Paver Laying Guide

1. Check with your council

Pavers can usually be laid around your house without council approval. However, if you’re doing a driveway or working in an area where water run-off is an issue, you may need to contact your local authority. Some of the newer residential communities have covenants covering the use of driveway materials. If so, get authorisation before proceeding.

2. Check off your equipment

1. Garden gloves
2. Wheelbarrow
3. Road base
4. Spade
5. Rubber mallet
6. Coarse sand

To lay courtyard/pathway pavers you’ll also need…

1. Fine sand
2. Ear muffs
3. Spirit level
4. String line
5. Cement
6. Wacker packer
7. Bricksaw
8. Straight edge
9. Broom
10. Small trowel

To lay a driveway you may also need…

1. Concrete
2. Steel reinforcement

3. Work out how many pavers you need

Grab a pencil, paper and tape measure. Measure the length and the width of the area to be paved. Then multiply one by the other to determine the total area in square metres. Make an appropriate allowance for irregular shaped areas or curved edges.

Each paver comes in a number of different sizes. Check the dimensions with WSC in order to work out the number required per square metre. Multiply that number by the area to be covered to determine total number of pavers required. WSC suggests adding 2% to this figure to allow for mishaps and cut pavers.

1. Clear your site

Mark out the area to be paved. Dig out the existing lawn, loose earth and buried dog bones to a depth of around 150mm below the required finished height of your pavers. Remove all plant matter including roots as any vegetation you leave in the ground will break down and cause your paving to sink in the near future. Scrape the bottom of your work area flat with your shovel.

Handy tips: Dig and shovel straight into your wheelbarrow. No point double handling.

2. Add road base

Tip in your road base and level to a depth of around 75mm. Fire up your wacker packer and compact 2 or 3 times until you have a nice firm surface. If you’re paving a driveway, you might be better off using poured concrete for your foundation. It’s more expensive but also more stable.

Handy tips: Use ear muffs when you use a wacker packer.

3. Add coarse sand

It’s best to lay your pavers on a bed of washed coarse sand. A 25mm layer on top ofyour road base (or concrete) should do the trick. Tip in the sand, rake it around, until you have an even level distribution of sand which can be obtained using a wacker packer.

Handy tips: Keep off the grass. Keep all your gear in one tidy place.

4. Screen smooth

Working from the far end, screen your sand smooth with a long straight float. Timber edge rails half a paver depth below the existing ground level might help here. Use a spirit level to make sure your compacted sand slopes away from your house and towards your lawn or garden for rainwater run off.

Handy tips: You can’t be too smooth. Make sure your sand bed is nice and flat before you lay any pavers.

5. Start paving

Set up a string line and carefully place your first row of pavers in position. Make sure your line is dead straight. Some pavers have little nibs on all four sides so they can be end-butted together. Space other paver types a few millimetres apart using the blade of a trowel to get a consistent gap.

Handy tips: Keep close to the ground (not arched over) when laying pavers to protect your back.

6. Cut corners

If you’re paving out into an area bounded by grass (or a movable garden bed edge) you might get away without needing to cut any pavers. But if you want to in-lay a pattern, do a curved edge, use interlocking pavers, or fit your paving snugly around things like down pipes, it’s time to down tools and refer to the separate section on cutting pavers.

Handy tips: Choosing the right sized paver for certain jobs can eliminate the need to get in a concrete saw.

7. Set square

With the first line of pavers laid, it’s time to head off in a different direction. Grab a big right angle square to set a course at exactly 90 degrees to the first row and off you go. As you work forward, use a rubber mallet to tap your pavers down for a nice flush surface.

Handy tips: Don’t walk on your smoothed sand.

8. Edging

Unless your pavers are being laid up against a wall they should be secured at every edge with pre-mixed concrete (add water only) or a mixture of coarse sand and cement at a 4:1 ratio. The finished edge of your paved area should be raised a little bit above any surrounding lawn.

Handy tips: For a neat job, trowel the excess cement up against the paver at a 45 degree angle.

9. Sweep in sand

This is the easy bit. With all your pavers now in position, it’s time to tip a load of fine sand on top and sweep it into all the little crevices.

Handy tips: For a fine finish, use fine stand at this stage.

10. Pack it in

Drag the whacker plate on to the paved areas and begin compacting the pavers. Once or twice will do the job. If you have returned the compacter to the hire yard, don’t panic – a piece of solid timber used in conjunction with a rubber mallet will do the job.

Handy tips: An old piece of carpet under the compacting plate will avoid chipping any pavers.

There’s only one way to do the job properly and that’s with an electric brick saw. Get one from your local hire place and you’ll get a professional looking job done in next to no time.

These beasts have sharp teeth so keep the kiddies away and follow the operating instructions very carefully. Eye protection is absolutely compulsory and so are ear muffs.

The trick to cutting blocks is to accurately draw your cut line on the paver in the first place. Simple place the paver where you want it to end up then mark your cut line with a felt pen running along a straight line or spirit level. Allow for a gap of a few millimetres between the laid pavers.

If you want to do a sweeping curve, lay the pavers in place then mark them as a group before picking up and cutting the edge pavers one at a time. Replace and grout header course in position. Easiest way is to use a garden hose with the tap on and the spray nozzle off, as the water pressure will form a more uniform curve.

For round corners, scribe an arc on the pavers with a marker pen connected by string to a central point.

Handy tips: Avoid confusion. When cutting pavers, place a X on the bit you don’t need.

How is Deco Granite laid?

Once an appropriate base is established, apply stabilised granite to the required depth (minimum 100mm) then compact with a vibrating ‘whacker’ plate. If the granite is too dry, puffs of dust will blow out from beneath the whacker. If this happens, lightly water before compacting again. Compact the granite to required levels adding more to lower areas. Established a level surface with a recommended cross fall of at least 5%. (Don’t allow water to pond on surface). Follow compaction process while lightly watering with spray nozzle until water slowly soaks into the granite. Surface broom off any excess water and cement fines. Use water spray to clean off granite surface. Leave surface for 24-48 hours to dry.

NB: Take care not to over-water the granite before laying otherwise cement will rise to the surface causing a hard cement surface layer.