whether you're about to lie apart on the side a patio out back or a driveway Borel has a wealth of experience that will help make it easy for you a host of free brochures are available plus plenty of information and inspiration to be found on the Borel website to choose a paper firstly determine what the area will be useful laurels quality range includes pavers that are specially designed for use around swimming pools to cope with salt there are papers that have been created specifically with the extra strength needed for driveways and a good many others are simply perfect for paths or to form the smart and durable flooring to your new outdoor room if your plan includes steps look for pavers that offer a matching bullnose this is a paver with a rounded lip on one side which gives a professional elegant finish to stairs firstly you'll need these tools a spirit level a rake and shovel two pieces of straight timber or PVC pipe measuring about three meters long and at least 30 millimeters thick these will become your screeding rails more about that later string lines glasses gloves measuring tape you'll be able to find all of this at hardware stores hire a mechanical plate compactor from a plant hire store and find an old piece of carpet or rubber matting that will be used to wrap around the compactor plate to protect your new papers a brick cutting saw may also be required and these are also available from higher outlets you'll also need a wheelbarrow a screening board a marker pen a stiff bristled broom your hose with a spray nozzle attached and any safety equipment or clothing that the hire company may advise is required during compact to use for most paving projects the materials required are what pavers of course what's known as base layer which is either Road base material or well graded crushed rock bedding sand a dry and coarse well graded washed River or Quarry sand for the jointing of the paving you'll need jointing sand a fine dry wash sand also known as sharp sand you may also need edge restraints if the job requires them these are the edges you add to the general paved area to ensure the paving and grouting sand remain in place edge restraints can be made of timber concrete or pavers first thing to do is to mark out the area designated for paving clear the area removing rubbish and old paving excavate down to allow for the base layer bedding sand and the thickness of the paper remember it's important that rainwater flows away from the house so the finished paved area must slope away from the house ensure the ground level is even level the surface with your rake spread 1/2 or 1/3 of the base layer evenly over the prepared ground break this to an even thickness wetting down this layer will aid compaction and reduce dust start up the compactor and walk it evenly across the area repeat the process until you've added and compacted all the base layer material the ground should now feel quite firm cover this with a layer of bedding sand to around 30 mil in depth then rake it over until it's roughly level again now it's time for screeding which will create a firm level laying surface take your screed rails and embed them into the bedding sand parallel and just short of the length of your screeding board ensure the tops of the rails are below the finish string height by the same thickness as that of your paving bless 8 to 10 mil which is an allowance of the effect of later compacting use a paver or piece of paving as a guide drag your screeding board along these rails screeding off and packing the sand some find it easiest to use a side-to-side sawing motion when screeding next remove your screeding guides and fill the tracks with bedding set and smooth this off choosing the laying pattern is mainly a matter of personal taste although some patterns provide more locking strength for applications such as driveways among the simplest are stacked bond and stretcher bond both can also be laid at 45-degree angles if required other popular laying patterns include herringbone and basket weave but first of all set up some new string lines at right angles to establish your paving lines you'll use these as a guide to keep your paving straight another good tip to remember from the expert at Worrell don't just grab the first pavers closest to you it's worthwhile taking them at random from different sides of the palette and if you have a number of pellets then take from different pallets this will ensure an overall blending when the pavers are down start laying along the longest straight edge of your projects area it's best to lay whole pavers first and save the cut ones until later leave two to three mil between each paper to allow for grouting unless the papers have nibs we're using a stack on blank pattern once that's complete it's time to address any smaller spaces that will require cut pavers grab your marker pen and hold a paver over its designated space then position it so that it just sits on the surrounding surface mark the cut angle approximately five mil in from what you feel will make a tight fit cut along this guide using the wet bricks or putting small marks across the line first and then following it up by cutting through the paper another useful tip is to fit each part paver with its cut side facing away from the main paved area so if for instance the cut paver is positioned at the edge of your patio the cut surface would edge the lawn or Garth all paving projects will require edge restraints to prevent movement a concrete haunch is the easiest type of restrain however areas that don't have load-bearing activity may benefit from an edge treatment as simple as pavers laid top to tail on their sides or treated timber set them around ten millimeters below the paver level before you start the final compaction now the pavers are down the job is really taking shape and you should be able to have a good idea of how wonderful a finished result will be next scatter grouting sand across the pavers and sweep it into the joints if you've got a big job and applied a compactor rapid plate with a protected piece of carpet or rubber matting compact the surface of the pavers adding more jointing sand sweep off the excess and repeat this procedure for a small area lay the protective material on the pavers then position a hardwood plank use a rubber mallet against the plank to effectively compact the area you'll find the papers will compact down by about 8 to 10 mil once the joints look full and the area feels firm underfoot sweep away the excess sand using a fine spray to avoid washing away the grout hose the area gently to set the mix finally for ease of maintenance it's worth applying a sealer to your papers particularly if they're of a light tone laid in an area susceptible to staining such as a barbecue nothing left to do now except sit back and enjoy ad job well done step-by-step instructions on do-it-yourself paving can be found in the free brochure entitled the complete guide to laying pavers it's available from your local bald stockist to learn more about the Borel paving range available check out the website www.rinaldin.com