Q: I’m interested in installing a water harvesting system in my yard. I’m going to have two 1,000-gallon tanks to hold water that I harvest off the roof of my house. But I’m trying to decide whether to place those tanks on top of a bed of pavers or a concrete pad. Would sand-set, interlocking concrete pavers be sufficiently strong to hold that weight? Or do I need something more substantial under the tanks.
A: Pavers should work just fine; after all they actually use them on the taxiways at large airports. You’ll need to do about 6 inches of excavation, of course, and then put down a two-inch layer of crushed rock on undisturbed soil to provide part of the foundation for the pavers (it’s called the ABC layer for aggregate base course) and then sand on top of that. But you don’t need to put down concrete at all. Talk to a paver manufacturer about the product you are going to use as well getting tips on construction. To have it done right, consider hiring a licensed paver installer. The advantage of pavers, of course, is that if some crack or break, you can replace them without redoing the entire paved area.
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For more do-it-yourself tips, go to rosieonthehouse.com. An Arizona home building and remodeling industry expert for 25 years, Rosie Romero is the host of the syndicated Saturday morning Rosie on the House radio program, heard locally from 8-11 a.m. on KNST-AM (790) in Tucson and KGVY-AM (1080) and -FM (100.7) in Green Valley. Call 888-767-4348.
