Properly preparing the bedding for placing stone pavers is critical for ensuring that the quality of your sidewalk. After marking out the stone pavement’s location and excavating the soil, you are going to lay the bedding, which generally consists of two layers — a thick layer of crushed rock followed with a thinner layer of mud before installing the stone pavers.

Crushed Rock Base

The foundation material for rock sidewalks typically is composed of a 4- to 6-inch-thick layer of crushed rock — commonly called gravel — of 3/4-inch diameter pieces or smaller. Crushed rock’s sharp edges and dimension variations allow it to compact readily, and also the gaps between the small pieces of crushed rock allow for drainage beneath the stone sidewalk. If the soil below is composed primarily of clay, then you may need a thicker foundation of crushed rock to allow for better drainage. Put in the crushed rock in three layers and compact each layer using a plate compactor to remove any air pockets. Make sure that every layer is leveled and pitched for drainage prior to compacting it.

Sand Bedding

Put a 1- to 11/2-inch-thick layer of mud on top of the crushed rock base. The pavers will sit directly from the sand bedding. Don’t use stone dust or limestone screenings in place of mud, since they do not compact well and usually contain too much dust, called fines, which traps water, creating a spongy material which results in the pavers to settle improperly. Use coarse concrete sand, as it doesn’t contain too-fine particles. Don’t compact the bedding sand. After you lay the stone pavement scoop, you may do a final compaction that shoves loose mud up between the pavers to secure the pavers into the sand bedding.

Edge Restraints

Install edge restraints across the outside of the stone sidewalk to maintain the smaller stone stick out of going and splitting due to high traffic use and severe weather. Edge restraints are available in an assortment of materials, such as metal, wood, precast concrete and plastic. Install edge restraints after putting the pavers or prior to laying the sand bedding, based on the sort of edge restraint. Check the installation instructions for your particular product.

Site Considerations

For stone sidewalks built over newly disturbed soil, lay construction fabric above the Landscaping design Salt Lake City before installing the crushed rock base. If you are installing the sidewalk close to a construction, slope the soil (and then the crushed rock base, sand stone and bedding pavers) away from the construction to ensure proper drainage. Based on the Iowa State University, the proper slope consists of a drop in height of 2 inches for every 8 feet of length. Avoid installing the sidewalk in locations where big Tree Planting service Phoenix roots may harm the sidewalk, or eliminate the Tree Pruning service Fort Lauderdale, FL.