The All Important Preparation……

• We will mark out the area to be Block Paved and depending on the area to be excavated remove the existing surface to the required depth – When excavating soil it is imperative that you reach the depth of the next clay seam to ensure stability.   The area will be completely dug out using a 360 excavator (where access is permit able) or by hand and all soil, concrete, rubble etc will be removed.  Skip hire and removal of debris is included in your price. Note – at this point any potential cost savings will be highlighted to you – for example during the uplift of your existing drive if we find that the existing sub base is adequate and meets our high standards it will be retained and we will pass these cost savings onto you.

• The Sub base is then laid in 6” layers and rolled using a vibrating roller in-between each layer, again to further strengthen the base to ensure life long stability.  The advanced “Vibrating Roller” ensures a more stable result as opposed to the use of a plate vibrator.  The finished level will be 15cm / 2 courses below your existing damp course. 

• Install surface water drainage channel if required, ie if the paved area slopes towards the house/building or any other place where water run-off would not be welcome.  Optional recessed manhole covers should also be installed at this stage if required.  The finished level of paving should be approx 5mm above any drainage point.

• Kerbs or edgings are put into place next to retain the blocks and these will be haunched & concreted into place.

• If required, the whole area will receive a concrete base of approx 50-100mm, to add stability followed by 25mm of sharp sand  - Less sand = Less sinkage!  The area is then compacted with the plate vibrator and the area is then screeded with a rigid metal screeder drawn along the pre-defined guide rails to ensure a smooth, even finish as a base for the blocks.  It is essential that this sub-base is firm and to the right level.

• One course of blocks is laid on the sand along all of the edge restraints.  They may be laid long ways against the edge ‘a stretcher course’ or with short side against the edge ‘a header course’ depending on personal preference.  The blocks are laid hand tight only, with a joint gap of 2-5mm, starting in one corner, and at the bottom if there is a slope.  The blocks are randomly mixed from at least 3 packs when they are laid to ensure even distribution of colour and texture (Rotating).  Blocks are laid to the customers requested pattern, please see examples page for various options. All blocks are cut using a stihl saw for neatness and where possible we avoid fitting pieces smaller than ¼ of a block as they can cause weak points.

• The blocks are then whacked using a whacker and brushed with sand across the whole area ensuring it has fallen within the joints of the blocks.
• If there is a recessed manhole cover; care should be taken to avoid any sand getting in between the cover and the frame. Adding grease to the inner ledge will help to prevent this.
  Vibrate the whole area gain to force down the Jointing Sand and fill any gaps which appear in the joints.

• The whole area will then be swept and checked to ensure that there are no damaged blocks; if there are any, this is the time to replace them.
• The whole area will be left clean and tidy, we aim to cause as least inconvenience as possible to our customers during the process.