Pavers, which are usually made from stone, brick or brick-like pieces of concrete are used in the construction of driveways, walkways, patios and landscape enhancements.
The main advantage of paver installation, especially brick pavers, is that they can easily be lifted and replaced individually. It allows easy maintenance to be done beneath the surface of the paving without any interference once the paving bricks are put back in place. Common types of pavers are concrete and brick pavers, each with its unique benefit.
Installing Pavers
Irrespective of the type of paver been installed (brick concrete or stone pavers), there are laid down processes which must be followed to achieve the best of paver installation.
The following steps are your guide to Paver installation;
1. Preinstallation and Planning
Understanding the amount of work to be done goes a long way in ensuring a perfect paver installation. A scaled drawing of the area to be worked on will be very insightful. A drainage plan comes in handy at this stage too.
2. Calculating Number of Pavers Needed
Measure out the length as well as the width of the area to be paved then multiply the calculated width by the calculated length. It gives your square footage of the intended area to be paved. This calculation helps with the number of paving materials required.
3. Excavation
This step helps in establishing the height of the pavers. Pavers should slope downwards giving room for water drainage, giving at least 1 inch downslope for every 4 feet. Inches required for the base, the sand bedding and paver thickness all determine the total depth of the excavation.
4. Base Material
Once excavation is done, preparing a proper base is crucial for every paving stone project. Base materials usually consist of ¾ crushed rock particles. The thickness suitable for the planned use depends on the sub-base material and the weight to be placed on the paved area. A plate compactor usually becomes useful for spreading and compacting the crushed gravel to the determined specification.
5. Edge Restraints
These restraints are essential as they ensure the pavers don’t move or gets separated. They can be made of wood, concrete or metal.
6. Sand Bedding
A layer of sand bedding is made of the compacted base material on which the pavers are set. The sand bedding also helps protect the sand joints from eroding away.
7. Laying Pavers
Pavers are laid closely to each other in the pattern of design already planned out. A plate compactor is used to help set the them into your bedding.
8. Sand Joints
It involves putting enough sand on the paved area to fill up spaces in between the pavers and lock them together. Fine-grained sand usually serves this purpose best.
9. Sealing
Sealing is done with a sand binding sealant to ensure the sand joint stays intact. The surface of the paved area is first swept clean to remove unwanted particles before this application.
10. Maintenance
Maintenance of properly laid pavers is usually not an issue especially when they are stable. Regular cleaning, sweeping and re-sealing of pavers are highly recommended to maintain its color and appearance.
For more information on paving and pavements, kindly contact Wash N Seal.