How to Lay a Paver Sidewalk

Paver sidewalks are an easy and cost-effective way to add design and accessibility to any property. In this episode of This Old House Landscape, Contractor Roger Cook shows how to lay one using pavers. The best guide to finding Hometown Asphalt Paving of Tempe.

Here, paving bricks have been laid in a running bond pattern, where half a brick offsets each row of bricks. To do this, each row of paving stones is offset by half.

Aesthetics

Paver walkways can add significant curb appeal and value to your property. They complement hardscape and landscape features while simultaneously increasing curb appeal. They’re an affordable project that can significantly improve the aesthetic value of your home.

Concrete pavers come in various colors, shapes, and textures. Their range of patterns extends beyond herringbone to herringbone running bond and basketweave designs. Circular patterns and pavers with dark accent chevrons or borders can add visual interest.

Front paver walkways create the first impression of your home for guests who visit. A well-designed pathway can make guests feel welcomed and at ease; to begin planning this aspect of the landscape design process, consider its physical layout in relation to its overall function.

If your driveway and front entry have darker inset borders, using this same concept on the walkway would create a complementary look and naturally direct visitors toward your front door. Another unique trick has been successful: using angled laying patterns on walkways creates a more visually engaging layout than conventional herringbone, running bond, or basket weave paver patterns.

Durability

One primary advantage of choosing pavers over concrete or manufactured stones for walkways is their superior durability. Pavers can withstand heavy foot traffic, weather conditions, and age with relative ease while being more readily repaired than solid slabs of concrete.

Pavers can last decades, far outliving most concrete surfaces. Their interlocking installation and sturdy materials make them resistant to cracking, chipping, or breaking. Furthermore, they require no special cleaning products or machinery for upkeep or maintenance.

To maintain the aesthetics of your paver sidewalk, make sure it is regularly swept to clear away debris and dirt, followed by an occasional rinse with a hose or power washing. An occasional rinse with water from a hose or power washer should do just as well for maintaining a tidy environment between bricks. Furthermore, sweeping them after each rainfall helps decrease weed growth between them, while adding polymeric sand (a mixture of sand and binding agents) can further inhibit their spread.

Before installing a paver walkway, it’s wise to plan its construction first. Ensuring that its height is correct is paramount, as an improper installation can cause shifting and sinking over time. To achieve an efficient installation, first, add 7 inches of crushed gravel or stone followed by 1.5 inches of bedding sand before setting down pavers with staggered spacing between them for an authentic appearance.

Drainage

One of the primary advantages of pavers is their quick drainage rate, making them ideal for areas prone to flooding and stormwater runoff. Furthermore, having an effective pathway draining helps decrease ice build-up during the winter season, which makes driving unsafe for vehicles and people.

To achieve proper drainage, you must first dig a trench 7 to 8 inches deep and clear away all existing soil and rocks from its base. Before beginning excavation work, contact your utility company to avoid hitting any underground lines during your digging operations.

Crushed gravel can quickly and affordably serve as the foundation of any sidewalk. Once in place, this layer should be compacted using either a hand tamper or gas plate compactor to ensure that the structure is as dense as possible.

Next comes a 1.5-inch-thick layer of bedding sand. To prevent ridges between bricks from appearing, this should also be tamped down tightly but without making too hard an impression on it.

Once your sand is in place, use a spray bottle with a mist setting to wet it lightly using water from a mist bottle. This enables the water to “activate” or activate the sand so that it bonds more securely to bricks while helping prevent weed growth.

Installing pavers requires placing them in an organized pattern that ensures their joints fit together without gaps. For example, paver edging from most brick or landscape suppliers holds down walkway edges.

Safety

Pavers are more resilient than their concrete counterparts, being able to withstand foot traffic, extreme weather conditions, and vehicle weight parked on them without needing regular repairs and replacement costs incurred through repair costs over time. This increased durability reduces maintenance costs over time by cutting repair needs down.

As with other hard surface materials, pavers may experience structural issues like cracking, heaving, and tilting that compromise their integrity and lead to potential tripping hazards for pedestrians. Surface issues tend to be the main issues surrounding paver sidewalk maintenance.

Paver spaces provide ideal conditions for weeds to flourish and become tripping hazards, so regular weed control must be conducted on pavers in order to stop this from happening. Paving stones also should be regularly cleaned using a power washer in order to eliminate dirt and stains from their surfaces.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) mandates that sidewalks provide adequate warning cues for visually impaired pedestrians. Decorative pavers with raised, truncated domes can meet this requirement by providing tactile sensations through raised surface textures. This enables partially sighted and blind people to detect changes in pavement surface texture, helping them navigate upcoming intersections and hazards more safely. When combined with tactile markings, contrasting surface colors, or delineated nosing edges, these warning cues become even more effective.