Concrete Pavers Are What You Need For Areas Where There Is Heavy Footfall

You must have heard of the term paving stones. It is another name for concrete pavers. These are one of the most common choices of exterior flooring options. They are somewhat similar to tiles. They are manufactured with specific shapes, sizes, and colours in mind. They come to the ready to be used. Whether you want to construct a new pavement or want to do some DIY projects, these pavers come in handy.

How Are Concrete Pavers Installed?

Clearing up the space - Concrete pavers installation is an easy process. To begin with, the surface or the area where the installation needs to be done is cleared. The process is initiated by removing the existing paving, if there is any. Otherwise, it is started by removing the grass and the loose soil.

Layering - After this, a base of gravel is laid down and compressed very intensely. Then a layer of sand is laid on that surface.

A common driveway will have a 1-inch layer of sand laid over 4-6 inches of gravel. But on a driveway with heavy footfall, the base has to be a minimum of 10-12 inches thick. The base has a slight gradient to allow the rainwater to run off and not stand there.

After the base layer is ready, the edging is installed along the sides of the entire driveway so that when the concrete pavers are laid, they snugly fit in and do not fall off. The pavers are just simply installed and laid down. Where the corners are required to be cut off to fit in properly, they are cut off with masonry saws.

The strength of the concrete pavers

Concrete has its inherent strength, but when laid down with patterns and designs, they last longer because of the interlocking design. In comparison, the straightly laid concrete pavers may not last that long. After all the pavers are put into place, they are compressed with a mechanized plate compactor machine to set firmly into the sand base. Then finally, paver sand is spread across the entire place to fill the remaining gaps. Then agai,n it is compressed. Again sand is spread to fill in so that there is no gap. Finally, it is compressed for the third time. This ensures that it becomes very tight and rigid.

The Designs Of Concrete Pavers

Concrete pavers come in different patterns and designs. But they can even be customized as per the needs of the customer and the space that he has. The designs can be like:

• Randomly patterned

• Alternately randomly patterned

• Majestic random

• Butt joint

• Majestic butt joint

• Mega random

• Herringbone

• Herringbone with band

• Running bond

How Are Concrete Pavers Made?

Concrete pavers are made with a dry concrete mix containing cement, gravel, sand, and pigments. At the same time, being manufactured, the wet mixture is poured into moulds that are variously shaped and sized. It is then vibrated to get the concrete to compress and set. It is then cured.

These pavers can bear loads of up to 8000 pounds per square inch of pressure. Concrete pavers mostly last a lifetime.

Repair And Maintenance Of Pavers

Concrete pavers require very little maintenance and repairs. Regular sweeping and washing it away with normal water is enough to keep it clean. If small weeds and plants do make their way in between the paver,s then they can be easily pulled up.

Again where stains are concerned, they can also be removed with concrete cleaners. And if the smooth surface does degrade with time, sealer application does the job of protecting it. If anyone or a section of the concrete pavers does get damaged, they can easily be pulled out and replaced.

Conclusion

With so little going towards its maintenance and repair cost, the concrete pavers are just the thing that you need for your driveways, pathways, and walkways not only that, ,they cost very little compared to the longevity that the concrete pavers have.