If you're thinking of using pavers for a new patio,
driveway, path or other landscaping feature then you should consider laying
them yourself. It's a straightforward process and with a bit of effort even
beginners can achieve professional looking results. While laying pavers can be
quite a strenuous exercise, remember that you can spread the job over a number
of days to make it easier.
The Importance of Preparation
You need to plan your paving project carefully before you
make a start to ensure that you have all the required materials and tools
available. In addition you'll need to consider the size and shape of the area
that you plan to pave, choose a style of paving block and what kind of design
you'll use. For example, you may want to alternate colours, create shapes or
use a simple herringbone style.
Working out How Many Pavers you Need
To make sure that you buy the required amount of pavers you'll
need to perform a calculation of the area (in square meters) that you want to
pave and then calculate how many pavers will fit into that area. Depending on
the shape and borders of the area to be paved, you may need to add 5% to 10%
more pavers to ensure that there are enough available for cutting into shapes
to fit the edges of your paving area. If in doubt, ask the paver supplier what
they recommend.
Tools and Other Materials You'll Need
The space between the pavers needs to be filled with sand -
this can be done by using either joint filling sand or gap sand. As a rule of
thumb, one bag is usually enough to cover 15 to 20 square meters.
The right tools will make all the difference to the success
of your paving project. You'll need the following:
Make sure you have all the necessary tools to lay pavers:
- A screed board and screed rails measuring 40mm by 25mm by 3m
- A length of timber that measures 100mm by 75mm by 500mm
- A spirit level to ensure that your pavers are level
- A club hammer and a rubber mallet
- A string to lay as a line, a line level and pegs to hang it on
- A diamond blade brick saw for cutting the pavers
- A plate vibrator to set the pavers firmly
- A wheelbarrow
- Edge restraints to hold the edges of the paving in place (these are available in a range of types including concrete, steel, aluminum or plastic)
- A shovel, mattock, rake, broom and a wooden float
If this is only a one-off project then you may want to
consider hiring the plate vibrator, screed rails and diamond blade saw instead
of purchasing them to save some money.
Laying Your Pavers
Once you've decided what you're paving, got the pavers and
tools together you're ready to actually start laying pavers. The following
steps describe what you need to do.
1. Excavating and Preparing the Site
Dig the area you want to pave to about 180 mm depth which
allows 40 mm for the pavers, 30 to 40 mm for the sand, and 100 mm for the
compacted base material. It's a good idea to have a slope present for water
drainage, with a fall of 15 to 20 mm per meter. The level and screed board will
help you to get the right slope.
2. Installing Base Materials
The
base layer of the site should be consist of gravel aggregate and fines or road
base material. Using the screed board, make the area generally level while
ensuring that you maintain the slope. After this, wet the area with a hose and
use the plate compactor to flatten the area , passing at least two or three
times to ensure it is well compacted and hard.
If necessary, you can add a shovel or two of the base material true up
your level and fill any holes that are made during compacting.
3. Adding Sand
Placing the screed rails parallel to the base layer, use
them to provide a guide for the height of the sand layer that you pour in over
the base. Throughout this process continue to use the level to ensure that you
are maintaining the right slope, using sand to adjust the rails as needed.
With the wheelbarrow pour the sand between the rails and
position the screed board perpendicular to the screed rails to spread out the
sand out evenly over the paving area. Make sure you fill areas near the walls,
levelling them out as you move down the rails.
When the screed board is near the end of the rails then
remove the rails and fill in the space where they stood with sand. Smooth and
pat down the surface again so that the area is level throughout.
4. Laying the Pavers
You should start laying pavers from one corner and work
forward on them, placing pavers ahead of you so the sand bed is not disturbed.
You'll need to lay a course of pavers along the two far walls as a guide and
use the string line between each wall and then to the other end, to ensure that
the course is straight.
Continue to lay a few courses, and then check to make sure
they are straight. You'll need to take into account minor variations in size in
the pavers, so some adjustments may have to be made as you proceed; you can use
the trowel to shift individual pavers slightly until the line is straight.
5. Cutting Pavers
Pavers will need to be cut if they are too large at the edge
or need to fit into irregular places. To cut a paver, place it against the wall
and pull it back about 5 mm then use a felt pen to mark where the cut is
needed. Some spaces may require several cuts, so plan carefully and measure
accurately.
Mark all the pavers that will need to be cut. Lift these
pavers straight up so the sand layer remains level. Use a marker against a
straight edge to mark the cut line on the pavers and then use the diamond blade
brick saw to cut the pavers. Afterwards, place the cut pavers into their former
position.
6. Adding Edge Restraints
Once all pavers have been laid, you'll need to add edge
restraints to make sure that they do not shift at the edges. Secure the
restraints to the ground with spikes that follow the perimeter of the paved
area. One way to do this, called haunching, is to place a concrete restraint
against the exposed edge of the pavers. To do this, a wooden float is used to
push concrete up to the paver edge which then acts as a wedge that leaves room
for other material.
7. Using Joint and Gap Sand
You'll need to fill the spaces between the pavers so that
they stay in place. Do this by sweeping fine, kiln-dried, joint fill sand in
the cracks between pavers. You can also use a product called gap sand that has
silicon added to it: the silicon expands when water is added and sets in place
which gives a firmer joint than just sand and will help prevent weeds growing.
Take the bag of sand that you intend to use and spill it on
a central area of the pavers and then sweep the sand into all exposed cracks
between the pavers.
8. Compacting the Pavers
Next you'll need to compact the pavers over the entire area.
For small areas you should place a timber on the pavers and hit it firmly a few
times with the mallet to vibrate sand so that it settles. For larger areas the
plate vibrator is required. Use it on its lowest settings (or place an
insulating material such as carpet or rubber under it) to avoid cracking or
damaging pavers.
9. Cleaning Up
Once you have completed compacting, sweep off remaining sand
and hose down the area with water to settle the sand and activate the silicone
(if it was used).
10. Sealing Your Pavers
Whatever the paver type, whether concrete, stone or clay
they must be sealed once they have been laid. This helps maintain their colour
and surface finish and also prevents staining or other unwanted material build
up. While some pavers are marketed as 'pre-sealed', this is not a permanent
finish and they will still require sealing at the end of the laying process.
Sealing is quite an easy process and is much like sealing a timber floor. You
should follow the paver manufacturer's recommendations for sealing and do this
within 2-4 weeks of laying them to guarantee the best results.
If you follow the above instructions you will be well on the
way to ensuring a professional looking paving job that you can be proud of.
