Ask the Builder: Pavers Laid in Sand Are No Match for Burrowing Animals

Cute little chipmunks living around your property can be quite troublesome.
Ask the Builder: Pavers Laid in Sand Are No Match for Burrowing Animals
This chipmunk cafeteria is now closed for business. The little demons rolled 30 to 50 acorns through a labyrinth of tunnels underneath this patio to stock the cafeteria pantry. Tim Carter/Tribune Content Agency
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I installed an attractive concrete paver patio for my wife seven years ago. I knew it would fail, but I didn’t know when. She wanted the patio completed as soon as possible. This tight deadline dictated that I had to set the patio stones on sand instead of mortaring them to a steel-reinforced concrete slab.

My new flat patio soon was not so flat. The sand beneath the pavers was being transported away grain-by-grain by union members of chipmunk miners local 104. They found the sand easier to dig through than the sandy soil under my lawn. The concrete pavers provided a sturdy roof to keep their nests dry.

Tim Carter
Tim Carter
Author
Tim Carter is the founder of AsktheBuilder.com. He's an amateur radio operator and enjoys sending Morse code sitting at an actual telegrapher's desk. Carter lives in central New Hampshire with his wife, Kathy, and their dog, Willow. Subscribe to his FREE newsletter at AsktheBuilder.com. He now does livestreaming video M-F at 4 PM Eastern Time at youtube.com/askthebuilder. (C)2022 Tim Carter. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.