Laying Pavers Made Easy

Have you ever looked at your neighbor’s beautifully paved patio in a mixture of awe and resentment? Admit it! You’ve dismissed pavers as ‘impractical and totally unnecessary’ but secretly wished that you had enough money to hire that professional paving contractor whose ads you always see on TV. Well, don’t fret. Everyone has those moments. We’ve all felt like that at least once in our lives. The good news is, now we can do something about it.

Technology’s Help

Gone are the days of being totally dependent. With the advent of our ‘window to the world,’ a.k.a., the internet, we now have access to the secrets of the professional paving contractors. Of course, you could have just bought a book from your local bookstore, but hey, the internet’s a lot cheaper!

Paving 101

Here’s a short step by step process about laying pavers:

• Plan your layout – You can’t just grab a pile of bricks and start laying them down on your lawn randomly. No, you have to plan the whole thing before you start. You have to think about where your path will start and where it will end and how it will look like. You will have to keep this plan in mind as you work.
• Excavate the area – After that you have to excavate the area where you will have your walkway. It should be about 7-11 inches deep. Make sure that you give an allowance of about 12 inches on both sides.
• Lay down the gravel – After excavating the area, lay out the processed gravel or the crushed stone to form the base of your walkway. The base should be 3-1/2 inches from the edge of your excavated pit. Don’t forget to put a slope in to allow for water drainage.
• Secure the area – Secure the area by surrounding it with plastic, aluminum, or steel edge restraints. You can keep this in place by driving 12-inch spikes at intervals around the perimeter.
• Pour sand – Next, you have to pour sand in between the cracks and crevices of the foundation you just laid down. Pour the sand until the sand covers most of the base and smooth with a board.
• Lay the pavers – Finally, lay the pavers down on your walkway.
• Bring in the special equipments – After all of that, secure the pavers by using a plate compactors. Sweep all the sand into the cracks again and compact.
• Use a sealer – This is actually optional, but this will be good for your pavement. It will help you maintain your walkway in good shape.