Start laying the pavers along the longest straight side. Luckily, laying pavers is easy compared to all the work you've just done. Begin laying pavers at a 90-degree corner, preferably one that abuts the house or another structure, and continue extending the pavers along the longest straight side. Be sure to pull from several pallets of product in order to have a good blend of the colors. Pavers are made from natural materials that can cause slight changes to the appearance of the colored pavers. Working from several pallets will help to blend these slight differences into the surface. Work out from there, keeping your pavers in straight lines. Lay pavers by placing them straight down in the sand --do not slide them along the ground or kick them into place and disturb the sand. Slide each paver straight down the edge of the adjacent paver. Don't worry about gaps: you generally want to leave a 1/16" to 1/8" gap between pavers. Periodically check to make sure the pavers are flat, using a string to check each row for straightness.
- Do not walk on your prepared sand. Stand on the pavers you have already installed and work your way out. Don't get too close to the edge of the pavers you've installed, or you might disturb the sand in front of them.
Cut pavers as needed. You'll almost invariably need to cut some pavers to fit the edges. Don't try to curve your pavers to fit the edging. Instead, lay all the whole pavers you can in each row and then go back and cut pavers to the correct sizes to fit the edge. Use a masonry saw or a guillotine-style splitter to make good, clean cuts. If you gave yourself plenty of pavers to work with in the beginning, you should have more than enough materials to accommodate even a few mistakes!
Once the pavers are all placed according to pattern, use a plate compactor to tamp the pavers into the sand. Once all the pavers are installed, run the plate compactor over them at least three times to ensure they are snugly pressed into the sand.
- Be sure to use a protective covering over your plate compactor when you compress the pavers in order to avoid scuffing.
Seal your pavers. For added durability and lower maintenance, seal the pavers with an appropriate sealing product. Look for a non-toxic (vegetative safe) paver sealer, and don't forget to clean the pavers beforehand.
Seal your pavers. For added durability and lower maintenance, seal the pavers with an appropriate sealing product. Look for a non-toxic (vegetative safe) paver sealer, and don't forget to clean the pavers beforehand.
Sweep sand into the joints. Fill the joints between pavers with coarse sand like you used earlier, or use slightly finer sand. Pour it onto the pavers and sweep it into the cracks until they are completely filled. This sand "locks" the pavers in place. Make sure the sand is dry.
We have everything you need to complete this project here at Silt Tool Rental, including the pavers! Give us a call today! 970-876-5933
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