How to Build a Paver Sidewalk

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Shovel
Garden RakeRake
Sledge Hammer or 2 Pound Hammer.
Brick/Paver saw, Demo Saw, or Circular Saw with a Diamond Blade to cut pavers (available at your local rental store).
Plate Compactor or Hand Tamper to pack stone dust or sand (available at your local rental store).
Stone dust or sand for base material
2" Steel conduit or straight 2"X4" boards to build the base(2"X4" boards are cheaper if you are just doing once).
Straight 2"x4" to skreet stone dust or sand.
Pavers
Grout or stone dust to grout in the pavers.

Step 1

Building the base to your paver sidewalk is the most important part to this project. The first thing you need to do is remove the existing sidewalk or grass and top soil depending on your situation. Generally you want the top of your paver sidewalk even with the grass so you can mow over it. I recommend building the base with approximately 4" of stone dust or sand. Pavers come in varying sizes and thickness, so depending on the thickness of the pavers you choose, you will need to determine how much material needs to be removed. If you choose a paver 2 1/2" thick you will need to dig approximately 6 1/2" below the grade of your lawn to accommodate my recommended 4" of base material and your 2 1/2" thick paver. I also recommend digging it out approximately 12" wider than the sidewalk that you are planning on building so the base to lay your pavers is slightly wider than your intended sidewalk and will accommodate the your frame work to build the base.
Step 2

Framing Boards

Now that the excavating is done you are now ready to build your base. I use 2"x4" boards to build the base. You will need enough feet in the 2"x4" boards to run up both sides of the sidewalk. If the sidewalk is real long you can get by, by building your base in 12' sections. If this method is used you will need be careful to keep a consistent grade for the entire length of your sidewalk. Using the 2"x4" boards will also give you the 4" thickness of base material (stone dust or sand) that you will be using. You can make stakes to screw to the sides of the 2"x4" boards that you will be using to frame your base area. I make them out of smaller 2"x2" wood. I cut several to 8" long, sharpen 1 end, and screw 1 stake at each end of the 2"x4" boards that will be used to frame my base.
Step 3

Staked Framework

Now that your framing boards are built you are ready to stake them to build your base. When these boards are staked in the ground, the top of the board will be the bottom of the paver that you will be laying later. So when you are staking these boards up both sides of your sidewalk bed, it is helpful to have a paver handy to set on top of the 2"x4" boards to ensure the top of paver is at desired grade to driveway, lawn, steps, door threshold, and etc...
Step 4

Skreet

Now that all framework is in place for your sidewalk you are ready to fill it in with the base material. You can fill it in with stone dust or sand. Both are cheap, but I prefer stone dust because I also grout in the pavers at the end of the job with stone dust. Fill in between your 2"x4" boards slightly higher than the tops of the boards. It is best to start at one end and work your way to the other end. You will need to skreet out the extra material with a straight and untwisted 2"x4". This is done by dragging a 2"x4" across the 2 frames to get rid of the excess material.
Step 5

Plate Compactor

Once the skreeting is done you need to compact the material. First you need to slightly wet the whole surface of the area (not much water is required). Just slightly wetting the area helps compacting the material. Then you need run a plate compactor or hand tamper over the entire area (being careful not to hit the framing boards). Hitting the boards will change your grade.
Step 6

Skreet

Once compacting was done you need to do a final skreet on your base. Compacting lowered your base surface and you will need to refill your stone dust or sand to the top of the 2"x4" boards. Not much material will be needed this time, so it is best to start at one of the sidewalk and work your way to the other end. Add more material and skreet it again. Adding material gradually prevents you from needing to drag a heavy amount of material. Once the final skreet is done, make sure nobody walks on your base. If so, you will need to skreet it again. You want to make sure it is smooth, so when you lay your pavers they are all sitting flat and flush to one another.
Step 7

Soldier Course

Your base is done! Now you are ready lay your pavers. The first pavers that you lay are known as a soldier course. The soldier course is a row up both sides of the side walk and sometimes each end of the sidewalk. Depends on your preference for looks. First it is best to lay a consistent row up one entire side of the sidewalk. You will usually need to cut the last paver to fit. This way you will be able lay the other side of the sidewalk measuring all the way to ensure the side walk is a consistent width. It is easy to do on a straight sidewalk, since the pavers are square or rectangular, but if it curves you need to split the gaps. The larger the curves the larger the gaps.
Step 8

Bulk Out Center Pavers

Now that the soldier course is layed, you are ready to start bulking out the center of the sidewalk. Now you can start at one end of the sidewalk and start laying the pavers down the center of the sidewalk. Chances are the pavers will not fit perfectly depending on the size you want your sidewalk, so you will need to cut pavers to fit between the soldier course and the center pavers. Because of this, when you start bulking out the center of your side walk, start your first block directly in the center, so your cut pavers up both sides are approximately the same size. This will make a straight sidewalk look much more consistent, but will not matter with a walkway with curves.
Step 9

Pavers to cut

Once the center of the sidewalk is bulked out you will need to start cutting pavers to fill in. Little gaps in the soldier course don't need to be filled, they will be filled in the final grouting process. If the gaps are larger because of sharp turns in the walkway then you can.
Step 10

Lock In Pavers

Now that the pavers are all layed and cut in you need to lock them in place. You can now pull out your frames and pack more stone dust or sand about halfway up the thickness of your pavers. This will keep the pavers from kicking out the sides of the walk and leave you room to add more topsoil to plant grass seed up the edge of your side walk.
Step 11

Now you can do the final grouting of your sidewalk. Throw some stone dust or pavers grout on your sidewalk and sweep it in to fill the gaps. This also helps the pavers to lock in and not move around. Some people then run the plate compactor over the top of the pavers to ensure they are flush, grout again, and then hose off their new sidewalk. Good luck!