Monday, September 23, 2013

Paver Patios Are Still So Popular

By Mia Kent


Paver patios are a beautiful addition to every home. No matter the size of your garden, you will find a little place to set this practical and decorative element of landscape design. Paving can use brick, stone or concrete paver. Great choice of colors and sizes will allow adjustment to any space.

It would be nice to hire a professional landscape designer to design it for you, and a good craftsman to set it up, but you could also find some time and design it yourself. If you spend some time thinking about it, you will get some ideas. If not, you can always search the Internet and see what other people do. In any case, you can save a great deal of money if you roll up your sleeves.

The first thing you should do is to choose the area where you would like to set your new patio and decide about the size and shape. Then you should choose the type of material you would like to use. You can use stone, brick or concrete paver, depending on your taste, as well as your financial capability.

Stone is always very good solution. They are available in wide variety of colors and patterns, and can fit to any space. They might be the most expensive choice, but they are certainly worth it. Brick and concrete paver also look very nice, and they will cost considerably less. Although some people use regular bricks, it is better to use brick paver for this purpose.

Once you buy your pavers, you need to obtain enough gravel and sand as well. You will also need weed control landscape fabric, and some tools. Shovels, strings and hammers are essential. You probably have all the tools required at your home, and some can be bought or rented.

Once you decide about the shape, mark the edges using spray paint, for example. If you choose rectangular shape, things are much easier. Use a piece of string to help you set the borders. Now you should start digging a hole in the ground. It should be deep enough for a layer of crushed stone, sand and your blocks. When it is done, place the landscape fabric followed with crushed stone. You need to compact this layer using a hand tamper, for example. It can be rented for a day.

On the compacted layer of crushed stone, you need another layer of landscape fabric. This will prevent the sand to pass into the gravel. After that, you need to set a sand layer that you also need to flatten and compact. Now you may set the edge pavers, and then all the others. Make sure to leave a little space in between, which will be filled with sand.

When you finish, you need to apply special polymeric sand on and wipe it with a broom. It should fill in all gaps, and you need to remove the excess carefully. Now you should sprinkle the area with water, to fix the sand, and you are finally done. It's time to enjoy in your lovely garden. Paver patios are really the best solutions for improving your garden.




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