A Step-by-Step Tutorial on Paving a Driveway with Blocks

The purpose of this essay is to serve as a roadmap for you as you lay your block-paved driveway.
So, let’s examine the procedure:

Your current driveway material must be removed first. This could be concrete, tarmac, or concrete flags. Hiring a mini digger from a nearby tool rental business will make quick work of this challenging phase. This can, however, be done manually but at a much slower pace.

The minimum depth of excavation required for a driveway with 150 mm (6″) of hardcore, 50 mm (2″) of sand/gravel, and 50 mm (2″) of block paving is 250 mm (10″).

Suppose the soil beneath your driveway is incredibly soft. In that case, you will need to excavate more of it and replace it with hardcore, compacting it in layers of no more than 75 millimeters to hundred millimeters deep.

Remember that your driveway’s finishing level must remain 150mm (6″) below the damp-proof course if it adjoins your home or garage.

Phase Two Create a level with your line. The driveway’s home end and pavement side need wooden or metal stakes driven into the ground. To finish the block paving, attach a tight builder’s nylon line at the desired height, which should be about 10 mm higher than the pavement and 150 mm lower than the damp-proof course.

If you raise or lower the line at the home end until the level is even, check the end flush with the pavement to determine the driveway’s slope. Once the line’s height and fall have been adjusted to your satisfaction, secure it in place by wrapping tape around the pegs on the bottom of the line.

Ensure the line is taut; a sag in the line will give you an inaccurate level reading, which could lead to water pooling in your finished driveway.
Simply turn the driveway’s slope away from home and level it from the pavement into a preexisting drainage ditch. Putting up drainage ditches at the front of the property is your only other option. The next step is to channel the water into a soak-a-way in your garden.

Third Step Cover the entire driveway’s sub-soil with a geotextile layer (weed control fabric). This prevents water from mingling with the subsoil or clay below but does not compromise drainage.

Keep this in place with a few bricks or blocks while you put the meaty parts on top.

Fourth Step Hardcore should cover the entire driveway and reach a depth of at least 150 millimeters (6 inches). It must now be compacted to provide a stable foundation for your blocks. A vibratory plate compactor or vibratory roller can accomplish this.

Fifth Step Your block paving needs a firm edge around it everywhere it’s installed to keep the blocks and the sand they’re set in from shifting.
Blocks are haunched front and back after being set on a semi-dry mixture of three parts grit sand to one part cement, and a tight string line is used to keep the front edge of the edging block straight.

Phase VI Distribute a layer of grit sand 50 mm (2″) thick over the entire area, a little over 20 mm higher than the desired final height. Roughly bring the sand to the right level using a shovel, and then do so all over the area, covering all the hardcore.

Now condense it by going over it twice or three times. Keep going until your footprints disappear entirely from the beach.

One option is to use fully compacted sand as the bed for block paving, which strengthens both the sub-base and the laying layer and results in a considerably flatter surface. To do this, you must have your sand pile up about 10 to 15 millimeters higher than the final screeding height before you place your blocks.

The alternative is to use two-thirds compacted and one-third loose sand, easier to screed but can leave soft patches.

Proposition 7 To determine the ultimate height of your block paving, take a guide block and sink it into the sand until it is 5mm higher than the final height. This will account for the final compacting once all the blocks have been laid.

Block paving’s final grade must be 150 mm lower than the home’s DPC.

Eighth Step 18mm galvanized steel electrical conduit is inexpensive and superior to wood for creating a flatbed on which to lay pavers; this is because the piece of wood or aluminum used to screed the sand slides more easily along the conduit than it would go along the wood or aluminum.

Check for a level or falling towards any drains; a 1:60 fall is required, that is, 1″ in height to 60″ in length minimum fall, to ensure any surface water drains into your drainage system or soak-a-way, using a tight string line to get the screeding rails to the correct finished height before screeding the sand.

After installing the screeding rails, the sand can be screed to the desired depth. When you’re done screening, remove the steel rails, fill the space with grit sand, and smooth it out with a steel trowel.

Method Nine The next stage is to begin laying the block paving, starting with the entire blocks and spreading them straight along a string line. This process is repeated until the whole driveway is paved. The block can be set at a right angle to the home’s foundation or perpendicular.

After you’ve laid all your entire blocks, you’ll need to trim the edges with a block splitter. If you hold the brick in place over the border and look down at it from above, you can mark a line onto the entire block on each side where it hits the wall, then draw a line between these 2 points and chop off the surplus with the block splitter.

To prevent debris from falling into the spaces between the blocks, it is essential to brush down the driveway once all the blocks have been laid.

Spread a layer of kiln-dried sand across the area, making sure the cracks are filled. Then, compact them using the plate compactor, leaving any extra sand on top of the driveway so the vibrating plate may push it into any cracks.

Repeat this process two or three times to settle the blocks into place, and then remove any excess kiln-dried sand.

Your newly installed block-paved driveway is finished and ready for use. You deserve a reward for all your hard work, so go ahead and pour yourself a cup of tea.

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