Landscape Architect Articles

LCN September 2006 PMBR08-31-06 | News

Will Your Hardscape Installation Survive the Test of Time?

By, Jim Carlson, Pave Tech, Inc.

This puddle depicts a low spot on the base material that will most certainly show up on top of your pavers if not repaired. Being called back to repair a job that you have already been paid for will certainly hurt your bottom line. Photos courtesy of Pave Tech, Inc.

Hardscape contractors today rely strongly on referral business. Because you took your time rather than rushing through your job, past customers are referring you to new ones. However, many times, what you thought was a job well done, was actually the start of a failed installation. Here are a few tips to ensure that your installation will last the test of time.

Your whole installation is at risk when your pavers are first being compacted. If your edging doesn?EUR??,,????'???t hold up through the compaction process, your pavement has a greater risk of failure.

Tension is a Good Thing

The most critical part of any installation is the proper preparation for your project. This begins by compacting your base material in reasonable size lifts (say three to four inches per lift), until you have reached your desired height. Remember that pavers don?EUR??,,????'???t lie. If you don?EUR??,,????'???t properly compact and level your base, your pavers will show every dip and valley that your rushed preparation did not eliminate. This will be especially apparent come the first wave of rainfall to hit your customers?EUR??,,????'??? patio or driveway. If you are dealing with slopes like many installations do, it is important to consider proper drainage. Make sure the pavement slopes away from structures with a minimum two percent grade.

By installing your edging first, you are able to give your customer an outline of the finished product. You can see below, where the homeowner in this case decided to expand the project from their initial layout. This saves the contractor from having to redo everything after they have laid all the sand and pavers.

Flexibility is the Key

As important as base preparation is, the paver edging is what actually holds the entire pavement together. These two work hand in hand to create a true flexible pavement system. Besides being aesthetically pleasing, interlocking pavers enable weight to be distributed evenly throughout the surface. This end result is created by the surface tension the compacted, restrained pavers provide. This is why edging is so critical in any application. The only way to obtain optimal surface tension, so the pavers can work as one system, is to compact the surface with a 3,000 to 5,000 pound force compactor. If your edging shifts during this process, perimeter interlock will never take place.

This image shows how your entire project can be at risk from day one if you don?EUR??,,????'???t use the proper edging.

Save Time and Money

An edging allows for an easier, labor saving installation. Many contractors don?EUR??,,????'???t take into consideration the extra cost of spikes and labor. It allows you to spike your edging every two feet for vehicular applications, and every three feet for patios and walkways. The other big advantage is the sand retention/frost heave lip.

The lip is placed under the pavers and bedding sand, which holds the pavers in place and prevents the sand from migrating out. It is highly recommended that your edging be installed before screeding the sand and laying the pavers because:

?EUR??,,????'???? Edgings installed prior to paver installation can be adjusted to accommodate full pavers, reducing the number of cuts and small pieces.

?EUR??,,????'???? It gives the customer a better visual image of the size and shape of the project.

?EUR??,,????'???? Any modification to the project size and shape can be made with a minor investment of labor.

?EUR??,,????'???? If the edging is rigid enough, the upper edge can be used as a screed rail, reducing the number of rails and voids that will need to be filled and smoothed over.

?EUR??,,????'???? During the spiking process, a contractor can also be alerted to soft spots in the base, allowing repairs to the base to be readily made.
I will leave you with a philosophy that we at PAVE TECH have come to know very well.

As John Ruskin said in The High Cost of Paying Too Little, ?EUR??,,????'??It?EUR??,,????'???s unwise to pay too much, but it?EUR??,,????'???s worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money ?EUR??,,????'??? that is all. When you pay too little you sometimes lose everything?EUR??,,????'???because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot ?EUR??,,????'??? it can?EUR??,,????'???t be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better?EUR??,,????'??.

Using an edging enables you to screed directly off the edging saving time and labor by eliminating over screeding. This will shorten your clean up time since you have no excess material that you would need to excavate.