What are Pavers?

Answer:
Instead of using concrete forms to build a patio deck

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or hot asphalt to pave a driveway, some homeowners may choose to use pavers, which are pre-cast masonry or stone blocks similar to clay bricks. Pavers, however, come in a variety of shapes and colors and generally create a better finished walkway or driveway than standard clay bricks.

Many pavers are created in concrete forms, which tends to make them more uniform than standard bricks.  Hexagonal and other multi-sided shapes allow individual paver tiles to interlock with each other, and they can be modified on-site to fit curves and other paving challenges.  By using various bricklaying techniques, installers can create herringbone patterns or other intricate designs with various sized pavers and basic masonry tools. 

Pavers are generally available in a variety of colors, since the basic concrete mix can be readily stained.  Pavers can also be sealed with a waterproofing agent to protect them from the elements and allow the color to remain vibrant.

Installing pavers can be a physically demanding job, but motivated do-it-yourselfers should be able to do it with some instruction.  The first step is to excavate the area destined to become a walkway, driveway, patio or other paved outdoor section.  This excavated area should be several inches deep to accommodate a layer of sand and the pavers themselves, but it does not have to be perfectly level at this point.

The next step is to pour a layer of sand over the excavated area and spread it out evenly, using more to build up divots and less to keep high spots even.  A tamping machine should be rented from a local rental store in order to compact all of the sand into a tight and level bed ready to receive the pavers themselves.  This step can be done manually with special tamping tools, but it may prove to be very labor intensive and the results may not be completely satisfactory.

The selected pavers should then be placed in their desired final pattern over the sand bed.  The pavers won't be held together with mortar, but there should be a space between pavers which will be filled with a sand grout from above later.  The pavers may extend above the level of the ground slightly, but a few passes with the tamping machine should push them down into the sand bed. 

Once the pavers have been placed and tamped down, a layer of sharp, irregular sand (not silica sand) should be spread over the top and swept into the spaces between the pavers.  This is the step that will keep the pavers interlocked and stable, as if two pieces of sandpaper were rubbed together.

Pavers should remain fairly level and stable for years to come, and can be cleaned with a water hose without removing too much sand between individual pavers.  Pavers resist changes in temperature and other common stressors because of their "floating" design and natural flexibility.

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