Episode: 7
Title: Ten Steps to easy paving
Broadcast: 4 october
Presenter: Nigel

The art of paving has been around since the Romans. The Appian Way was the first paved road, then they added paths and piazzas, and it’s certainly something that’s caught on. It’s a practical surface that can enhance your lifestyle and your home. Nigel is going to lay some pavers and give you the tips you need to have a go yourself.

• Like with any project around the home planning is critical, determine the location and size of the area and draw a sketch plan with the measurements. This will help with calculating materials including the quantity of pavers you’ll need
• Nigel has got a compacted layer of crushed rock under the sand and course sand spread over the top. Now it’s time to screed the sand, this is a critical component, before doing this water the sand to remove air and help it settle. Set up screed rails.
• Screeding the sand with a sawing side to side action helps to compact it.
• Cross check to ensure smoothness.
• Now it’s time to lay the pavers. Use the string line and always try and start along the longest straight edge
• Always leave a minimum gap of 2-3mm, for some pavers it’s larger 5-7mm, this is where the jointing or gap sand goes. If the pavers are butted up against each other they will most likely chip when expanding and contracting. Plus a gap allows for any minor discrepancies in the pavers.
• Use the string line to check the pavers are straight. Remember it’s the joints that will stand out if they’re not straight the job looks ordinary
• Wherever you have unrestrained edges you need to secure them to keep the job together. So for the border pavers Nigel is bedding them down on mortar. Dig out some of the sand, place the mortar, put the paver down and the tamp down. Check the height and level.

Episode: 7
Title: Ten Steps to easy paving
Broadcast: 4 october
Presenter: Nigel

The art of paving has been around since the Romans. The Appian Way was the first paved road, then they added paths and piazzas, and it’s certainly something that’s caught on. It’s a practical surface that can enhance your lifestyle and your home. Nigel is going to lay some pavers and give you the tips you need to have a go yourself.

• Like with any project around the home planning is critical, determine the location and size of the area and draw a sketch plan with the measurements. This will help with calculating materials including the quantity of pavers you’ll need
• Nigel has got a compacted layer of crushed rock under the sand and course sand spread over the top. Now it’s time to screed the sand, this is a critical component, before doing this water the sand to remove air and help it settle. Set up screed rails.
• Screeding the sand with a sawing side to side action helps to compact it.
• Cross check to ensure smoothness.
• Now it’s time to lay the pavers. Use the string line and always try and start along the longest straight edge
• Always leave a minimum gap of 2-3mm, for some pavers it’s larger 5-7mm, this is where the jointing or gap sand goes. If the pavers are butted up against each other they will most likely chip when expanding and contracting. Plus a gap allows for any minor discrepancies in the pavers.
• Use the string line to check the pavers are straight. Remember it’s the joints that will stand out if they’re not straight the job looks ordinary
• Wherever you have unrestrained edges you need to secure them to keep the job together. So for the border pavers Nigel is bedding them down on mortar. Dig out some of the sand, place the mortar, put the paver down and the tamp down. Check the height and level.

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