When it comes to pavers, you can choose among different sizes, colours and shapes. Pavers may be made out of slate, concrete and stone materials. These can be installed individually or used in interlocking patterns in order to create patios, walkways and other elements in a landscape. If you are keen on using pavers in your garden, here are some of the steps you need to undertake.
Before you even buy pavers, it is a good idea to sketch a design that will allow you to create a layout. This will also make it easier for you to choose the size and type of pavers to use.
With a marking material, like stakes or spray paint, mark the areas where the pavers will be placed. Afterwards, be sure to get the measurement of the areas where the pavers will be positioned.
Prepare the area where the pavers will be placed by excavating the ground by at least 12 centimetres to account for the base material and add an additional depth that will cover half the paver's thickness. If you will create a walkway using interlocking pavers, make sure to excavate the whole area the pavers need to cover.
After excavation, add a layer of either gravel or crushed stone about 10 centimetres thick. This will serve as the base for the pavers and will prevent the pavers from sinking into the soil.
In order to hold the pavers in place and prevent the base material from shifting, make sure to install paver edge restraints that should be placed along the edges of the areas which you excavated.
After installing the paver edge restraints, the next step you need to do is to create a secondary base layer for the pavers. For this, you'll need to pour a layer of sand, about three centimetres thick, over your primary base.
Begin placing the pavers on the areas you have prepared, placing each between the edge restraints. After this, make sure to press down on the pavers to ensure that these lie flat on the secondary base.
On the other hand, if you are using an interlocking paver design, make sure to work one row at a time, from one end to the other. Make sure that you sweep sand over the pavers' surface to fill in the joints between each paver. The best type of sand to use for this purpose is fine-grained sand.
Finally, apply a sand sealant. This sealant will prevent erosion of the sand. For individual pavers, you can use sealants that are safe for stones or concrete.