laying down pavers?

[jay929]

I was looking for a little advice. I want to lay out a 4 by 7 foot area of 12 inch pavers to park my atv on. Its going in my backyard so it doesn't have to be perfect.
My question is do i need to dig down a few inches, lay gravel and sand down then compact it? Since it doesn't have to be perfect, is all that overkill?

thanks
jason

 

[JHZR2]

nope, smart to dig down.

 

[dbbd022]

Personally, for your application, I think all of that is overkill, but it probably depends on the soil and weight of your ATV.

I did a little section close to that size on the side of my house to put my trash cans on (when it rained, that area got really muddy, and we have that thick Texas clay that doesn't wash off).

Anyway, I just made sure I maintained the slope for drainage (probably doesn't apply in your case), I went down maybe an inch, I used some dirt and hand tamper to give them a smooth surface to rest on and not rock back and forth, made sure the pavers were level, and put them in place.

Doing it the "right way" will look better, and probably help distribute the weight a little better, but I think you should be ok.

 

[bruckus]

Looks like your in illinois. In cold climates you need to dig down a few inches and put a good base. This will help keep the pavers even with the expansion during the big temperature swings in the northern climates.

 

[dbbd022]

Originally Posted By: bruckus
Looks like your in illinois. In cold climates you need to dig down a few inches and put a good base. This will help keep the pavers even with the expansion during the big temperature swings in the northern climates.


Good point....temps don't swing a whole lot in these parts

 

[NCGuy68]

Dig down the thickness of the paver plus 1". Level out 1" of sand in the bottom and set the bricks. Sweep sand into the brick joints, water it in and do it again.

Can double as a BBQ patio when the ATV is away.

 

[OtisBlkR1]

I did a cobble stone path this summer, and did mine a little different, I tampered my semi-flat ground, poured sand down, then tampered again, then mixed up concreate. a little at a time i poured, smoothed, laid pavers, repeat.. I left atleast a 1/2 inch gap between pavers.. when this was done i went back and started filling inbetween the gaps with concreat leaving around 1/8 a inch of space at the top. with the concreate still wet i poured finishing sand in the gaps, then did a light sweep.. finished product looks great, i used around 8 inches of concreate on the outside of the path, then filled the surrounding areas with pea gravel.

 

[abycat]

Originally Posted By: NCGuy68
Dig down the thickness of the paver plus 1". Level out 1" of sand in the bottom and set the bricks. Sweep sand into the brick joints, water it in and do it again.

Can double as a BBQ patio when the ATV is away.



seen alot done that way that are still very good looking years after. I like the sand base as well +1. also remember to clean stains as soon as possible so they look good for years to come.

 

[Al]

Dig down a few inches. Put about 2" of gravel "fines" down. Thoroughly level and tamp really well. Anything else is a waste.

 

[Shannow]

I did them 28 years ago with my dad.

Thickness plus 3".

Two inches of crusher dust, 1" of sand with cement cast over the surface. Lay the clay pavers (wearing gloves, it hurts like nothing when you abrade all your fingerprints off).

Then sweep sand/cement 15:1 into the cracks.

Only thing that damaged it was a wisteria that got under it, then the bricks had to be cold chiselled out.

 

[Turk]

I did this paver firepit by myself (& steps too).

From base up, it has a layer of plastic, 4" packed Class 5, 1" of sand and then the pavers.

You don't need to go that far, but use this recipe and it'll last.

 

[jay929]

sweet, thanks guys, looking like i'm going to dig down a few inches, and just lay an inch or two of sand down. the atv weighs about 700lbs wet.

 

[Turk]

Thanks - had fun making it in 24 hours over 2 days.

 

[Al]

Originally Posted By: jay929
sweet, thanks guys, looking like i'm going to dig down a few inches, and just lay an inch or two of sand down. the atv weighs about 700lbs wet.

You don't need (want) sand..as a matter of fact gravel fines (dist) are better. They will give better support and not shift. This is b c sand is rounder and gravel dust particles are jagged (compacts better). The two professionals I know use the dust. Remember the passage in the bible about building a house on sand.