The Paving Blog

A plate compactor is a vibratory machine whose heavy build and rapid shaking serve to compact soils and materials beneath where it runs. I can think of zero paver and paving contractors who do not own one, it is literally that necessary. For heavier projects requiring thickness of base material over 6-8″, these relatively little units might not be called for. Larger projects require the services of the “big brothers” of compaction equipment: rollers, jumping jacks and the like. But plate compactors are excellent for 6 inch and under compactions such as your typical driveway or patio.

Indeed, compacting the material underneath smaller areas like patios and sidewalks literally insures perfection for a much longer period of time. Taking out soils subject to heaving and sinking like clays or those containing a lot of organic material and replacing that with a compactable inorganic gravel mix is the height of wisdom. As proven over time, the “base materials” form the bottom of all hard surfaces we know of, from houses to roads and are considered necessary and professional to the max. Compacted, then covered with whatever surface, the surface applied to this compacted base stands the best chance of enduring even decades of usage.

Plate compactors are just the thing for all this. On our paver installations, we use it as well to compact the finished brick-laying, operating over a skim of sand and shaking the sand into the grout cracks between the pavers. As well, it embeds the pavers into the base and further compacts things to a finished gradient. A perfect machine, frankly.

Paver adhesives have become a most important tool in any driveway and patio installer’s construction tool arsenal. These amazing glues are useful in an increasingly wide variety of ways, from making more durable walls and steps, to placing new stonework atop existing slabs of cement. Paver glues have incredible adhering strength any more, even more so than cement itself. In fact, these glues are replacing cement in a wide area of application.

I have installed many many new patios over pre-existing patios and side walks. The cement base becomes our sub base making preparation nearly moot. The only true preparation is in the perfection of cleaning the surface prior to the gluing. Once clean of all greases, soils or any other contaminant, we apply glue during the laying of pavers in their normal patterns. The durability is mind blowing. The glues tend to dry rapidly and adhere most strongly with a clean base.

We have also been able to apply glue and the pavers to pre-existing stairs rising from a patio or driveway into a home. The ability to carry the design pattern to another platform has designers more than pleased. The look is strong and congruent with the laying field beyond, lending an organic touch of continuity to the entire project.

Strong and durable, paver adhesives have become yet another avenue toward beauty in the design and installation of driveways, walks and patios.

Epoxy stone work is yet another interesting and gorgeous possibility in paving surfaces. Put atop existing surfaces, the small and delightfully gorgeous, multi-colored pebbles are mixed with an epoxy slurry then spread with a trowel. The finished look is of a glossy and amazingly colorful product, just beautiful and also permitting a non-slip surface.

There can also be a wide range of stone products used. Mixed with the clear epoxy glue, a solid black or solid red surface appearance can be seeded with a few other colored rocks to present an amazingly spectacular finish. In general, installers have a few looks which are predominant choices and which have stood the aesthetic test of time by staying as pretty as they were when first applied. Earthy-toned, often, these surfaces do not overwhelm but, rather, they add a point of interest to the entire look.

Surprisingly, perhaps, these products are substantially durable. The epoxies now developed all have a nearly indestructible property, allowing all sorts of abuse, from snow shovel scraping to the elements of all kinds. Needles to say, the rocks are their typical few billion years old, having endured much worse than a home owner’s talents at messing things up.

I have become quite the fan of this item in recent years. It is not some glaring and obtrusive element at all. Far from it, the epoxy stone installations I have seen have been uniformly gorgeous and contributing to a wonderfully pretty environment. When lit,. by the way, with some landscape night lighting, they are uncommonly attractive.

Special effects in paving are a chance for someone to show off his slight bit of weird and wonderful genius in an interesting and designer-pleasing way. Bridges, curved effects, cantilevered pool edges all show a special bit of pizazz and out-of-the-ordinary imagination that translates magnificently to the landscape fancier’s eye. These features are an overall part of any exterior landscape and they can thereby enhance not just the experience of those who live there, but they can also simply delight the sense of any visitors. For pure curb appeal and value enhancement, few items in the exterior can produce as much intense interest in a home.

The suspended bridge shown here was poured concrete which was then stamped and colored to produce an arresting and most interesting entry to this once-model home. Indeed, bridges over water features are a sort of Holy Grail to many homeowners. We thought this one performed that function perfectly.

The other picture is of what is commonly referred to as an “Infinity Pool Edge”. Water consistently flows over the front edge, collected and dispersed below. What is most interesting here is that the pavers shown in the foreground are atop a cantilevered 3 foot ledge over the water. Not only does the cantilever aspect form an interesting shadow over the water mere inches below it, but at night a bright light underneath the suspended slab shines brightly and outstandingly, hidden well below the edge.

Addressing a question I received via email today, so here goes -

Pavement cracks come from a small variety of sources.  Typically, both in asphalt paving and concrete paving, the sub grade below the roadway itself determines pretty much everything dealing with the heaving and contraction issues which severe weather induces.  Asphalt is nowhere as rigid as cement, but it can also crack under stress.  Naturally, no crack ever improves, after that point.  It is a matter of widening and becoming yer more glaring and severe, separated more so by continuing the same stresses and now even factoring in the presence of pockets of trapped water which will further erode the integrity by freezing itself and causing flaking or absolute separation.

Concrete, as a rigid monolithic piece, will always crack.  Even the best professionals understand this.  What typical highway construction specifications insist on is the presence of re bar, or rods of connecting metal, imbedded inside the cement itself, which will take the cracking and do not allow it to separate in any gross manner. Naturally, severe cracking will need repairing, but re bar gives the surface a chance to last longer as a viable road or driveway surface.

Typically, expansion joints are placed in concrete literally “inviting” it to crack along predetermined lines.  Once this is done, if it happens, then the preset position has been accounted for and dealt with.  Further damage would necessitate replacement of the concrete however, if the cracks appear elsewhere.

It is not a comfortable or productive feeling seeing a crack form in concrete.  As I stated above, cracks don’t “get better”. But they can be filled, reducing if caught on time, further damage.  Once weather and water are allowed inside the cracks, a surface is not long for this productive world.  Improper placement of the expansion joints is a very common reason for cracking.

These little patio pavers are perfect for a small budget and a do-it-yourselfer with some know how about sub surfaces. The advertisement says these can be “pressed into a lawn”, as if that were easy to do. While they may have enough surface area to “float” on a purely soil surface, if you are interested in a more long-term solution, my recommendation would be to use at least a bed of sand underneath, if not compact able gravel base material. Their primary use is for patios which typically doi not bear a great deal of focused weight, so their is less need for the stringent prequalifications involving subgrade strength and durability of, say, a driveway.

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Just the same, I would highly recommend just a bit of forethought and some base materials be applied to prevent a sinking of the corners and sides of each individual paving stone shown here. A result of a bad placement would be very unsatisfying and require reworking one more time – or repetitively during the years to come.The mud alone would make you no go back. Think permanent with this stuff. It pays of in the long run. A few hours more work once will save about 24 later.

So, ever wondered how they make those neat bricks used in paving?

A paving block making machine is a fascinating and very complex machine.  The best ones produce the pavers used in streets and on walkways, patios and driveways throughout the world, now, a modern paving alternative which is rapidly becoming a trade in itself. Inasmuch as paving blocks are now produced with PSI (Pounds Per Square Inch) ratings of up to 8,500 PSI, there is some magic in all this.

A standard city sidewalk minimum specification is about 3,500 PSI.  Curbs and gutters in standard city specifications are around 4,500 PSI.  Obviously, then, you can see that interlocking brick pavers rated at 8,500 PSI are a durable, very hard and, therefore, intriguing possibility. The fact is, many cities are now opting to pave city streets in these brick pavers. Their durable and modular basis means they will accept more abuse, for one thing, and the fact that they are applied as segments within a whole make them more flexible. thus lessening the impact of weather in terms of heaving and breaking.

The paving block making machine has the tendency to shake out all air pockets within the brick itself, one of the primary reasons for such a major step up in durability.  Using a finer sand and more cement, the products is also compressed at a high level inside the form of the machine itself.  As well, the best paving block making machine has an option for various patterns of construction, meaning a wide number of optional forms and products can be produced.  These machines are not for the light-hearted.  The deliver a fantastic product and are extremely pricey.