Question
I would like to build a 18 foot by 18 foot paver patio adjacent to the rear of
my home in Stone Mountain, Georgia.  My wife and I are doing all of the work
for this patio and have already decided that we want to make our own pavers
using bagged concrete.  The largest pavers will be 2 feet by 2 feet and 2
inches thick.

This patio will hold one of the smaller above ground pools (14 foot diameter)
during the summer season and a decorative fire pit table during the winter
season.

Since we are excavating this by hand using a tiller and then shovel we would
like to do as little as possible while managing three constraints.  1.  drainage
away from the home.  2.  the last 14 feet of the patio must be as level as
possible for the pool.  3.  minimizing cost of crushed rock and sand.

For 1 and 2, we've started slope away from the house that is 1 inch over 3
feet for the first 3 feet away, 1 inch over seven feet for the next 7 feet away,
and level slope for the last 8 feet.

Here are our questions:
1.  Do we absolutely have to use a bed of crushed gravel and then sand.  Our
back yard is georgia clay.  What is the minimum amount of this we can get
away with?  (to minimize cost)  Can we just put the large pavers directly on
the clay?
2.  Does our slope sound sufficient?  Should we slope more?  If we used
crushed rock and sand, can we slope the georgia clay underneath yet leave a
level patio on top?

Answer
1. You can do with no gravel but it could become a muddy mess that moves under the weight of pool if soil get saturated. I would put a min of 2-3" of compacted granite dust or crush and run (crusher run).
Yes you could put pavers, if they are over and inch think, directly on clay, but it will be difficult to level and they will probably sink a little when it rains.
2. You should slope a patio at 1/8 to 1/4" per foot. or 1" for every 4 feet. You could make the patio completely level, but if it rains you may get some standing water for a day or two.

Good Luck

Sean Murphy