How to Create a Concrete Paver Driveway
You can build a concrete paver driveway that complements your home's exterior. With all the many colors and shapes of pavers on the market today, the design options are endless. If you have basic do-it-yourself skills and a strong back, you can install concrete pavers to create a driveway. The job goes quicker if you have someone to help you. As you choose your pavers, remember they must be thick enough to support the weight of automobiles. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- String
- Stakes
- Shovel
- Landscape fabric
- Plate compactor
- Edge protectors
- Coarse sand
- PVC pipe
- 2-by-4 wood piece
- Masonry saw
- Guillotine cutter
- Medium sand
- Push broom
- Concrete sealer
Instructions
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1
Stake out where you plan to install concrete pavers. Install a string line to serve as your guide for the top of the driveway. Put a string line along each side of the driveway. Plan for slope as you set up your string line. Allow at least 1-inch drop for every 4 feet of slope.
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2
Dig out the grass and other materials that fill the area where you plan to install concrete pavers. Go deep enough to allow for the pavers' base. Figure the depth of the pavers plus at least 2 inches of sand plus 8 inches of gravel to know how deep you need to dig.
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3
Compact the bare soil with a plate compactor. If you want to prevent weeds from growing up through the base and pavers in your driveway, lay landscape fabric on the ground. Next put down a 4-inch layer of crushed rocks. Compact them. Put another 4 inches of rock on top of the first rock layer and run the compactor over them.
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Set the edge protectors in place by following the string line you established. Secure them with 12-inch spikes. Recheck the slope you established with the string line to make sure it's still correct. If it's not, rearrange the rock base as necessary.
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5
Lay a 2-inch layer of sand. Use a long piece of PVC pipe or a 2-by-4 as a screed to level the sand.
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Place the first paver on the bed of sand. Butt it against the edge protector. Set the second one in place as close as possible to the first paver. Following whatever pattern you want to use, continue to set all the pavers. If you have to cut pavers to fit, use a masonry saw or a guillotine cutter.
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7
Run the compactor over the concrete paver driveway to set the pavers in the sand horizontally. Pour dry, medium sand over the driveway. Use a push broom to work the sand into the cracks. This binds the pavers in place vertically. You may have to repeat this process two or three times as the sand settles.
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Add a protective concrete sealer to the driveway if you wish. This keeps oil stains and tire marks from damaging the pavers.
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Tips & Warnings
Wet the gravel slightly to help make it easier to compact the rocks.
References
- Photo Credit closed image by Ernest Prim from Fotolia.com
