THE ONLY WAY TO SETUP SLOPES!!!!! Everything you need to setup slopes for any project in your yard!
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- Опубликовано: 14 июн 2020
- Setup a slope for water to drain with string lines for your clients to see what their finished hardscape surface will look like. Show off how good you area at laying out a landscaping project and impress them with this crucial initial step to get them excited for their finished install. How to use string lines to level the ground.
A video detailing how to achieve slopes for patios walkways and other hard and soft landscape surfaces. Part of my hardscaping training series.
Check out our online course for Site Setup: hardscapecanada.thinkific.com...
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This was a great explanation on how to do this. Awesome job!
Wow! Most of you guys are genius because I’m still lost lol
Lots of preparation and it may be the most important part of the job I cannot stress how important this is for sheading water less pain on you feet cleaning and the list go on
Couldn’t agree more!
Simple and straight to the point, good stuff. 👍🏾
Just wanted to say thank you for a quick, simple explanation! I have been staring at my excavated space for hours trying to figure out the appropriate slope!
You are so welcome! I hope your project goes smoothly!
All the way down to knot tying. You are my hero! Great video.
So glad to hear!! Let me know if you need any other details!
+1. Much info packed into a brief video!
Good stuff ! Simple explanation
Very helpful. Thank you.
Can you do a video on complex uneven slope?
Very good video and clear explanation,, great teaching technique and skill building!
Thanks for posting !!
You are so welcome!
Love the slope calculation.. thanks a lot!
Cool!
Excellent! (Like the clove hitch)
Thank you sir!
Very good…well presented.
Thank you. That was very helpful.
Hey you’re very welcome Jim!
What a legend. Thanks man
😎
Thank you 🙏 for sharing
Genius
We do most of ours at 1%.
Rough screed 90mm crete, no steel and then screed 25mm fines.
Concrete extends 125mm past edge of soldier course so a beveled haunch can grab onto the slab.
On deluxe jobs the edge one is fully mortared to conc sun base.
No come backs in 30 years and it’s quicker than compacting road base.
Awesome I’d love to see this process. We don’t have good cheap concrete here. Where are you located?
Thank you
Thanks
great vid thank you
You’re very welcome!
Thanks for the video. I have embarked a on big hard scape project with a retaining wall and patio and still trying to figure the best way to slope the patio it’s 25X35 that comes from the foundation of the house all the way to a retaining wall.
So my thought was at the center of one edge be the low point with a hidden drain system off that edge.
(The 35 foot is the distance from the foundation to the wall)
Hey yes that sounds like a good option, the only other one being to have a drain all along the wall side, so the patio is sloping in one direction (will feel flat) away from the house. For your option, just make sure you get the minimum 1% slope away from the farthest points, to your drain area. Let me know if you need any advice!
Can’t really do the wall side as I also built a bench if front of a portion of it, also the end of the wall curves back into a semi circle that will have a fire pit in the center.
I think I have decided to go with a channel drain down the center. It’s really hard to describe without pictures.
I actually hired someone originally to install the wall/patio once they put the wall up wrong, twice I let them go and decided to do it my self. First time they didn’t backfill or fill the blocks as it went up. Then They didn’t set the base course correctly and the wall was literally leaning away from the hill towards the house.
this is the trickiest part for me to understand, slopes ... is there a "slope class" or a "laser leveling class" I really belief that these are the skills that separate a good hardscape/landscape company or crew from a regular beginner crew.
Agreed! That’s exactly why I made this online course module: hardscapecanada.thinkific.com/courses/siteprep
Not sure why anyone said this is complicated? It’s middle school algebra dude. Thank you for the brief, to the point video.
Haha thank you! Tried not to over complicate it.
It can get complicated when you have different terrain and slopes. Every job is different. He did a good job. I'd rather do the math 3X over and check it again. There is nothing worse than doing a job only to find out later that you have puddles on your pavers and uneven.
Going to keep it simple while setting up a multi hundred dollar level. My level is about 10 inches long and came from dollar tree.
Put it on a longer straight edge or really flat board, set your lines dead level first, make marks, then drop the lines down in the same way as on the video on the side that you want water sloping to. I respect you doing what you can with what you got!
my landscaper didn't take into account slope when he laid my flagstone porch, nor leveling it with the bottom of my back door. Now whenever we have a large rainstorm i have to worry about water getting in through the doors. How do i slope it now? grinding?
The grid pattern for the path survey reminds me of the chain survey patterns that were first used to survey land.
damn dude you know some stuff
I try!
Great video. Thank you!! Question.. How do you compact with the strings in the way?
You can set them up right on the edge, or even a foot wider than the area needed to be compacted, or even better is to mark on the perimeter stakes the height of level with one colour of marker, and your slope with another, so that you can take lines down and put them back up again quickly and confidently.
@@HardscapeCanada Love it! Thanks for the quick reply!!
Thanks for this. A couple questions:
1) How would you go about setting up string lines (number of string lines as well as placement) for an odd shaped patio with curved edges?
2) For the path that I am wanting to build next to the patio, do I need to have separate/dedicated string lines for those that don't cross-over or mix with the patio string lines?
Hey apologies it took so long to reply! Very good questions! 1) We can turn odd shaped and curved edges into easier to manage squares and rectangles by setting our grade stakes on the outside of our shapes, and setting up a grid over the area that we can slope appropriately. Then we can spray paint the actual shape inside of that and excavate, add gravel etc from there.
2) Hard to judge without seeing the project, but yes ideally you setup string lines for the path as well, and see what the transition looks like based on where you are sloping the patio, and where you need to slope the path. You can smooth the transition if it's awkward, just make sure you always have the minimum slope on the surface (ideally 1-1.5%).
@@HardscapeCanada no problem! Was also curious but I have been hand tamping the layers of base rock. So I have about 2-3" laid down but was wondering if I need to also screed, level and grade this initial layer before putting the second layer over it? I'm doing a 4"~ base of road base before laying down DG and flagstone
I am building a sidewalk that slopes pretty dramatically. It is built into the middle of a brick patio that has 2 levels with 2 steps down in the middle to the second level of the sidewalk. Do I need to do anything differently with the ground prep so that packed gravel and sand don’t wash out?
It’s a little hard to know for sure without seeing a picture, but usually we contain any edge with a concrete curb or plastic paver edging so that’ll stop the sand from migrating away. If the packed gravel is exposed you may want to stack boulders or consider some kind of wall around the grade changes so that it’s a finished and mortared together surface as opposed to open gravel that could wash away. Dry stacking rocks or a river rock motif are always good cheap options!
good work mate
Thanks!
Love to do a collaboration with you
4 x 60 ft paver walkway along side of house in progress. Undulating terrain but less than 5% along the axis. Staked high to low ends , ran string and line level. To achieve level (without adjusting for slope) would require that I go 14 inches below grade at the high end, resulting in walls on either side. Are there times wherein you would just follow the terrain and adjust for elevation ( 6" base 1' sand . 2" paver) down the path?
Yes on a longer run and if you and the client are happy with some flow to the walkway you can follow the terrain to a certain degree, you just need to make sure that you have min slope on all areas for water runoff.
@@HardscapeCanada thank you for the great advice! It seemed counterintuitive and I was overthinking SLOPE SLOPE SLOPE. I was at am impass. Thanks again.
Have a question I’m stumped with as I’m building a paver patio. I’m making a 14x14 patio and connected is a pathway from my driveway that is about 13 ft away. The issue I have with my slope that I’m stuck on is my driveway is the same height as my starting point at my house and they run perpendicular.
Does it make sense to slope the pathway towards the patio from the driveway for that 13 feet and then level it off and continue my slope away from the house? This is my first time doing anything like this and can’t wrap my head around it. So my walkway would slope down right around 1.75 inches and meet the height of the patio slope and then level off and the patio would continue to slope away from the house. Any opinion helps very much as I’m trying to figure out my depths.
Great video, you know your stuff. This may help with the teaching; 1st loop you created is a cow hitch (aka larks head). 2nd was a clove hitch.
Keep up the good work.
Love it thank you!
Thanks for the vid. Question: once the string slopes are set up , do you set the edging at slope using a tape measure and then use the edging as a template?
Typically I don’t set the edging first, but it depends what you are building. If it’s a hard edging and you are certain of where you are placing it then you can try that. But you need to use the strings to measure down from to know you hit your excavation depth, and to make sure you build up in layers no greater than 4”, compacting as you go.
Do you do the same for steps on stairs, or just big chunks of steps,
String wizard
😂
On that last example, how do you compact all of the base with the string lines there. Do you remove them and then set them up again after each lift?
I usually will mark the heights on the perimeter stakes and take them down, just quickly checking my heights for each lift being sure to setup at least a couple reference strings for the final lift to get it really precise
@@HardscapeCanada thanks for your answer, it was very helpful.
Hardscape Training Canada hi love the instructions
Hardscape Training Canada do you level the full to make it flat or do you level to the slope line making the full slopes and not flat
This is really helpful. I have a question. My house is on a hill. If you are looking at the house, the top of the hill is on the left side, and it slopes towards the right. We want to have the dirt around our foundation slope away from the home to prevent moisture issues. How would you address this with the strings? Would you have one sting with a 1% slope moving out from the house and another 1% slope moving down the hill as well?
I'm a very untrained, inexperienced DIYer, so take what I say with a grain of salt. But realistically, if you're on a hillside, unless you're on a really crazy ridge, water will absolutely flow to your foundation. It would take a lot of serious grading to change that, and that would also have implications on neighboring lots, which may not pass code and make you liable for damage to their homes.
The obvious alternative to grading is draining. Rather than trying to change the whole hill, get a proper drainage system in the ground such that it diverts water around your house. The principles are the same as grading, just underground. You can absolutely do French drains and such DIY, but it sounds like you have a complex case with potential for foundation issues, so it may very well be worth checking with a professional.
Do I have to slope the dirt bottom or can I just slope the gravel?
I'm a homeowner that hasn't ever needed to do something like this until now. I understand the string and slope, but then do you build up the material to the string? How do you get the finished product to match the string, in other words.
Hey , yes the string is meant to be the finished height for whatever surface you are creating. We can measure down from it to see if we have reached the appropriate depth for our excavation, and subsequent layers of material all the way up to the string, making sure to account for compaction of layers etc as well.
Great video man. Would you slope a 30x30 paver patio in 1 or 2 directions?
Hey sorry it took so long to reply! Ideally always sloping in 1 direction away from building so the surface feels and looks as flat as possible. However, if there must be a drain installed then obviously you would have to slope min 1% from farthest points to the drain, wherever that may be placed.
@@HardscapeCanada thank you!
Save environment
Is that special paint you use to mark on the grass or dirt ?
Yeah it’s called ‘marking paint’ and has a nozzle that sprays directly away from the can so it’s great for layout lines.
Old vid so not sure if you'll still see comments, how did you ensure that each stake was at the same height originally? Going down from the top by X inches will only matter if they're all starting from the same height....is that where the laser level came in? Without a laser level what is the best alternative?
Hey you just need the stakes to be close to the final height, you are actually using a marker to make a line on the stake that denotes your height and where to attach the string to. You could use level a string with a 4 or ideally 6’ level all the way around and use that as your initial height, then do you slope calc and drop the lines on the side you want to slope to. It’s not as accurate as the laser but definitely still works!
@@HardscapeCanada Thanks! A 4' level is what I thought you'd recommend. I'll give it a shot like that, or maybe pick up a laser level. I was able to find one on Amazon for under $100.
im about to get pavers and turf and want it all to slope from porch across to fence line where ill have rocks and french drain under. is 1% going to allow the flow? i want the least slope possible for the eye...but not much pooling
For the pavers 1% is the bare minimum, but if you are very precise it will slope. For the turf you should definitely shoot for 2% as a minimum for water to flow
What schooling teaches the basics for doing projects like these and retaining walls? Say for someone who wants to do this on the side or even just for their own home projects? My HS classes over a decade ago went over some of this, and the geometry and trig was so long ago I forgot it all, and at the time I wasn’t interested in it much. Is it civil engineering or landscaping, or landscape architecture?
I have a slope that goes towards my house and a sunroom that was built with almost no foundation. The downhill is pretty steep towards my house. I moved in and never realized it and had water issues. So it was torn down and rebuilt, but no one still mentioned that it was because the slope went down towards my house. Of course, this meant I still had water issues as it wasn't solved. How do I stop water coming down into my sunroom? How do I build up a wall to block it? How do I make sure there's a drain and no water stands still on the flat surface. How do I even seal the foundation of the sunroom? Currently there's nothing sealing it. It's foundation, paper, and the siding boards. Is there supposed to be a lock of some sort to keep out bugs and water? I have no idea what to do. I'm young and just bought my first home, so I have no idea how to fix it
Do a stucco on the foundation . Build the grade up on one side divert the water to the best side . Usually can easily scrounge up some dirt from somewhere . If you can afford it put it a dry creek bed . Or fresh drain . You can't stop the water just divert it . And there's several ways you can do that
We don’t have a lazer level where putting a paver path need to have the water run away from the house. How do you do it with the lazer.
You can use the same technique but with a 4 or 6’ level, set level lines, make a mark, then calculate your slope and make a new mark on your stakes. Drop your string to the sloped height away from the building and away you go!
Is there a text book or classes I can take on proper slope and grading this is an area I need more knowledge in
Hey not that I know of, however my site prep module at hardscapecanada.thinkific.com has details on this topic.
I am diying a back patio. I need a slope away from the house. What % is optimal as we do get some heavy rains through parts of the year.
1% is minimum, 1.5-2% is ideal for water flow but for it to still feel nice and flat and usable for sitting etc
@@HardscapeCanada I'll go with 2% due to the heavy rain. Thanks this makes it so simple to figure out. I thought it was much more co.plicated than you explained it.
Am thinking of building pavers over existing concrete. The concrete is already sloped properly. Should i set up a slope for that too?
If the base is already sloped then you should be good! Hard for me to say without seeing it, and I’ve never done an overlay before.
@@HardscapeCanada can I send a pic somewhere?
0:45 thats called a clove hitch
3 million dollar laser level, check ✔️
You can get pretty accurate with the same stringline technique and a 6’ level! Do what you have to do!
Just wanted to clarify you will be building up to the line right? Like the top of the brick would meet the rope?
Yes the string line is the finished surface height
I need an advice I need to make a walkway with slope I can send you pictures if you don’t mind.
I going to be neighbors 7 x 12
Hey you can email me at hardscapetrainingcanada@gmail.com if you’d like!
Hello i have a 70'x14' i need to have a 1.5% slope on the 14' is actually 13,9'
Converting to inches is 165" then to 1 percent is 1.65 what i dont know is how to read that in my tape meter,
I did the string level sample green orange pink and thats how i figure it.
But dont know how to read 2.475" in my tape meter
Thanks
Hey that is basically the same as 2.5”, I’d just go with that to be safe
@@HardscapeCanada thank you, i borrow a percent level because it needs to be accurate is a city code.
Nice ams simple... brings out laser level 😂
Hey so is your baseline here your final height ? And then you’re just going down 1% and %2? Thank you
Hey yes exactly!
does anyone know the actual name of the knots used?
Can you create a artificial slope for a walkout basement?
What do you mean artificial?
how to do line pavers up perfectly with existing concrete if it is on a slope
Hey check out some of my paver videos and let me know if you get what you need!
What's the minimum slope for a paver patio (4x8 holland pavers)?
1% is bare minimum technically to get water to flow. But I wouldn’t go less than 1.5% myself with a Holland Paver
@@HardscapeCanada Thanks!
So now you backfill all the way up to the string?
Hey check this out for all the info you need! I have a lot of paver videos as well. ruclips.net/video/tfDEOIAIUwQ/видео.html
I need to level a slightly sloping backyard area. But I don’t know the best and easiest way to do that. Any suggestions?
I would suggest setting up string lines like in this video, with a 1-2% slope on the surface, and adding whatever material you are using to level it off up to the string lines (or set the strings the width of the head of a rake 3-4” up so you can use the rake as a reference tool for finished height
144 x 2.88 = 414.72 how do you convert that to inches or the slope you need? is that 4 inches?
Hey Russ, so the 144” times 2% = 2.88”. No need to calculate further. It’s just the length in inches x the percentage of slope (1%= .01, and 2% =.02 etc). So a 1% slope on a 144” length is 1.44”. A 2% slope is double that. Make sense?
@@HardscapeCanada got it. Thank you for replying
Thank you but I am an elderly lady . Had a very small patio poured on a house I just moved into. 9×11. He had done good work before but he slanted this 5 inches. Everyone who looks at it says it can't be fixed. Even the guys that lift it says the slab is to thick to lift. Suggestions?😢
How do you actually lay the paviors with all of the strings lines in place like that? You show it at the end
As soon as you have the roadbase at the correct height you can take the string lines down and use your screed bars. Or if you’d like to keep the strings up for reference you can just set them to a couple of inches outside of the finished paver dimension.
How would you compact with all those line in place ?
Ok So you only slop the base and keep the top leveled for the concrete slab?
No, every level from excavation to base to finished product has to have the slope so that the layers are consistent depths and the final surface has a slope for water to drain off.
Gotcha now the horizontal lines needs to be even with the vertical lines,leveled but not at a slop correct?
Don’t get it still 😅
That’s okay! It makes so much more sense once you give it a try in the real world!
@@HardscapeCanada I am! Haha I basically just eyeballed my yard. It does have a natural slope so 🤷🏽♀️🤷🏽♀️ fingers crossed 😂😂😂
Your smart you lost me. I'll do it with my 4 ft level
Lmfaooo
Very complicated for the untrained DIY er . Looks like rigging a space shuttle ready to lift off !!!
Try this one: ruclips.net/video/DYDo_Wj-_m4/видео.html
And for the rookie in construction!
Not complicated. And we never went to space. Look into it.
It’s taken me 10 years for this to become second hand
@@riflebear1711Lol, Conspiracies are real... ironically you are part of the conspiracy to deny space travel.
Uhhhh
good lord man, use a level for uneven terrain. God knows how long those lines took on that walkway. If you cant make a cohesive path to combat grade with a simple 6 foot level, then you probably shouldn't be doing it
Thanks for your comment!
That's a lot of string line you like to use.😅 That's not necessary.
The best thing about paving bricks?,,We can steal them,,better guard them bricks day & night
Raising 1.44" at 10 feet gives you a very different slope than raising 1.44" at 100'.
Way to complicate for someone that have not done anything like this
WTF
Sorry but this stressed me out. 😬
How come?
@@HardscapeCanada seems way too complicated.
Better if you deleted all extraneous noises. It's a horrible fad adding music to everything. It also causes brain damage…
This was no help to man nor fish
But, what if you want the patio to be at ground level? You just measure from your dig? In your video, so I understand correctly, the entire walkway or patio you showed is going to be raised to that height? The patio is going to be elevated above the driveway and the slope is going to runoff on the driveway?
The main idea is that your stringlines will be set to finished height of whatever surface you want to create. In the video I had them set above ground so you could see it all easily. If your finished height is close to ground level, then you can simply excavate a few inches first, and set your string lines up after that. Make sense?
@@HardscapeCanada At first it did not, everything seemed so incredibly complex. Once I started letting the wheels turn and started thinking about what you and others were trying to teach me, it made a lot more sense. I have a 10x8, it is slopped at 1 1/4 over the 10 run because that math is easy and it's half under the roof and eaves, it shouldn't get too much water. I'm level, everything is lined up, I'm super happy and excited. I have the ground compacted, weedmat down, using a mat because the customer didn't want 9 inches of agregate and all that excavating so I am real close to laying the sand (I wanted to use HPB but struggled finding it) and paving tomorrow. This is the most fun I have had in a long time! Haha. Thanks again, dude.
@@HardscapeCanada They were well aware that this was the first time I had done this, haha. In case you wondered. I asked them to trust me and that I would complete the job correctly and then went about trying to learn everything as quickly as possible. Probably not ideal but I also think application is a great learning tool.
Thanks