Everybody loves a well paved area and having a go yourself is not that difficult – when you get the right advice. Base • The best base material is quarry rubble or crushed rock. Use about 75 mm for walkways & 125 – 150 mm for driveways. • Allow about 30 mm of bedding sand using a course sand or quartzite sand in my opinion is best. Each region or state will vary on the materials available to you, so ask around about the best materials to use in your local area. How about drainage? • There is no such thing as too much drainage. Always ensure the base, bedding sand & pavers slope away from the building & ensure stormwater is run away into a drainage sump, channel, or pit if it won’t drain away naturally. What about compaction? Compact the base & compact the sand. If you compact the paver this should be minor & always ensure there is plenty of dried sand between the compactor & the paver or a carpet liner fixed to the bottom of the compactor so the pavers do not become scuffed or damaged. How do you keep the paving level? Always use stringlines where possible. This will keep your work straight. Stand back & check your work regularly. Regularly check your levels are falling the right way. The steel strap & screed method of preparing the bedding sand is the most effective. What is the best way to lay pavers? Lay our pavers in lines, if there is a grain, lay the grain of each paver in the same direction. And cutting? Leave the cutting of the pavers to the last step of laying, so they can all be done together. Once the pavers are down, what next? Use a commercially bagged dried sand or paveset from Adelaide Brighton Cement. Either sweep it off or you can blow it off with a blower vac. Don’t overfill the joints or bevels. Always use a concrete restraint edge along the outside edge of the pavers if they do not butt up to a structure. For more great paving information, including DIY manuals and videos, head to the APC website. APC WATCH THE CLIP
