Paving Installation Process

Here at Beckingham Block Paving LTD, our contractors are trained to install block paving to the highest of standards. The following is an outline of the basic steps we carry out before / during and after our installation.

Excavation

Before you can install block paving, you need to make sure you have sufficient depth for not only the paving and its laying base of sand but also the base foundation underneath. We first use a CAT scanner on any residential driveways to detect any pipework and electrical work. Once we have assessed and marked these areas we begin excavation.

Excavation by our team is done by machine and removed by a loader which means you will never have a mess or heap of rubble lying around. As we excavate, we remove it at once.

Base Preparation

Once excavation is complete, we will install any membranes, piping, drainage, edging and manhole covers. We will install our new base foundation once these have been set into place. This will be set to the required levels and compacted with a heavy-duty whacker plate to lock it in place.

Surface Installation

At this stage, we will lay our sand or paving grit on top of the base foundation. This will be screeded using conduit piping which has been set to accurate levels to direct the surface water runoff. Once the sand is laid, our paving is laid on top.

We will always border off the areas separately and lay the paving in whichever pattern you would like. However, for standard paving, we will always recommend herringbone as it will help to lock the paving in place, which is very important in areas with vehicle traffic, such as a driveway.

Any open edges of block paving are cut into the border we have run around the area, and the entire area will have kiln-dried sand / silver sand applied on top of it.

Retaining

To retain the paving, it should either be run tight into a wall or an edging kerb. If there is no edge to run it into, the outside line of paving should be set in concrete. Without adequate retention, the paving will push apart eventually.

Compaction

At this final stage, the kiln-dried sand is swept off and the paving is machine-compacted. We compact first in one direction, and then we compact a 2nd time in the opposite direction, for example, side to side first and then the 2nd compaction would be top to bottom.

This helps to not only level off the paving but will help drive the sand into the joints which due to the spacers on the paving, will allow the sand to drop in and lock the paving in place.

Once compaction is finished, we will top up the joints on the paving with more kiln-dried sand and clean off the area to complete the work.

If you would like to know more, or would like a free estimate for block paving in Beckenham, call our pavers on 020 8485 9383, we would love to provide you with a 100% Free estimate.