paver block driveway?

[PoorOwner]

I was wondering what the differences are, the construction pictures I have seen, it seems like pavers require alot deeper digging in order to put down alot of gravel material ..

Also do pavers they work well on a slopped driveway, and is there problems with weeds between the gaps? And is it possible to replace individual blocks if there are damage or oil stain? (I believe they are interlocking but I don't know if that means they can be pulled out or not)

 

[Kevin54]

Also do pavers they work well on a slopped driveway, and is there problems with weeds between the gaps? And is it possible to replace individual blocks if there are damage or oil stain? (I believe they are interlocking but I don't know if that means they can be pulled out or not)

You can use them on a sloped drive as long as you have something to lock in the course at the bottom. If it butts against a sidewalk, then good. Also they can be replaced if need be. They interlock side to side, front to back, due to the design, not top to bottom.

 

[PoorOwner]

Although most pictures I have seen pave all the way to the street, we have city's pavement which is a 6" slab to retain the blocks
I looked up the prep work and it needs 8-12" of excavation, filled with gravel then screeded sand?

Do installation like this cost much more than concrete and maybe even compared to stamped concrete? I am just replacing a 2 car driveway, just wide and long enough for 2 cars. I just want some ideas of the cost before even getting estimates..

 

[Mlynch]

stamped concrete all the way... more versatile, better quality, easier to maintain, lower cost over lifetime.

 

[ron in sc]

Do installation like this cost much more than concrete and maybe even compared to stamped concrete.

It will depend on how well you prepare the area you want to place pavers. To do it right at least to my way of doing it you need to use a pan packer or some type of device to compact the soil in the area you want to use pavers on. Then you need to put about 4 to 6" of ROC also called crushed limestone down and use a compactor to pack that down too. Make sure you have the ROC graded the directions you need for proper drainage.

When you place the pavers you can use masons sand under the pavers to achieve the proper level and/or slope.

Photos below of patio I did as part of addition the area of the patio was build up about 2' in the front and 5' in the rear. All fill was compacted in 4 to 6" lifts.


Pavers can be very time consuming to install especially when many have to be cut with a very large tile/concrete saw.


Edited:
Yes you can replace individual pavers but it can be a pain to get them out. Once you have your technique down for getting them out it's not that time consuming.

 

[rsanter]

get estimates, cost depends on several factors

whichever way you is you have trees near by then you will want install root barriers to prevent roots from lifting and cracking the driveway later

bob

 

[trovato]

stamped concrete all the way... more versatile, better quality, easier to maintain, lower cost over lifetime.

Pavers are individual pieces put down in a pattern. Stamped concrete is an imitation of individual pieces put down in a pattern. Personally I prefer the look of the pavers over the imitation. I really don't see how stamped concrete meets that list of claims you make. But of course stamped concrete can make a very nice driveway, and if we all did the same thing, it would be very boring.

 

[PoorOwner]

I want to ask what kind of substrate is between blocks like Ron's pictures, is it a kind of sand because I seem to be treading mud and dirt over the driveway sometimes and I tend to pressure wash the driveway, I think it will push the sand out?

 

[Mr. Welsh]

Pavers are individual pieces put down in a pattern. Stamped concrete is an imitation of individual pieces put down in a pattern. Personally I prefer the look of the pavers over the imitation. I really don't see how stamped concrete meets that list of claims you make. But of course stamped concrete can make a very nice driveway, and if we all did the same thing, it would be very boring.

Well it's certainly lower cost over lifetime and easier to maintain.

A good stamped concrete job with proper coloring can be very convincing, but it can be difficult to find experienced contractors to do it.

 

[Steve_S]

One advantage to pavers that I can see is the ability to replace them, should they get stained with oil. That's why I'm planning to use them next time around. I have lots of old, leaky cars, so unless I can find something that handles stains better, or can be cleaned easier, it's pavers for me.

 

[ron in sc]

I tend to pressure wash the driveway, I think it will push the sand out?

Pressure washing would remove some of the sand. Cure is easy though, just get some more sand and sprinkle over pavers and sweep suface with a broom to replace sand that gets removed.

Also I intend to put some kind of acrylic fininsh on the pavers to bring out the color more and seal them, that would help with stains.

 

[scotw]

I am about ready to do a 1400 square foot driveway. I was quoted $15.50 per square foot for Mega-Bergerac concrete pavers on a 6 inch gravel base. Excavation and curbs are another $2400. The company did one of my neighboors several years ago and there has been no problems with their work. Does this price sound reasonable?

 

[maa139]

I have a paver walkway with lots of weeds growing between. Anyone ever put a concrete pad under pavers? How thick should the concrete pad be? The pavers themselves are nice and flat and haven't moved, so the base of crushed stone is fine. I would however like to raise the walkway about 2 inches so that it would be level with the new driveway (that's a long story). I was thinking that I'd set the pavers into the wet cement, and then fill in the cracks with dry cement mix and then wet it down to set the cement....

Any input experience doing this? Think it would work okay?

Thanks.

 

[Kevin54]

I want to ask what kind of substrate is between blocks like Ron's pictures, is it a kind of sand because I seem to be treading mud and dirt over the driveway sometimes and I tend to pressure wash the driveway, I think it will push the sand out?
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You can use different types of sand, but usually want to use a washed sand. You can also add a little powdered cenent to the sand, sweep it in, sprinkle it down and let it harden up. This will keep the sand from washing out as easy. Hard rains will wash sand out of the cracks just as easy as a powerwasher will. But when you put the pavers down, put a good layer of sand on top before tamping. This cushions the vibratory compactor and will prevent it from cracking the pavers. It also takes the bounce ot. The sand in between the paver mainly is to help lock them in from shifting sideways and not to really fill the gap like grout.

 

[ron in sc]

I was thinking that I'd set the pavers into the wet cement, and then fill in the cracks with dry cement mix and then wet it down to set the cement....

My neighbor did something with his 20 year old paver driveway that was looking kind of shabby.

About 20 years ago he had old Chaleston bricks set over his concrete driveway which was looking bad. The bricks were set in some kind of cemet base and then the joints were filled with mortar. He had the driveway pressure washed about once a year. They looked good for may years but over time the mortar deteriorated very badly.

Several months ago he had a company come in and blast out more of the old motar. They filled all the joints with some kind of epoxy type mortar that looks great and seem very hard. Something like that might work for you.

 

[dipper]

If you want the driveway to last, you have to excavate and put in the 8-12 of gravel base, then install the pavers on a bed of screeded sand. The best sand to lock the pavers together is called "Polymeric" sand, quikrete makes it, you can get if for about $12for a 50lb bag. It hardens after spraying with water, and minimizes weeds and bugs getting through the joints.
The paver driveway will require maintenance to continue looking good, my patio I have to clean out the weeds and resand it every year; but this year I am going to use the polymeric instead of regular all purpose sand.
The benefit would be that you can change out bricks if you get some that are stained.

 

[PAToyota]

Cost depends on a lot of factors. Stamped concrete is not something that you are going to do yourself, so labor costs are more than pavers (which you can do yourself). But if you are hiring out for a paver installation, there is a lot more labor and will likely end up costing more than stamped.

As others have mentioned, another benefit of pavers is being able to remove individual blocks for replacement if they are damaged. You can make some "hooks" out of sheetmetal so that you can scrape the sand out of the joints, force the hooks down in on either side of the paver, and then pull the paver up.

Dipper has it right - use polymeric sand for the joints. It sets up and keeps you from having loose sand and from having stuff growing in the joints. Personally, I sort of like the look of moss growing in the joints - gives it that old world flavor. But nobody has really been able to tell me if moss grows on the polymeric sand or not.

Proper sub-base preparation is required for the long life of any driveway. I've seen gravel, asphalt, concrete, and paver installations over just dirt - with life-spans to match... Bare minimum of preparation for any installation would be to take the topsoil and organics off, lay down geo-textile fabric, backfill with a four inch bare minimum stone base, and go from there.

Also, as mentioned, slopes are not a problem for pavers if the base is properly restrained.

 

[christian]

We just put in a paver driveway with Techo Blocs. It's 6600 sq ft and came to about $50k. 25 was material on the company's price direct from the manufacturer and the rest was labor, gravel, and excavation. We all love it and three have been stained with oil that we pulled out and replaced no problem. Our neighbor has a company that does this so if anything goes wrong he's three houses down. I'll try to get some pics up later.

 

[kbs2244]

If you are in an area where it freezes I don't think you want to put pavers over concrete or anything that dosn't drain.
Most pavers will let water through, as well as the water through the joints. That is just asking for frost damage if it cannot drain away.

 

[PoorOwner]

With the pavers or poured concrete driveway if i need to redo the garage slabs later would it be a problem?

Also which job is "easier" on the house? With pouring concrete they always splatter on walls and adjacent slabs and not clean it up.
But with pavers the excavation is quite brutal I see they either use bobcat or mini excavator for this.

 

[boiler7904]

With the pavers or poured concrete driveway if i need to redo the garage slabs later would it be a problem?

Not a problem with pavers. When you get ready to do the new concrete, just pull up the first couple of rows of pavers, form and pour the new slab, adjust and compact base material as required, set old pavers in orginal locations. I would be concerned about moving a loaded concrete truck over a paver driveway unless you do some serious base prep and use a lot of gravel now.

Also which job is "easier" on the house? With pouring concrete they always splatter on walls and adjacent slabs and not clean it up. But with pavers the excavation is quite brutal I see they either use bobcat or mini excavator for this.

Depends on the crews doing the work. Some guys will cover an existing house / garage with plastic sheeting and masking tape to eliminate splatters. Some won't - they're the ones you'd have problems with.

Equipment operators are also a group of people with varying experience levels. Old timers that have been doing it for years would have no problem doing the work without damaging your house. Some of the things those guys can do are amazing. On the flip side, an inexperienced rookie will make you wish you never thought about starting the project.

 

[boiler7904]

I'm in the middle of installing a Unilock paver patio at my house now. I can get you material prices that I'm paying and more info tonight when I get home from work. No labor since I'm doing the work myself.

 

[Jaguar Fan]

I was wondering what the differences are, the construction pictures I have seen, it seems like pavers require alot deeper digging in order to put down alot of gravel material ..

Also do pavers they work well on a slopped driveway, and is there problems with weeds between the gaps? And is it possible to replace individual blocks if there are damage or oil stain? (I believe they are interlocking but I don't know if that means they can be pulled out or not)

I picked up a DVD from a local paver supply outlet (less than a mile from my house) that teaches you everything you need to know (its about 75 mins long). It says "Our DVD Paver Installation Guide is the most effective way to show homeowners and Pros the E-Z way to install interlocking pavers."

It was only about $5 or $6 if I recall correctly. Its probably worth it to watch; it is educational - there is a lot the instructor crams into 75 mins.

The instructor on the video claims:

"... I am an independent contractor who specializes in installation of interlocking concrete pavers. I've been trained and certified by the Interlocking Concrete Paving Institute... I've installed thousands and thousands of square feet of interlocking pavers... the majority of the work I do is residential, installing walkways, driveways, patios, and pool decks. The purpose of this video is to show you how I install interlocking pavers, and to teach you how to install them."​

"Paver Installation Guide" is from a company that sells PVC paver edge restraints (that go on either side of the driveway separating the driveway from grass, for example).

The company that produced the DVD is called "E-Z Edge". their web site is http://www.ezedge.net.

Obviously they are selling their stuff, but the DVD is quite educational. There may well be others out there.

If you can't find this DVD, send me a message & I'll either loan you mine or pick one up for you.

(full disclosure: I have no business or other relationship with this company, its product, or anything else)

 

[PoorOwner]

I think the concrete truck has a hose long enough if I need to pour in the garage.. so the actual truck shouldn't need to go on the driveway (I hope not) that's really heavy.
(driveway only maybe 20 feet long..) Those with a long driveway would be different story.

As for DIY, patio and walkways require less deep foundation.. driveway is suppose to be 8-12" that's alot of volume to dig and alot of gravel to bring in yourself.

 

[PAToyota]

With the pavers or poured concrete driveway if i need to redo the garage slabs later would it be a problem?

Neither should affect redoing the garage slab later on. With concrete, there is going to be a joint between the garage and driveway slabs and even if there isn't, you can sawcut one in. With the pavers you're going to take a couple rows out so that you can put in formwork to pour the slab up against and then relay the pavers when you are finished.

Also which job is "easier" on the house? With pouring concrete they always splatter on walls and adjacent slabs and not clean it up.
But with pavers the excavation is quite brutal I see they either use bobcat or mini excavator for this.

Depends on the crews doing the work. Some guys will cover an existing house / garage with plastic sheeting and masking tape to eliminate splatters. Some won't - they're the ones you'd have problems with.

Boiler is spot on - I've seen equipment operators that you'd trust the family heirloom china with and then ones that I'm not sure I'd want to have them carrying the trashcan out to the curb... When it comes time to do it, make sure that you properly specify the work - that if it is concrete that protection of existing structures, landscaping, etc. is protected by plastic sheeting and whatever else is necessary.

I think the concrete truck has a hose long enough if I need to pour in the garage..

Bobcat actually makes a concrete pump attachment that I've been considering. It seems like it would make a nice sideline business for those jobs that aren't big enough to justify the cost of the big pumper trucks and the fact that with lot sizes decreasing that access to back yards and such is less likely to allow direct access for the concrete truck.

As for DIY, patio and walkways require less deep foundation.. driveway is suppose to be 8-12" that's alot of volume to dig and alot of gravel to bring in yourself.

Rent a Bobcat and have fun!

 

[christian]

The guy that excavated ours was really good. He used an excavator, bob cat, and steam roller. Here's some pics of the driveway. The center island will be mulched with bushes and stuff in the coming weeks.

 

[NSXSOON]

Pavers are used extensively in my area of Florida. The result is a price that is actually less than concrete and far less than stamped concrete. My 3700 square foot driveway in the pictures below cost me $3.45 a square foot installed four years ago. Where I am we really have no soil to speak of just lots of sand. Normal installation here is 4-6 in of crushed concrete compacted as a sub base then screeted sand over it to lay the pavers in. I specified 12-14 in of crushed concrete (the contractor was calling it "the landing strip") because I wanted to be able to drive trucks over it and not worry about it. The delta difference for the extra crushed concrete was only $800 and was inclusive in the $3.45 number. This driveway is rock solid and as nice today as the day it was installed. A concrete driveway here would have several unavoidable settling cracks by now that only get worse with time.
To do the cuts on all the straight and radius edges they lay the pavers in and then snap a chalk line and run a gas concrete saw to cut them all in one pass. They then pore in a concrete curbing where ever there is not solid retaining surface. The whole job was done in two days!

 

[hewl35]

I have a paver walkway with lots of weeds growing between. ??Anyone ever put a concrete pad under pavers? How thick should the concrete pad be?

Here in Kansas the concrete has to be 4 inches plus packed stone to the frost line about 32 to 36 inches. I know some brands of blocks will stain if concrete is used as a fill to be swept in.

 

[Gutierrez99]

Most of the Driveways that I've done had a 4"-6" concrete slab underneath it and we would level it with sand. If not then we would have to have 8"-10" clean gravel fill and then 1"-2" sand. A sloped drive shouldn't really be a problem unless its a crazy slope. But make sure you glue the edge pavers down. The concrete slab underneath is your best bet if you really like the look of pavers. Plus with the slab you wont have to worry about grass. and Always use the polymeric sand, it has a glue in it that helps the pavers stick together.

They sell solutions that will remove grease and oils And they also have a coating that acts like a Clear coat to protect your pavers.

I did Hardscaping for 4 years and found these to be the easiest things. If you have any other questions let me know.

 

[PAToyota]

Most of the Driveways that I've done had a 4"-6" concrete slab underneath it and we would level it with sand.

I'd be curious as to where you are located that you do that - around here that would definitely lead to frost heave issues.

 

[stricht8]

How about Belgian block or cobblestone. They are the longest lived. In fact they live forever. Will not crack/ fade/stain like pavers. Yes they are the most expensive. But in 15, 20, 30, 50, 100, 1000 years, they will look the same!