or work its way back toward the structure.
The repeated passes with a bucket were good for packing the base, but they can leave small dips and ridges, and it’s hard to guarantee an even grade across the whole patio with the bottom of a bucket.
You can use a land leveler to cut high spots and fill low areas for a more uniform overall surface. Check the grade from multiple angles. While you’re at it, watch out for a these common grading mistakes:
After the slope to the patio edge, does rain runoff have a place to go? You’ll need a drainage path away from structures and high-traffic areas and into ground that can handle it.
Water pooling, even off of the patio, is no good — it can cause shifting and erosion over time. Think in terms of direction. Where is the water going? On flatter sites or patios that are in slightly low areas, shallow swales are a great way to guide water where you want it to go so it won’t spread out and sit near the patio.
You could also consider French drains — perforated pipe buried and wrapped in crushed stone — to move water below grade in a “gutter” of sorts. Pay attention to where that drainwater ends up. Direct it toward open ground or a controlled outlet away from structures.
Crooked or washed-out edges show rushed work like nothing else. A loose, poorly defined edge always looks like crap, but worse, it can cause patio stones to spread or drift. Set straight lines and tight boundaries before you lay the final surface material.
A soil conditioner for skid steers is a good attachment for breaking up any remaining clumps and pulling out small debris. You want to leave behind a smooth, workable surface that’s ready for the final layer.
Heed this warning! When patio projects fail, it’s not because of the pavers. More likely, it’s some of the common issues we’ve run through:
Don’t bring a knife to a gun fight, as the saying goes. Make sure you’ve got the tools for the job. Your skid steer loader can handle the heavy lifting at every step, from hauling soil to finish prep, but you’ve got to have attachments matched to the task.
If you need anything, it’s a bucket. Buckets get you close. But take a look at the full lineup of options in the Prime Attachments product catalog, particularly our land leveler, tiller, and soil conditioner.
Reach out to talk through your patio job with us and get any more details you need!