How to install Paving Stones

It all starts with an ugly driveway that needs to be replaced. The driveway is removed and hauled away. A special material is used under the pavers and it is very important that it is a certified base made for this purpose only. Gravel and the base comes next. It is very important that your driveway is graded correctly with all the water flowing away from your garage then comes the compacting of the base. This is done with special equipment that will result in your driveway never sinking or shifting over time. Sand is placed on the driveway and then screeded to a depth of one inch. Pavers are placed one at a time. There is a special technique for placing pavers so that the right amount of space is left between each paver. The edge and how it is laid is extremely important. On a curve, we use a flexible guide that can be used to mark the pavers precisely so we get a perfect cut every time. We use a dry saw to cut the pavers. There is a tool known as a splitter that is sometimes used. But does not give near the quality as cutting each stone one at a time.

The key part of this system is holding everything in place. This is done by restraining the edge from moving outwardly. If the edge moves, the pavers will fail. So it is extremely important. We dig a foot in along with the perimeter and fill it with concrete and then we set each paver in that concrete footing one at a time. This is the best method for retaining paving stones. Now, the pavers are compacted into the sand, when this is done, the pavers will actually drop about a quarter to 3/8 of an inch. This is also a very important step. Now the joint sand is broomed into the joints from above and it is compacted a second time. Once this is done, the pavers interlocked by the sand. The sand between the pavers actually creates the interlock. We clean off the pavers and wash down the surface. This gives us a chance to ensure that the drainage is correct.

Now, you have a high quality paving stone driveway. Happy customers and a crew that is proud of their work.


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