Tips to properly install a pavement
Most of the time, while you try to renovate your home, you will hear people advising you to leave it to those who know best.
However, if you can follow a guide easily, and you don’t mind getting dirt on your hands, then you can install your pavement.
The process requires that you get the right tools and materials.
So, why waste money hiring a professional to cover up that patch you always want to cover?
Why not try doing it yourself and see how simple it can be.
Below, we offer a step by step guide to the proper paver installation.
First, choose the right paver
When it comes to paving, the right material goes a long way in enhancing your curb appeal, and most importantly, saving you the routine reconstruction of your pavement.
You want a material that can withstand not only the harsh weather but also the constant traffic in your home.
For the materials you will be choosing from, you can go for either clay, which comes in a multitude of colors, shapes, and textures, or concrete.
Also, you can choose the flagstone pavers, which you shape to the desired shape.
These, you can use for your garden, the patio, or even your pool decks.
For clay, you can use them for driveways, sidewalks, and pool surroundings.
However, they tend to be fragile and will chip off eventually, meaning more maintenance.
Finally, if you want a long-lasting, versatile, and wide application pavers, concrete is your go-to choice.
Alongside their easy maintenance, they last long and can withstand a lot of force and harsh weather conditions.
Next, you need to prepare the ground
One important step that you cannot avoid when preparing for a paving project is ground preparation.
Depending on the type of material you will be using, you will prepare the ground differently.
For instance, when you are laying clay pavers, the depth of the ground will be different from when you are installing a gravel pavement.
Improper ground preparation will result in potholes and ruts, as well as some loose bricks or sagging pavement.
For the preparation, you will need to dig up the area, remove any plants materials loosely.
Then, compact the area to prevent the pavement from sinking with time.
An important point to note is that when you are preparing the ground, make an inclination that allows water to flow away from your house.
Lay the base material, then the paving
Different pavers require different base materials.
For instance, for brick tiles, you only need a sand base for placing the pavers.
On the other hand, flagstones will require a cement bed about 10cm thick.
When laying your base, make sure that the ground is compact to prevent the pavers from sinking.
However, note that it is not the base material that you need to compact.
For some materials, you will need to use a geotextile to stabilize the sub-base.
When laying the paving material, you can choose whatever pattern you want on your pavement.
Make sure to place the pavers as close to each other as possible for a stable and firm finish.
Be keen to maintain a neat appearance as you install.
For this, you can use a screwdriver to measure the distance between the tiles.
Finish the process off by grouting
Grouting is the process of locking in the pavers in place.
For most materials, you will use dry grout, which involves a mixture of cement and sand.
Pour out the mixture on the joints to fill them up.
If you are installing a commercial pavement or a parking lot, you go the extra step of painting and marking the lot for more comfortable use.
Finally, you can apply a seal coating to protect your pavement from the adverse effects of the drastic weather changes in your area.
Clearly, laying down the pavement for your home is not a challenging task.
This said, if you want to prolong the life of your pavement, it is wise to follow up with routine maintenance every once in a year.
Pull out any weeds growing on the pavement, fix any cracks, seal the pavement, and repaint it if necessary.
If there are any broken tiles, you can replace them before pothole forms and damages the wheels of your car.
