Laying The Pavers

So now that the Base is completed and I have moved all of the pavers into the back yard, the fun part starts. This next phase will be screeding in the sand base and laying the pavers.

As when I laid the DG base into place, I used a technique called 'Screeding'. The height of the paver is 2 3/8" and my base is 3" below the finish height. I used the same 3/4 inch PVC pipe to screed in the sand because the diameter is 1 1/8" wide. This will leave 1 7/8" left if this were a perfect world. The sand will level off from the pipe but actually will be about an 1/8" lower than the diameter of the pipe. What I am trying to achieve is that when the stone is placed on top of the sand it will be up to a 1/4" taller than finish height. This is because I will be using a rubber mallet to 'tamper' it into place. So using the same technique, completely screed the sand into place covering the are you will likely finish in a day. I did have some volunteers for this part of the project and I couldn't say no after enduring all the time in the heat the past couple of weekends. This Saturday was a perfect day to do this as it was only going to be a high of 90 degrees! Very Rare for June.

So now that the sand is in place, it's time to lay the pavers! I quick suggestion would be to lay a pattern of the stone off to the side of you project so that you may reference it while setting the pavers. Also take note of how the pavers pattern may effect any planters you may be installing as I am in the project. So Lets get started!

Start laying the pavers at one point along the existing patio. It is important to do this to keep from getting gaps in the pattern. I worked along the patio and then out from the center to keep consistent lines as you can see in the pictures. While setting the stones, tap the down into the sand bed with a rubber mallet and using a level to keep the stones on the same plane falling away from the existing patio. I used my string line to guide me in height from the center of the patio. Keep in mind to follow the pattern and if you think you may have screwed up the pattern, step back verify where the mistake was and then work back to that point and start over. This pattern seemed confusing at first but then became very easy as more of the stone was laid.

So as you can see from the photos and as in my last post, I ran out of the larger 6x9 paver. So this week I am ordering 2 pallets of the 6x9 pavers to move forward more in the project. We did knock out the bulk of the patio, but there is still more to do. Since I have a rounded edge and an abundant supply of the smaller 6x6 stone, I am going to use them to border the patio. It will give it more of a defined edge than the larger stone I planed on using.

Even though I would like to have more done at this point, I am very happy with the patio as it is evolving from nothing but and idea. More work to come each evening of this week. The best time of day to get work done without killing myself is from 6 to 8. My morale is higher now that I can see the patio taken shape.