How to Install Patio Pavers

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An excellent option for adding outdoor living space and safe walkways around your yard is to install patio pavers and stones. Patio pavers provide a great contrast to the green of your lawn and shrubs, and create safe surfaces for walking as well as outdoor furniture and grills!

Before you install patio pavers, it’s vital that you understand a few basic steps needed in this process. Following these simple tips ensures that your new patio paver installation is level and even and lasts for many years to come!

Materials Needed to Install Patio Pavers

In addition to the pavers themselves, you’ll need the following for your project:

• Gravel for your paver base, enough to create a base about six inches deep
• Sand, for a one-inch layer of covering over the gravel base
• Paver sand to fill in the joints between the pavers
• Studs to create even borders for setting the paver stones
• Marking chalk or string to mark the borders for your stones

When buying materials, ensure you get more than you assume you’ll need for your project as it’s always best to keep added materials on hand for future repairs and needed paver replacement.

How to Install Patio Pavers

First mark the perimeter of your patio or walkway with chalk or string. Remember to start from your home and work outward, sloping about one inch for every 8 feet, to ensure proper water runoff and drainage.

Clear grass and soil from the area. Remember that you’ll be adding about six inches of gravel and an inch of sand underneath the paver stones, so ensure you clear enough soil for the pavers to install level and even with the rest of the property’s soil.

Spread the paver base; start with just a few inches of gravel and tamp it down until it’s firm, then add another few inches and repeat. Once the entire base is installed and tamped, lightly moisten it so it becomes even more solid.

Add your paver sand and tamp it over the gravel base. Be sure to avoid stepping on the sand as you work, or you’ll need to re-level those areas! Fill in any sunken areas as you go.

Place the stones on the sand, starting from the center and working your way outward. When you reach the edges of your new patio or walkway, cut the stones to fit those edges. Add edging stones around the borders and fill the areas between stones with your paver sand.

Add one last layer of paver sand over your new pavers and then broom the entire area. You now have a gorgeous new patio or walkway you’ll no doubt love for many years to come!