Laying pavers on sand, and why they still move
Laying pavers on sand, and why they still move
Paving sand does two separate jobs in a paved area and it's worth knowing which is which, because people buy one bag and expect it to do both. Underneath the pavers it's the bedding layer, which is the thin screeded bed the paver sits down into so it ends up level with the one next to it. Between the pavers it's the joint sand, which gets swept into the gaps afterwards and wedges the pavers against each other so the whole field acts like one surface instead of a few hundred loose bits.
The bit the sand does not do
Sand doesn't stop pavers moving sideways, and that's the honest answer to the commonest paving complaint there is. Every time somebody walks on a paved area the load pushes the pavers outwards a fraction, and if there's nothing holding the perimeter, the outside row creeps, the joints open up, and a year later you've got gaps down one side and a wobble in the middle.
What stops that is edge restraint, so a concrete haunch along the perimeter, a mortared edge course, a proper plastic paver edging pinned into the base, or a garden edge solid enough to push back. Get the edges right and ordinary paving sand will hold the middle together for years. Skip the edges and no sand on earth will save it.
What goes underneath the sand
The bedding sand is not the base. It's a thin layer, roughly 25mm to 30mm screeded flat, and its only job is to let you level each paver. Underneath that you want a compacted base of road base or crusher dust, and how deep depends on what's going on top of it. A garden path that only ever sees feet gets away with much less than a driveway that has to carry a car.
Laying pavers straight onto dirt with a bit of sand thrown over it is the shortcut everybody takes once, and it's why the second attempt always comes with a hired plate compactor. Compact the base in layers rather than all at once, and get a fall of about 1 in 100 running away from the house so water goes somewhere other than your footings.
Doing the joints
- Wait until the pavers are all down and bedded before you go anywhere near the joints.
- Tip the sand over the surface and sweep it into the gaps with a stiff broom, working it in from a few directions rather than one.
- Mist it with water so it settles, then let it dry and sweep more in, because it always drops.
- Expect to go back and top the joints up after the first few months. It is not a sign you did it wrong.
Weeds in the joints are the other thing people ask about. They germinate in the organic muck that blows in and settles on top of the sand rather than in the sand itself, so keeping the surface swept does more than any spray will.
Two safety things worth saying
Dry sand and cut pavers both throw off silica dust, and that's the one in this job that does lasting damage. Wear a P2 dust mask while you're sweeping the joints or cutting anything, and damp the surface down when you can. We keep P2 masks on the shelf and they cost almost nothing next to a set of lungs.
And a bag of sand is 20kg, which does not sound like much until you've moved thirty of them. Get a barrow under them, lift with your legs, and do it over two days if your back has opinions.
Shop related products
- Adbri Premium Cement 20kg. For haunching the perimeter, which is the part that actually holds the paving together.
- Adbri General Purpose Concrete Mix 20kg. Premixed, for edge haunching without batching sand and metal yourself.
- Adbri Mortar Mix 20kg. If you're mortaring an edge course in rather than haunching it.
- Rubber Mallet 675g. For tapping a paver down into the bed without chipping the corner off it.
Did you know we also stock Brunnings Landscaping Paver Sand in 20kg bags, along with paving sand, P2 dust masks, wheelbarrows and stiff outdoor brooms, in the shop. They're not all on the website, so give us a ring on (08) 8536 4333 to check what's on the shelf.
The building materials range is online, and the rest of the outdoor gear is in our garden centre alongside the garden range. Bagged sand and cement add up quickly, so we deliver Tuesdays and Thursdays on anything bought from us, $5 around Strathalbyn and $10 on the regional run. Local delivery.
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I am a great believer in hiring the compactor on day one, and I am not going to explain why.
Candeece
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