Picture-perfect Paths & Patios

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You’ll find it useful to get on your hands and knees at this stage, using a 24- or 48-inch carpenter’s level as a tool to smooth the final layers of aggregate as you add them with a small shovel. Keep your eye on the bubble as you work, making the installation level from side to side. If it runs next to a building, slope it slightly away to promote drainage. To do this, position the level’s bubble halfway out of the central marks and you’ll get a good drainage slope that’s also easy to walk on. Do you have a long run of pathway or a wide patio that you’d like to install flat? A laser level is an excellent tool for monitoring and adjusting the lengthwise slope of your foundation. You also could use a line level, which is a small spirit vial just like those used in a carpenter’s level that hangs from a taut string by hooks on each end (see Image Gallery).

Install the Edging

Several brands of plastic paver edging are on the market, with more emerging all the time. Most are designed to be anchored with galvanized spikes driven into the soil. Just lay the edging down on top of your compacted base layer and drive spikes into the anchor holes.

Begin by installing edging along one side of your project, following a taut string to ensure the edging is straight where it should be. Hammer in only every third spike for now, so you’ve got some leeway to adjust the edging strips after pavers are sitting between them. You’ll have to use a measuring tape to position the edging on the opposite side of patio or driveway projects wider than 12 to 14 feet.

There’s an easier way for narrower installations such as paths. Cut a piece of 1-by-4-inch wood to the same length as the width of the group of pavers you test-fitted earlier. This is your measuring stick. Just lay it on the ground, one end tight to the already-installed edging. Lay down edging on the second side of the pathway, and bring it tight to the other end of the measuring stick before spiking it down in every third hole.

As you install the edging strips for paths, place a level across the two sides to make sure you’re maintaining an even keel. For larger projects, you’ll need to use a laser level or line level. Either way, take the time to level accurately. Leveling the edging is even more important than leveling your foundation layer. That’s because the vertical position of the plastic edging directly affects the position of the pavers. Any dip or rise in the edging creates a dip or rise in the bricks. Fine-tune the vertical position of the edging by adding or removing small amounts of fine aggregate directly underneath. Tweak, check and re-tweak until the edging on both sides is in perfect vertical alignment. This is the most finicky part of the process, but relax. Just get it right and the next step will progress quickly and easily.

Placing and Smoothing Sand

It’s time to put down some clean sand, the ideal bedding material to support paving bricks. Most plastic edging is designed to accommodate a 1-inch-deep layer of sand, while still sticking up high enough to support the outer edges of pavers. When you’re dealing with installations less than 10 feet wide (and most are), the secret at this stage is a wooden tool you can make yourself. Grab a straight 2-by-4 and cut it 3 inches longer than the distance between the plastic edging strips. Notch the ends of this stick so its bottom edge nestles down between the rows of edging, about a half-inch below their tops. You’ve just made a screed, a tool that makes smoothing the bedding sand a breeze. Since it rides along the top edge of the plastic edging, you’ll find it quite easy to smooth the sand perfectly.

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