When working with pavers, what is best used as a base sand or cruhed limestone? & how deep should the base be?

Answer 1

Pavers to cover the desired square footage. The number of pavers needed will vary depending on the paver size. Usually 4-5 pavers are needed for each square foot to be covered. Be sure to use strong, high quality pavers which will not crack under the intended use.


Crushed rock or class 5 fill for use as a base. The rock should create a layer 4-12" thick over the area to be paved. Paths may require only 4" and driveways 12". The base material we used was a crushed limestone called "class two." In some areas it's called "three-quarter minus", AB3, Granular type 2, or 21A.


The base material needs to be moist. One way you can tell is to pick up a handful and squeeze it. If it holds together in a solid clump, it's just right.

You can get a compactor at a rental store, you need a 4 or 5-horsepower compactor. Anything less won't do the job.


It works best to put down only half of the base material at a time, and compact it after each layer. In our case, two three-inch layers compacted down to the four inches of base we needed.


Keep the compactor running at full throttle. If you slow it down even a little, you reduce the effect a lot. Let the machine pull itself forward, you shouldn't have to push it to make it move.


First run the compactor around the edges of the area twice. Then start on the low side and work across the grade, moving uphill. Then change directions 90 degrees and start going up and down. Next, do a diagonal pass. Then repeat the whole process again.


If there are areas you can't reach with the big compactor, you'll have to compact them by hand. One way is to use the end of a sledge hammer.


After compacting each layer check for flatness and for the proper grade. You'll probably have to do some scraping, filling, and more compacting to fine tune everything.






Construction fabric to help stabilize organic or recently disturbed soils.


Coarse sand to create a layer ½-1" thick over the entire base area and to fill the space between individual pavers once the project is completed.


Edging - if pavers are not installed against an immovable surface, some type of edging should be used for support. Common edging materials include 2 x 6" lumber, 6 x 6" timbers or a commercial poly paver edge.

Answer 2

Best Sand For Pavers

Answer 3

Base For Pavers

Answer 4

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RE:
When working with pavers, what is best used as a base sand or cruhed limestone? & how deep should the base be?

Answer 5

It depends if you are using AB the answer is no, confused ab is gravel you will need a solid base for the paver's and some thing to hold the sides.

Answer 6

I prefer crushed limestone. Depending on the area, you may need to go deeper, but generally 4-6 inches of crusher run and an inch or so of the finer stone dust for leveling purposes. Make sure you compact both well.

Answer 7

The cheaper one, and it depends on use. Is it a walk, or a driveway?