3rd Street NE Old Northeast Courtyards

3rd Street NE is a short Old Northeast block between the Coffee Pot Bayou edge and the brick grid that runs toward 4th Street. Lots are narrow, oaks are old, and the courtyard is usually the only flat place to park a second car or set a table.

PaverForge Hardscapes builds and re-levels those courtyards from our St. Pete Beach shop. Call 727-490-9798 or book a walkthrough at https://www.paverforge.com/book-online.

What the lot actually does

Most 3rd Street NE courts sit between a raised house slab and a brick or concrete street that the city, not the homeowner, owns. The finished paver elevation has to meet the garage lip without a scrape and still sheet water to the street, not the crawl space.

Oak roots are the other constraint. A sand-only bed lets the first course creep toward the sidewalk after one wet season. We excavate to a depth that leaves compacted aggregate under the field, then cut a soldier course that can be lifted later if a root has to be addressed.

How we build the court

• Confirm pins before the first saw cut so the flare does not creep onto the neighbor.

• Match the existing street brick or rebuild the private apron only, not the city brick.

• Use 80mm pavers in any vehicle path and a lighter field only where cars never sit.

• Pitch away from the house and toward a legal outfall, not a neighbor side yard.

• Stage base on the court itself so the only neighbor access stays open.

When a re-level is enough

If the stones are still sound and the plastic edge has only kicked out along the oak, a re-level is cheaper than a full tear-out. If the field ponds against the stoop, the base was never built and a rebuild is the honest quote.

PaverForge Hardscapes is based in St. Pete Beach and works 3rd Street NE along with the rest of Old Northeast, Snell Isle, and the Coffee Pot grid.