TO FIND OUT MORE 01386 848 650 HOME GARDEN DRIVEWAY MAINTENANCE INSPIRATION INSTALLATION (CURRENT) INFORMATION CONTACT PAVING INSTALLATION PLANNING Forward planning will undoubtedly save you time later on in the project. Having chosen your Pavestone product we suggest you take a piece of paper and mark the outline of the area to be paved. Try to design your project to incorporate sizes of paving that will eliminate the need for too much cutting. This plan will be a useful guide both when ordering and laying. When constructing, remember that when building a patio or path close to a house it is important that the finished paving level is at least two brick courses (150mm) below the damp course. Always provide a ‘fall’ to drain water away from buildings (a gradient of 1:60 is usually sufficient). Some of the tools you will need in undertaking a project : Rake, shovel, tape measure, bricklayers trowel, tamper, spirit level, wheelbarrow, string lines, soft brush, timber straight edge, mixing board, mallet or hammer and a bucket. SITE PREPARATION Dig out the substrate / soil to a minimum depth of 150mm, with verticle side walls. Fill the excavated area with a stabilising layer (approx 120mm) of well compacted hardcore (often called MOT, scalping, crushed hardcore) and level. Few areas will be level enough for immediate paving and so a 10mm layer of sharp sand (concreting sand) will act as a 'blinding layer', correcting low spots to make a level base for the paving. FOUNDATIONS Examples below are a guide line only and depending on ground conditions, intended usage and the type of paving to be laid may be subject to alterations: Domestic Patio: Full mortar bed, 10mm compacted sand on 120mm compacted hardcore base. Car driveways: Block Paving is recommended rather than paving stone. However if Paving flags are to be used, then this should only be undertaken with a 100mm wet concrete bed on a suitably compacted hardcore base. BLOCK PAVING 1) Vibrating plate compactor 2) Screeded using screeding rails. 3) laid on the bedding course 4) Specialist cropper 5) Vibrating plate compactor 6) Sanding the joints CONSTRUCTION OF THE BEDDING COURSE This work should never be undertaken in wet weather. Bedding sand is spread over the area in a loose non-compacted layer, slightly in excess of the finished depth. (1) A vibrating plate compactor is used to compress this layer which is then screeded using screeding rails (2), to the required level. The area of bedding course to be maintained in advance of the placement of pavers, is normally up to 40 metres square. Only prepare the bedding course area which you will lay in one day and protection of an unlaid area is essential, when left overnight or before the onset of inclement weather. The bedding sand is now ready to start laying the pavers. Once prepared, the compacted bedding course should not be disturbed. LAYING THE PAVERS Stack unused pavers approximately 1 metre back from the advancing face. Check pattern regularly with string lines. Do not impose undue loads on to un-compacted pavers. Do not stand too close to “edge” of paver line. Set pavers about 10mm proud of edge restraints which on compaction will leave approximately a 5mm chamfer proud of the surface. CUTTING Pavers to be cut should be handled carefully and cut using a specialist cropper (4) which can be hired, or a diamond saw. Care should be taken to wear recommended protective equipment. JOINT FILLING AND COMPACTION Always use kiln dried paver sand to finish off the job. The sand is spread over the surface and then brushed into the joints. Surplus sand is removed and the vibrating plate compactor (with rubber mat installed) is then passed over the pavers two or three times (5). If an unfinished area is being compacted, the compactor must only go to within one metre of all unrestrained edges. The pavers are normally compacted to the required level after two or three passes. After this the whole sequence is repeated until all joints are full. (6) All surplus sand is now removed and the area is ready for use. CRITICAL POINTS TO REMEMBER The end result is only as good as the sub-base, so only use M.O.T. Type 1 or approved Granular Sub Base (GSB). Sub-base levels must be formed to required final profile. Use restraints to achieve this. Use Zone 2 concreting sand for the bedding course. Compact to correct levels. Construct a trial area in advance. Start from a straight edge. Always use and frequently check string lines. Place pavers maintaining 2-5mm joint. Use kiln dried paver sand for joints. Take care when cutting. Do not over load until compaction of interlocking sand has been completed. NATURAL STONE LAYING PAVING FLAGS Remember to select paving from different packs as you go along. This enables colour blending and will help to alleviate any shade variations that may occur between packs, giving your design a “Natural” look. Pavestone strongly recommends the application of Priming Slurry (opens in new window) to the underside of natural stone paving prior to its laying. This will reduce the possibility of surface (reflective) staining, on the flag face, caused by the drawing up of salts in the moisture from the cement mix, through the flag, to the paving surface. Depending on your ground type (see Site Preparation and Foundation section above) use a mixing board to make up a slightly wet mortar bedding mix of 1 part cement to 5 parts of sharp sand. Peg out several string lines so as to establish the desired level of the patio incorporating a slight fall for water run off for drainage. Start flag laying from a corner or straight edge. Pavestone recommends that each paving flag is individually laid on a full mortar bed and that the 5 spot method is not adopted (See below). The full mortar bed method enables any variation in thickness of individual slab to be taken up. A full mortar bed to cover the base of the flag is placed over the sub base, the flag laid chamfered edge down if it has one and tamped level to follow the string line with a rubber mallet. Double check alignment with a spirit level and once happy, move on to laying the next flag and repeating the process Continuous checking of levels and falls should be on-going during the laying process and should be taken across the top surface profile of a number of slabs. Before proceeding too far, it is important to even out the slab spacing. Gently shuffle the slab with a twist of the trowel until the joints look even. CUTTING Because Pavestone products come in a variety of shapes and sizes cutting can be minimised. If your project involves a lot of cutting we advise the hire of a powered cutting tool incorporating a diamond tipped blade (advise the hire shop of what you are intending to cut, and ensure that a suitable diamond tipped blade is selected). Its use will ensure accurate clean cuts are achieved but please use with care and also make sure that your hire shop issues you with full instructions and relevant safety equipment including goggles. POINTING You can use small pieces of wood as 10-15mm thick spacers to help get each slab equally distant from the others but remove them straight after laying. Do not walk on the paving for at least 24 hours. The joints should then be pointed as soon as possible but not if rain or snow are forecast. We recommend that paving is laid to allow for a minimum 10-15mm joint. Joints should be pointed using a wet (but not sloppy) cement mortar mix to produce a more permanent waterproof finish. A 'brush in' jointing compound such as Pointfix (opens in new window) can used as a speedy alternative to wet mix jointing if preferred. Do not leave un-pointed for more than a few days. You must not brush wet mix mortar across the surfaces of paving slabs as cement residue left on the slab will result in unsightly staining and will often mean a complete renewal of products. Care should be taken not to use pointing mortar mix that is too wet and any mortar spillage should be immediately removed with a clean damp cloth or sponge. All joints should be jointed using a special jointing tool (available from builder’s merchants) or with a suitably rounded piece of wood, to a depth some 5mm below the adjoining paving surfaces. SIZES & JOINT WIDTHS All dimensions quoted are nominal and are for guidance only. Actual sizes will vary Pavestone highly recommends dry laying natural stone paving prior to commencing full installation of the project to satisfy that planned paved areas and features such as circles meet with the installers satisfaction. The nominal paving sizes and quoted usually allow a nominal 10-15 mm joint width. When laying random paving and circles with their fettled edges joint widths may, depending on the paving type and laying pattern chosen, vary from this dimension. THE '5 SPOT' LAYING METHOD - NOT RECOMMENDED BY PAVESTONE The '5 spot' mortar method of laying paving is not endorsed by Pavestone or recommended by professional landscapers and can cause significant problems once the job has been completed. Voids can fill with water and can create subsidence or instability in the finished patio. The resident water pools under the paving can cause staining in the face of more porous paving such as Fossil Sandstone. Voids are created beneath the flags which can cause them to fracture when loaded through lack of support. The voids can become infested by insects or burrowing animals which can again create subsidence or instability in the finished patio. The mortar spots are more likely to promote flags to rock when traversed. Staining Caused by mortar spots sitting in water voids. Voids through bedding using 'Spotting Mortar' method. 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