How to lay pavers on sand Bunnings

Every DIY project benefit from good preparation, and laying pavers is no exception, so learn how to lay down your pavers on sand or dirt.

How to Lay Pavers on Dirt

It really depends on the type of soil in your area, but laying pavers on dirt is simple as long as you ensure they won’t move or sink over time.

You should already have a detailed plan of the area you want to pave as well as the layout and design you want, so insert garden stakes around the border and tie string between them. Use a spade to remove the top layer of grass or other material within the staked area and use a hand or mechanical compacter to tamp down the soil and even it out.

If the soil is very dry, wet it down to make compacting easier and use a spirit level to ensure the area is flat and even. A layer of weed mat or landscaping fabric over the soil will keep weeds from growing between the pavers and make the base more stable.

Laying the Pavers

Start laying your pavers from a straight edge and keep 2mm between each one for sand filling. Tap each paver lightly with a rubber mallet to position it properly. Once your pavers are all in place, go over the area with a plate compactor to make it even. You may have to go over the area several times, but it’s important that your pavers are even and stable, so don’t skimp on this step. Cover the metal plate of the compactor with something like rubber matting or carpet to cushion it and protect your pavers from damage.

How to Lay Pavers on Sand

Laying pavers on sand base follows the same steps as laying them on soil base, but you’ll be adding a layer of coarse sand, road base, or polymeric sand first. Rake the sand to even it out and use a plate compactor to make your sand base solid so you have a firm, stable base. Lay your pavers in your preferred design the same way you would for a dirt base.

How to Fill Sand Between Pavers

The best sand to use between pavers is crushed rock or coarse, washed river sand. Pour the sand over the paved area and sweep it into every space between the pavers. Take the time to do a thorough job for long-lasting results. Moisten the pavers and continue adding sand until all the spaces are filled, and then sweep off the excess.

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Determine your path width and length and mark out accordingly. Make sure you take into account any surrounding elements. In this case we needed to align with the existing paved area and the clothesline.

Step 2

The easiest way to remove any existing lawn is to take a little time to slice the area into sections. First cut a line with your spade all the way around the edge about 15-20cm out from your marked line. Then make spade-width line cuts across the area. Once you’ve done this over the whole area start from one edge and slide your spade under the grass. You’ll find it comes up in neat spade-width strips. This is a lot easier than using a mattock to dig it out. If handled carefully you can also reuse the grass elsewhere.

Step 3

Use a mattock or hoe remove any excess soil and bring to approximate height. Use a landscape rake to remove any chunks of material and use the smooth-edged back of the rake to roughly level.

Step 4

Check excavated depths at a set point. In our case we were able to take our mark from the existing paving and follow that. If just laying to a sand bed your excavation will need to be the thickness of your brick or paver and a sand bed of 20-30mm. We needed 100mm clear from the top level of our existing paving. If we had been using road-base we would have needed 130-150mm clear. Set a string-line around the perimeter to determine heights all-round. If sides are to be level, you can do this by fitting the line-level to the string-line and adjusting accordingly. Remember when paving always slope it slightly away from structures.

Step 5

Bring in paving sand and spread evenly over area and bring to rough level with a rake. Then use a screed bar (we used an old spirit level) to smooth and level the surface. If laying road-base it is laid prior to the paving sand, brought to rough level in the same way and then compacted with a vibrating-plate compactor. Initial sand level can be around 5-10mm high to allow for compaction during laying.

Step 6

Stack your bricks or pavers at an easy-to-reach distance well spaced around the area to be paved. This allows you to lay your pavers without interruption and avoids having any excessively high stacks.

When trying to count how many pavers you need, first calculate how many of your pavers you need for 1 square metre. For example, a regular brick is 230mm (.23) x 110mm (.11) = .0253. 1m divided by .0253 = 39.5. So you need approximately 40 bricks per square metre. Now work out your area and multiply this by your paver number.

Step 7

Start from one edge and begin laying your pavers aligning with your stringline. We laid our pavers in a basket-weave pattern with a stretcher-bond border to match the existing paving. Use the rubber mallet to tamp down each paver as you go.

Step 8

You’ll find you need to cut some pavers for various end points or to work around objects. If you only have a few to do then the easiest way to cut bricks is using a brick bolster and a lump hammer. Place the brick on a firm, even surface, position the bolster blade at the point you wish to cut and strike firmly with the lump hammer. With practice you’ll be able to cleanly and accurately cut solid bricks with a single strike. For larger pavers or hollow-core bricks you will need to use cutting tools such as a wet-saw or a grinder fitted with a suitable blade. With any power tools, please remember to use appropriate safety gear and if dry-cutting you must also wear breathing protection.

Step 9

Techniques at this stage will vary with the type of paver. If using brick pavers then lift the border edge, remove the bedding sand. Mix sand and cement to a stiff consistency. In sections around 1m long at a time, fill the area of removed sand with a generous amount of this sand and cement mix. Reposition border pavers and tamp back down until surface is aligned with paving. Follow Step 10 before completing the next 1m section.

If using larger format pavers, lift but only remove sand to around 40mm in from edge, then fill and re-lay.

Step 10

Once pavers are tamped back down, any excess sand and cement will have squeezed out the side. Use your trowel to haunch this excess up the sides of the pavers to at least half their height making sure it’s packed it firmly. This will lock your paver edge in place.

Step 11

Avoid stepping on edges that have been cemented-in. Spread the washed sand over entire area and allow it to dry. Once dry, broom back and forth and side to side to sweep into and cracks and joints of pavers. This locks them in place, preventing rocking. You may need to do this again about a week or so later. Once satisfied with this joint filling, sweep off the excess sand and your paving project is complete.

Step 12

You may occasionally encounter fiddly spots which are too difficult to pave and these fall into the “finishing touches” category. In our case the concrete supporting the clothesline stood too high to allow pavers to be laid. The solution was to leave a square section unpaved and then fill this with washed, decorative pebbles.

Can you lay pavers just on sand?

Can you put pavers on top of sand?

Do you pack sand before laying pavers?