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Installing the Concrete Pavers

Nick Pastore, certified Unilock installer, finds the Unilock product easier to install than a natural stone like a Belgian paver because they are all uniform�smooth edges, square, always the same dimensions. To prepare the bed he first put down a 12 inch compacted gravel base and then laid a regular washed sand bed on top of the compacted gravel. He uses 1 1/2-inch aluminum electrical conduit on top of the gravel base to establish a proper height - setting the conduit to any pitch he may need to achieve, fills in between the conduit with sand, and then screeds over it with the straight edge of a 2 x 4 to set the sand base. Then he removes the conduit, fills in with sand, trowels over it, and begins setting the pavers into place. The pavers are laid and tapped into place, making sure they're all jointed together well. Settlement is the biggest challenge. A well compacted base is the best defense. They use a vibratory plate compactor to tamp everything down. In tight areas there's a lot of handwork with mallets and the like, but in larger areas they do it all by machine. To deal with curves in the layout they take a wet saw and cut the paver. It's a straight cut on a curve. The cut paver will fit in and the joining sand will fill it in. Finally the polymeric joining sand is swept over the entire work area and the compactor is run over one more time. Because a modular pavement will want to creep outward, Nick's crew uses a PVC edge restraint with spikes that are driven into the ground to hold the restraint in place. The edger only picks up the bottom half of the stone allowing the landscaping to come right up to the edge of the pavement creating a contiguous surface.
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Installing the Concrete Pavers

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" Does this lay down a lot more easily than a natural stone like a Belgian paver it does because it's all uniform in -- It's it's real nice to work with everything's. You know pretty pretty lost in that -- and it's always the same dimension now what have you done to prepare -- bed the bed here well first we put a compacted gravel base down about twelve inches. And then we -- we're looking at now is just the sand the sand bed that's actually laid on top of the compacted gravel. Is this the stuff well that's the sand for the joints -- that's which. Add in later we use just a regular -- and these are just aluminum one half inch aluminum electrical conduit was -- that's on top of the gravel base and that gives us the proper height -- that these make them level if we need to put any kitchen. We set the the conduit to the -- in screed with the two by correctly what I don't understand it run a straight piece of to my poor woman -- went out and went straight edge over it right to set our sand base will send these out. Fill it in trial and over -- our pavers in place so it goes pretty quickly let's just watch OK. Just tap them into place. Make sure they're all jointed together pretty them. The case of the conduit has done its job and you -- activist and they're just gonna take the trial. And filling. The void left by the consulate today. Now there is going to be a fair amount of settlement here that you're you're saying you you'll tamp everything down -- of -- towards plays compassion and pavement failure isn't just having one crack on you but also of itself and you end up with a lot of puddles. -- economic brackets that the -- this pavement settling underneath the base nick was talking about they put down twelve inches of base here we have some pretty heavy soils here. Until we excavated out of the twelve into the basement. And compact in that in lifts is important. We can't -- Compacted and then add another point is correct. Now nick how do you deal -- these curves here. Well Bob what we do is we take a full. Paver among going to have to market because obviously a -- one went in there yet we market on either rent and we take a wet saw. And we cut it it's a straight cut on a curve it'll fit in and for joining -- we will -- something by the CI a bit. Kind of drop it in there not doing masonry work with machines. Makes the difference I guess is that now speaking of which we want to tamp all this down if he shows how that works pressure. And this is the farmers and we it would. But -- spread out right my parents and yes. The fuel -- won't. -- that has to happen on the entire thing and then maybe a lot of rain would help. One last question what about the edges on an installation like this very important. You know dynamics of a modular pavement is that they want to creep outwards -- question when you put loads on right so it's most important that we put -- in good company and interest rates and so this is the restraint right here it's made out of -- VC material CDC so you simply drive the spike into the ground that holes in place that's correct. Messing about this type of restraint is that it. It only picks up the bottom of the stone because again we're only trying to keep it more canal written -- let's get rid of the pavement and make a contiguous excellent. Welcome Ron brown to see how he's taken outlet. Sheriff's over there -- Oh this looks great -- got all the curved pieces in place. And now this is the same sort of sand but here it just gets swept in correct we're going to sweep and an and then we'll run that compact -- over again one final time. And when we're all said and done -- just hope for a little water on it sure right right nice job thanks a lot thanks Bob."

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