Planning notebook · permeable pavers

Planning a permeable paver patio from the bottom up

With permeable pavers the stone you never see does most of the work. The open-graded base stores rain and lets it soak away; the pavers are the lid. This notebook goes layer by layer, then helps you rough out a budget.

Why go permeable at all

The US EPA's Soak Up the Rain programme lists interlocking pavers alongside pervious asphalt, pervious concrete and plastic grid pavers as alternatives that let rain and snowmelt seep through the surface, reducing runoff. The EPA also includes permeable pavements in its national menu of stormwater best management practices for post-construction sites.

Layer by layer

Layer	What goes in	Rule of thumb from Paver Lab
Subgrade	Your native soil	Its drainage rate sets the base depth
Open-graded base	Crushed stone with almost no fines	About 6 inches on sandy soil, 12 or more on heavy clay, sized from the storm volume
Compaction	Vibratory plate, lifts of 4 to 6 inches	Enough to lock the stone; over-compaction creates fines
Bedding	1 to 2 inches of washed, narrow-graded aggregate	Never sand: it migrates and clogs
Pavers and joints	Permeable units, clean joint aggregate	Joints about 1/4 to 1/2 inch
Surface slope	About 1 percent to an overflow outlet	Heavy storms exceed infiltration; the excess needs a path

Every row comes from the permeable installation guide, which stresses that storage depth is a calculation, not a habit.

Rough budget

Patio area sq ft → permeable at $12–$25: ; conventional pavers at $8–$15: ; optional sealing at $1–$3:

Permeable costs more because of excavation and washed aggregate, not the units. Sealing figures come from paver sealing cost.

After the first big storm: check for pooling

Is water still standing the morning after rain? That is the sign that matters.
Water stains in the joints or edges lifting?
Soft spots underfoot?
Does water run toward the house? Patios should fall about 1 to 2 percent away from it, roughly 1/8 inch per foot.

Adding joint sand will not fix pooling; it usually points to slope, a settled base or clogging. Drainage pooling signs explains how to read the signs in order, and puts base repair at $4 to $8 per square foot.

Sources used on this page

US EPA: Soak Up the Rain – Permeable Pavement — types of permeable surfaces, runoff reduction
US EPA: National Menu of Best Management Practices for Stormwater – Post-Construction — permeable pavements as a stormwater BMP