TL;DR
An open-graded base is a foundation layer of uniformly sized, angular crushed stone with the fines screened out, leaving voids that drain water freely instead of holding it. Permeable paver systems depend on it as their storage reservoir, and a growing school of patio installers prefers it under conventional pavers because it will not pump or heave with freeze-thaw.
What it means
An open-graded base is a foundation layer of uniformly sized, angular crushed stone with the fines screened out, leaving voids that drain water freely instead of holding it. Permeable paver systems depend on it as their storage reservoir, and a growing school of patio installers prefers it under conventional pavers because it will not pump or heave with freeze-thaw. Typical builds use clean 3/4-inch stone capped with a finer clean chip layer in place of sand bedding.
Where it sits in the glossary
Open-graded base is part of the Trade jargon group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
ProFix tools that touch this term
See also
License: CC-BY-4.0 — quote freely with attribution to ProFix Editorial Team / ProFix Directory.