You can follow these instructions to Install Pavers whether you are installing brick, concrete or stone pavers. The process of installing pavers is something you should be familiar with even if you have them professionally installed.
Below is a detailed explanation of each of the 10 steps to install pavers:
1. Planning and Layout
2. Calculating Amount of Pavers Needed
3. Excavation
4. Base Material
5. Edge Restraints
6. Sand Bedding
7. Laying Pavers
8. Sand Joints
9. Sealing
10. Maintenance
1. Planning and Layout
The first step is to install pavers is plan the area to be paved. Assess whether the space is adequate for pavers. Plan and measure your project on graph paper. Create the outline of the paved area using a hose or some wood. After marking or spray painting the outline, stretch eight inches beyond it.
Make sure the area has a slope so water can run off the pavers so the pavement doesn’t pool or collect, causing damage over time.
2. Calculating Amount of Pavers Needed
Measuring the width and length of the area to be paved is the first step. Once you have the width and the length, multiply them together. As a result, you’ll have the square footage of the paved area. This figure should always be increased by 5% in order to accommodate the pavers that will be shaped to fit rough curves. You should add 10% to your estimate if you expect to cut a lot of pavers.
Your supplier can provide you with the paver coverage rate that corresponds to the area to be paved. Pavers are priced differently according to their size and shape.
3. Excavation
Determine the height that the pavers should reach and not exceed.
In order to allow water to drain, the slab should slope downwards away from the house. After every four feet, you should slant down one inch. Identify the slope decline by placing stakes around the parameter. Stakes with a string attached to indicate the height level should be followed are placed tightly on the stakes.
Calculate the total depth of excavation required. To calculate this, multiply the base (four to six inches) by the sand bedding (1 inch) plus the paver thickness. You now have the depth required to excavate. Excavate the ground to the specified depth, level it, and compact it with a compacting machine. After excavations are completed, a temporary border can be established with two x materials set at the correct height and slope.
4. Base Material to Install Pavers
The next step is to lay the base material after the excavation is complete. Typically, crushed rock is used for the base material, such as 3/4 minus gravel. Crushed rock has stones of varying sizes and sharp edges. Sharp edges and a variety of sizes make compaction easy. Compaction is much easier using crushed gravel that has been moistened.
Base materials must be laid at the required thickness depending on the materials to be used as sub-base and the weight expected to be applied to the pavement. Depending on the sub-base, a thicker layer may be needed. It will be necessary to lay a thicker layer of pavers on a driving surface than on a patio. For recommendations, speak with your supplier.
Spread the crushed gravel evenly over the area. In order to achieve best results, we recommend dividing it into three layers and compacting between each layer. Repeat several times with the plate compactor once it has been spread evenly. Level, slope, and grade your compacted gravel to match your established height.
5. Edge Restraints
A well-maintained paved area requires edging. Pavers will move if edge restraints are not installed on the edges. The harsh weather and heavy traffic, as well as the lack of edge restraints, will ruin your paved surface. Edge restraints can be made from plastic, wood, concrete precast or metal.
6. Sand Bedding
The compacted base material is covered with a layer of bedding sand before the pavers are laid. It serves as a base for the pavers. Sand bedding also protects sand joints from erosion. A PVC pipe of one inch diameter should be laid along the bass material. Spread a layer of sand about one and a half inches thick. With a 2×4, screed the sand so that the PVC piping is visible.
The PVC pipe must be carefully removed. By using this technique, an inch-thick layer of sand is ensured. Sand for bedding purposes should be selected with advice from your material supplier.
7. Laying Pavers
Lay the pavers according to the pattern and design you have planned. Place them close together. There are paver designs with space bumps incorporated into them. To cut pavers to size, use a diamond saw, masonry chisel or mechanical splitter and wear safety glasses.
Set the pavers into the sand bedding using a mechanical plate compactor.
8. Sand Joints
Sand is sifted over the surface in order to fill up the joints and lock the pavers into place. The sand should be fine-grained rather than coarse-grained. Play sand that is sifted and bagged works well, as does paver sand. Fine sand compacts much more easily and fills joints much faster. Sand and pavers must be completely dry for this step to be successful.
9. Sealing
Remove all materials and debris from the newly paved area by cleaning and sweeping first. Make sure the joint sand does not disappear by using a sand-binding sealant. The joints will also be protected from vegetation by this technique. The sealant prevents oil, grease, grime, rust, moss, algae, and tire marks from staining your pavers. Sealants make it easier to remove stains from the surfaces.
10. Maintenance
The maintenance of pavers is usually not an issue if they have been installed correctly. Throughout the lifespan of your paved surfaces, the overall function and use should be stable. Maintaining the color and appearance of pavers may require you to reseal them periodically. The sealing helps prevent stains, algae, and sand loss between pavers.
Maintaining the pavers by regularly cleaning and sweeping them is recommended. This is especially important if you have pavers in shady or damp locations, where efflorescence (chalky salt deposits) and moss can quickly build up.
As a general rule, power washing should not be performed, as it can cause joint sand to become loose. The steps # 8 and #9 should be repeated if power wash was used. You can find numerous cleaning products that can be used for a variety of situations.
At Patio Paver Pros, we install pavers everyday. For more tips and questions about services for Professional Paver Installers in Boca Raton.