propatio.com -material calculator
Written by Michael Phelps of Decorative Landscapes - St. Paul MN 55106
This guide started out "What our quotes include and the kind of job to expect". Convert to a brochure and installation guide, again for customers as a sales tool. propatio.com's material calculator is another tool I wrote and use to quote my jobs. It gives quick and accurate results saving time and errors.
Pavers provide a long lasting and durable surface. Proper base installation is key.
This guide explains step by step how to plan and build a pavers surface for a professional result.
A garage, house, and walkway boundaries define sizes of some jobs. Other jobs can grow or shrink with budget and planning.
Excavation and material supply require access proportionate to the job size. Access can affect the price and labor.
Most of the pavers we install are Borgert Cobble Series pavers. The advantage in choosing another brand usually results with color selection. Anchor Princeton pavers are available in a different range of earthtones from Borgert. Anchor Princeton has rounded corners such that they may not be desirable for some jobs. We laminate pavers onto existing steps, or use pavers over retaining wall block steps. Borgert's tight fitting corners give better results, in opinion. The rounded corner issue is most noticed when sanding the pavers joints. Be aware and take into consideration the different pavers shapes. Most pavers are 2-3/8" thick. But, come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
Run your dimensions through a calculator and see if you can manage a job like this. A 10x10 feet patio requires at least 2.2 cubic yards fill be excavated and hauled out of the area.
Examine the patio area. You will be excavating approximately 7 inches in depth. Excavated fill needs be hauled out of the area. The propatio.com calculator will list how many cubic yards fill need be removed as well as material amounts required.
If the pavers will adjoin existing buildings or other paved surfaces, these edges need be made straight. Many times downspouts and gutters are in the work area. Solutions to these areas are posted under Excavating The Patio Area.
Most paver's manufaturer websites provide detailed information for their paver's selection. You will probably be mixing sizes and need to know how many of each size.
Visit suppliers for pavers samples. Most retail outlets that carry pavers will have some installed. For color examining, look at the palettes. Color blends can vary with batch.
Most landscape websites feature portfolios for pavers jobs!
How deep to excavate?
Most patio and driveway grade pavers are 2-3/8" thick.
Excavate 4 inches for base (don't skimp here!)
3/4" or 1" sand bed, pavers will compact down into sand about 1/4"
"Base Material" is crushed rock, usually crushed limestone or keystone. The fines in the material bind with the aggregates to for base material. "Recycled", is a mix of crushed concrete with dirt. Most "Recycled" dose not qualify as quality base material.
Base material provides a layer between the pavers and earth. An adequate base layer keeps pavers from sinking into the mud. Do not cut corners with the base material or base thickness.
Base material should be 3/4 inch minus or 1 inch minus keystone road base material. Make sure to use a base product, not gravel or recycled.
Base material will be leveled with a 2x4 and pitched before compaction. Take time to get the base material as flat as possible with a pitch for drainage. It will be more difficult to grade the base material after compaction.
The pitch for drainage should be at least 1 inch for each 6 to 8 feet.
Use a plate compacter to compact the base material. Begin compacting from the middle and work your way out. After each pass with the compacter use a string to check for flatness and grade accordingly. You may have to add base material in low spots, or shave material off high spots. The base needs to be made as perfect as possible. The pavers will settle in to the surface shape of the base and reflect any dips or humps. Dragging a straight 2x4 over the base is a simple way to get it flat. Compact over the entire base area several times. Keep leveling with the 2x4 as needed. A string and line level will let you check your pitch easily and accurately.
Set pavers on the base to check height with respect to finished grade. If you use 3/4" pipe for the sand base, add 1/2". Pavers will compact about 1/4". Here is an area where experience helps.
Compacting the base after each re-grade.
3/4 inch or 1 inch diameter schedule 40 PVC pipe can be used as guides to get the leveling sand graded out. You can also use steel pipe. It is easier to cut PVC pipe and many times having both 10 feet long and 5 feet long pipe will make the job easier.
Lay 2-10 feet long PVC pipes down on the base in a corner of the patio area. This will be the starting point for pavers. The pipe should butt up to any structure. Sand will be shoveled on top of the pipe first to anchor it down. Then fill in enough sand to grade 3 to 4 feet. Grade sand by dragging a 2x4 over the pipes. Sand should be flat to the top of the pipes. Pipes 6 feet apart and an 8 feet long 2x4 work well. You need to be able to reach across the leveled sand to set pavers. You will work your way along in 2 to 3 feet segments to get started. Larger areas of sand can be graded after enough pavers are laid. When the pavers's area is large enough to kneel on, you can work from the pavers's surface.
When the area between the pipes is filled with pavers, more pipe can go down to widen the area. Pipe slides along the base to work in that direction.
Lay pipe down flat onto the base material. Pipe should be placed about 6 feet apart. Shovel sand onto the pipe to hold it down flat. Then shovel in enough sand to for a ridge between the pipes. Use a 2x4 across the top of the pipes such that the sand is leveled to the height of the pipe. Keep the sand in a small area say 4 feet by 8 feet.
Slide the pipes in the direction of the patio where sand is not yet installed. You will leave a foot or so of pipe in the leveled sand. Fill in the depression with sand. Sometimes the sand doesn't collapse when the pipe is pulled out. Make certain to get sand in the areas where pipe has been removed. Use a short 2x4 or better yet a level to lightly flatten out the sand where the pipe was.
You will begin laying pavers on top of the leveled sand working your way out from the beginning area. As the pavers cover the leveled sand you will add more pipes and create more leveled sand area to install pavers. The pipes that were moved outward will be covered with sand and the sand leveled in the same way. The idea is to work your way from one side to the other in this manner.
You are simply starting with a small area of leveled sand, sliding the pipe part way out of the leveled sand, laying pavers on the leveled sand, when the pavers get near where pipe is under sand, it's time to install and level more sand, slide the pipes, install pavers etc. repeating the process working your way across the patio area. Besides sliding pipes along the base surface, if your patio is wide you will be adding new pipes to the width as your work area grows.
Just set pavers flat on top of the sand. You don't need to tamp them in. If you have a corner are near the house or similar, this is where you should be starting. You want to get both directions going taking care to keep the pavers rows square. Once enough pavers are installed it is ok to kneel on the pavers and work from them. This helps keep your sand area level and flat.
Occasionally you will need to level sand with a straight edge as you go along. A 24-inch to 36-inch level works good here. Take care, as generally the pipes will no longer be under the surface of their areas.
Take care not to set pavers over pipe along the edges of the leveled sand. Take your time; continue sliding the pipe away from the pavers after installing and leveling sand. Remember to fill in the depression areas where pipe was removed, and level with the straight edge. Continue laying pavers.
From time to time a 2x4 may be used to held keep the pavers rows straight. Remember to keep rows square with any corners created by adjacent walks, or house.
Curves require cuts. If a border is installed, trim the last row of main pavers if needed, leave the border pavers whole.
Where pavers meet building foundations, walks etc. edging may not be needed. Place whole pavers until no whole pavers will fit sticking with any pattern you have established for the patio. Pavers will need to be cut to fit open areas along the edge. A brick/pavers saw can be rented from most rental stores. The saw will be electric, 120v ac, and make precise cuts simple. For small amounts of trimming you can elect to split the pavers. Splitters are available. Splitting is mentioned but not the recommended way to cut pavers.
If a border design is installed around your edges, you can lay the border and trimming will occur where the overall pattern meets the border pattern. Most borders will look best in whole pavers. Where buildings or walks etc. do not border pavers, a pavers edge will be installed. It is preferable to finish the patio area with whole pavers where possible before installing the border edge. This way you can finish straight edges with whole pavers rather than cutting. Curves will require the plastic pavers edge. Setting all possible whole pavers that will fit in the curve outline for your patio easily does curves. It is easier to adjust a curve outline occasionally to fit whole pavers avoiding a cut. The flexible plastic pavers edge can then be placed up against the edges of the pavers. This type of edging is nailed down with 10-inch spikes. The areas left will be filled with cut pavers.
After all edges have been trimmed with cut pavers, broom in 1 to 2 shovels of sand per 100 square feet. The same course sand used as leveling sand can be used. You don't have to sweep all the sand into the joins. The idea here is to get some sand in the joints but not fill them.
With loose sand evenly left on tops of the pavers, run a light duty plate compacter over the pavers. The sand will vibrate into the joints. Throw more sand onto the patio, broom most of it in and plate compact again. We will repeat this process as many times as it takes to get the joints full of sand. Sweep excess sand off.
The easiest joint stabilizer to install is also a sealer. Surebond is a brand name that sprays on using an inexpensive hand sprayer. Joint stabilizer will lock the sand in the joints such that sand does not wash out with normal use and rain. Joint stabilizer may need extra applications to keep ants from mounding. The sealer helps enhance pavers color.
You will need a variety of hand tools and power tools. All are availabe at rental yards.