We've bought a new house. It has a gravel patio. I'd like to install pavers over the gravel. However, the gravel is more fine grained than I see recommended when creating a paver patio. Here's a picture of the location and the gravel.
The gravel is course like crushed stone. There are larger 2 inch bits mixed in with the gravel, but they are infrequent. The gravel sits on top of dirt. With the gravel being about 3 inches thick in most places. If I dig down to the dirt it is kind of mixed with the gravel and does not form a hard compacted layer.
My hope is that tamping down the gravel (I would rent a vibrating compactor) and adding a layer of sand would serve as a stable base for patio pavers. My my concern is that the size of the gravel pieces is smaller than I normally see being used. My generic question is, should I be concerned about using a fine grained gravel like this as a patio base?
My goal here is the build a solid base patio without removing all this gravel. So other suggestions are appreciated. I'm also considering using paver panels on top of the gravel or expandable paving systems to hold the gravel in place. Thanks so much!
