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How to Lay a Square Paver Path
Concrete block pavers are lighter to handle than paving slabs. They're also easy to lay, and their small size makes them an ideal material for paving garden paths. You can make good looking curving paths with minimal cutting. Some manufacturers make small square pavers that look like cobbles. You can mix these with larger paving slabs, for example, make an edge to a patio with them, or use them as bands to hold a gravel path. They're brilliant for small gardens, as their size really suits the scale - edging a curving lawn and forming circular details are easy because of their small size.
You can lay pavers in a range of different bonds or patterns. Brick type pavers can be laid in 90¡ and 45¡ herringbone, stretcher bond, stack bonded, or basket weave. Pavers that come in a range of different rectangular sizes can be laid in random stretcher bonds, fishtails, offset herringbone. Follow the manufacturers guidance when choosing and laying a pattern. This workshop show you the basics of how to lay a block paver path. The following other workshops are helpful: How to make a gravel path; How to make a paved or brick path; How to add an edge to a patio; How to set out a garden from scratch; How to lay a slab patio.
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A cleared site for your new path; line and pegs or paint to mark out the path edges; fine
hardcore - enough for a layer of 5 - 7.5 cm along the length of the path; coarse sand; concrete; block pavers of your choice; a piece of timber slightly wider than the width of your path with notches at each end to use as a screed; 2 timber pegs and a 2 m length of tiling batten; mallet or lump hammer; a spirit level; a rake; a roller; bags of fine kiln-dried sand; a soft long handled brush.
Optional: a plate vibrator and a mechanical cutter for cutting blocks (both can be hired).
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Clear the site of all vegetation. To shed rainwater, paths and patios should have a built in slope, which is imperceptible to the eye. Hammer a peg into the ground at the end of your path. Take the 2 m length of batten . Rest one end of the batten on the peg, and hammer a second peg in 2 m away from the first. To make a slope, this peg has to be lower than the first, so hammer it further into the ground. Rest the batten on top of the two pegs and measure the difference in height using the spirit level. The bubble in your spirit level should just touch the outer line in it's window. Adjust the height of the second peg if you need to. This will make the slope about right. The ideal gradient is about 1 in 60 - a fall of 1 mm for every 60 mm of distance. Water won't drain away from a smaller slope. You will be able to notice a larger slope, which is not what you want.
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Your finished path will consist of the thickness of your pavers - 50 - 60 mm, with below them 50 mm of sand to bed them in, and a 50 - 75 mm layer of hardcore, depending on conditions in your garden. Excavate your path to the right depth by removing the topsoil along its length. Dispose of it or reuse elsewhere. Lay a layer of hardcore 50 - 75 mm deep and spread evenly along. Roller this down.
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Make restraining edges to hold the pavers in place. Bed a single row of paving blocks, or kerbs to match if you are using them, along the length of the path. Bed these in a layer of 75 - 100 mm of thick concrete and leave to dry. Lay slightly damp coarse sand in a layer so that you will end up with a thickness of about 50 mm of sand after you have been over the blocks with a plate vibrator.
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Work out your pattern by dry laying the blocks - a few rows of a small section. Start at one end of the path and lay the blocks in tight rows in the pattern you have chosen. Continue until you have finished the whole length of the path. If necessary use the mechanical cutter for cutting blocks to fit. Roughly sand cut edges to smooth them and avoid having cut edges on a finishing row, for a neat appearance.
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Brush fine kiln-dried sand into the joints of the pavers. Compact your paving block path with the plate vibrator. Re-sand joints as necessary - you will need a dry day to do this part of the job.
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Try and give the path a slight gradient |
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Set the edges in concrete and the rest in sand |
Make sure your pattern will work out fine |
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