Paver Patio Installation in Charlotte, NC

Excavation comes first. Topsoil and anything organic are cut out completely — material that decomposes under a patio leaves a low spot a season or two later. For a patio carrying foot traffic, roughly six inches of crushed aggregate goes down over the subgrade.
That aggregate is compacted in layers with a vibratory plate, not in a single pass. One pass over the full depth compacts the top and leaves the bottom loose, and that is where most settling starts.
A bedding layer is screeded flat over the compacted base and the pavers are set into it. The border course is set in concrete on every patio. Without a fixed edge the field spreads outward over time and the joints open up — the border is structural, not a detail. Joints are filled with polymeric sand, swept in and set with water so it binds instead of washing out in the first storm.

Two systems, chosen by how much water the surface has to handle.
Which one fits comes out of the site walk, not the material catalogue.

Most patios are built in manufactured paver, with natural stone and brick used where they suit the house. Suppliers include Techo-Bloc, Nicolock, Pavestone and Johnson Concrete Products, along with General Shale brick where a brick surface fits the property.
Pattern and format are chosen against the scale of the space — large-format units suit an open patio, smaller units and running bond suit narrow areas and curves.

Every patio is laid with a fall away from the house rather than flat. The change across the surface is slight enough not to be noticeable underfoot and still enough to move water.
Where the yard already holds water, drainage is handled before paving — regrading, a french drain, or a catch basin. A patio built over ground that stays wet moves with the ground.