Often not, if it's a simple open patio at grade — Miami-Dade generally exempts unroofed patios from a building permit. But that exemption typically doesn't cover screened patios or patios tied into a pool deck, and other municipalities within the county don't all follow the same rule. We check with the specific local building department before starting.

For most residential patios, 4 to 6 inches of compacted aggregate base is the working minimum here. If your yard has drainage issues or sits closer to the water table, we typically add an open-graded drainage layer beneath the structural base rather than just going deeper with one material.

Sand-set (also called flexible-base) pavers sit on compacted aggregate and a sand bedding layer, which lets the whole system flex slightly with ground movement — this is the standard for South Florida patios. Mortar-set pavers are glued to a rigid concrete slab underneath, which performs more like poured concrete overall and is less common for residential patios here.

Yes, and it's a common way to define zones without changing elevation — a herringbone field with a soldier-course border, or a travertine accent band around a fire pit set into a concrete paver field, for example. The base and drainage plan account for material transitions during design, not as an afterthought.

It shouldn't, if it's graded correctly — every patio we build slopes away from the foundation at a minimum of about a quarter-inch per foot. A patio that pools water at the house is almost always a sign the base wasn't graded properly before the pavers went down.

You can typically walk on it almost immediately after installation and joint sand compaction. We'd hold off on heavy furniture or a hot tub for a short settling period, and if polymeric sand was used, it needs to fully cure per the manufacturer's timeline before the first heavy rain ideally.

It's a joint sand that hardens after it's activated with water, unlike plain sand which washes out of joints during Florida's heavy rain events. It also discourages weed growth and ant tunneling in the joints. We use it as the default on nearly every project because plain sand simply doesn't hold up here long-term.

Sometimes, if the existing slab is structurally sound and properly sloped — pavers can be set on a bedding layer over it as an overlay. If the slab is cracked from soil movement or poorly sloped, we typically recommend removing it so the new base can be built correctly rather than building a nice surface on top of a bad one.