In most situations the ground or sub-base on which the pavers and their bed will be laid should need no other preparation than the removal of turf and other organic matter down to a level where a solid sub-grade exists.
Decide what level the final paved surface should reach and mark this on adjacent walls, curbs, fences, etc and/or string lines from pegs to define the final level.
Using this final level as a datum point, establish your sub-base level by filling or excavation, as necessary, bearing in mind the opening point about turf etc. Your sub-base level will be the thickness of the pavers you are using, either 40mm or 60mm in most cases, plus 30mm for the compacted bed.
The depth of the sub-base will depend upon the strength of the underlying sub-grade. A soft sub-grade will need a deeper sub-base layer than would a dense hard sub-grade. (see the following table)
| Weak | Clay & Silt |
| Medium | Silty or Clayey gravel or sand |
| Strong | Dense sand or gravel |
Having decided the nature of the sub-grade, the next step is to select the appropriate thickness of paving, and sub-base thickness. The following table gives thicknesses relative to the use of the pavement and the strength of the sub-grade.
| Pedestrian | nil | nil | nil | 40 |
| Light Vehicular | 180 | 100 | nil | 60 |
| Industrial | 300 | 200 | 100 | 90 |
The sub-base, where used, shall consist of Road Base free from organic materials, or equivalent. It is important that the sub-base be compacted to form a smooth, even and hole free surface upon which to spread the bedding.
Remember to make allowance for effective drainage at this stage. It is important that the surface of the sub-base follows the exact profile you desire in the finished paving.
To prevent sideways creeping of the pavers and erosion of the bed under them, some form of stable edging will be required on all sides of the pavement and at manholes, drains allowance. This can be provided by existing structures such as walls, steps and fencing, or by curbing concrete or a suitable footing - see table 3.
Experiment by spreading out properly graded paving sand to various depths and compacting with a paver and rubber hammer to decide the best screeded depth of the sand necessary to obtain a compacted thickness of 30mm. The sand should be damp but not wet.
Screed using a straight edge and side runners. Depending upon the size of the area being paved, either screed the whole area, or screed 3m ahead of the area being worked on. Avoid walking on the screeded surface area.
Select the pattern desired and commence laying from a curb or similar stable edge which provides suitable rear access to the screeded bed. Place the units gently but firmly on the sand with out tilting them. Do not attempt to place the units flush against their neighbours. It is important that there is a gap of approximately 3mm between pavers. If there is no gap left pavers can chip along the edges. To ensure you maintain this gap you should use paver spaces which are available from us.
Check joint lines for pattern accuracy as laying progresses. Avoid laying in a downhill direction unless absolutely necessary. If you have to lay on a slope paver spaces are essential to maintain the required gap between paving.
Where necessary for edge fitting, cut pavers using a masonry saw, Bolster chisel, or paver splitter, available from most hire centres. Filling in the cut blocks can be the last job before sanding and compacting the paved area. The paving must obviously be walked on as paving progresses, but vehicular traffic must be avoided until the paving has been compacted to its final level.
Small areas of paving may be compacted using a rubber hammer or an ordinary hammer on a short piece of 100mm*50mm timber. With the pavers compacted to level spread a fine, dry sand into the joints until they are filled. DO NOT use dry cement. For a superior finish you should use super sand, which is a stabilised paving sand specifically designed for paving joints.
Large areas of paving should be compacted using a plate vibrator which may be hired for the purpose. The plate vibrator should have a piece of carpet or plywood between it and the paving. After an initial compaction with the vibrator, spread fine dry sand as above and go over the paved area with the vibrator again until paving joints are filled. NOTE its is imperative that all joints are thoroughly filled with sand or your pavement will move.
An alternate method to sanding joints is to wash the sand into the joints but lightly spraying with a hose, But vibration is preferable.
Each days work should be compacted in the above fashion to avoid problems with overnight rain changing the sands moisture content.