Home Repair and Paint Guide

... This transforms the soft clay into artificial stone. If brick is fired long enough, it will get so hard that it can be used for driveways under heavy loads. Pavers can be set in sand, sand and cement mix, or mortared directly to a concrete slab. Using sand by itself isn’t a very good idea. The pavers can shift around, grass can grow between the cracks, etc. Also, water can get under the stones and wash the sand away. A sand/cement mix is not very difficult to handle. It has the advantage of preventing all the problems with sand alone, and locks everything in-place. Using a cement slab for installation is a lot of work. I would only go this way for pavers that have to handle a heavy load, such as vehicle traffic. It’s not necessary for a patio installation. Regardless of the type of bed selected, you first have to excavate the area so the bed is thick enough to withstand temperature extremes and expected load. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions if available. If not, then use a standard bed depth of four inches. Take your time and as with all home improvement projects, planning is the key. Make sure you have enough material on the site to complete everything once work starts. Draw an outline of the area in the dirt with a stick and step back to see how it will look. Lay the pavers on top of the ground to get a better visual and also line up any patterns you are using ...