They say it is all in the planning and no more so for a home improvement project such as paving. This not only ensures you stay on budget and avoid wasting precious materials but that it all proceeds smoothly. Pavers are great for creating the right atmosphere for your outdoor lifestyle while adding value to your home. So before your installer arrives on site or all the materials are delivered there are a couple check boxes you need to run through to make sure it does all go according to your carefully crafted plan. 

Paver Planning

1. Survey the Site

You need to identify the scope and size of the area where you intend to pave. This allows you to estimate the amount of materials you require as well identify any practical issues such as drainage.

2. Lifestyle Use?

You need to think about how you are intending to use your paved area from a practical and lifestyle point of view. For this you need to work out what sort of traffic your pavers will be subject to. Pavers come in a variety of thicknesses, most commonly in 50mm and 65mm. If you are paving a driveway you are going to need the thicker variety to ensure they don’t crack.

3. Choose Pavers

Choosing pavers is ultimately a personal choice, but don’t forget to take into account their practicality and cost. There is an extensive range of colours, patterns and textures available and in terms of paver materials choose from terracotta, brick, clay, concrete, slate, ceramic or natural stone. Aesthetically you will also need to decide if a square, hexagonal or interlocking pattern suits. Large format pavers are great for making small areas look larger but be careful as they can overwhelm a space.  For larger areas avoid too many small pavers as this can look a little too busy.

4. Plan the design

There are a range of patterns you can have your pavers laid in, including checkerboard, stretcher, herringbone and basket weave. Get some input from friends or your installer as to what will look best in your setting.

5. Estimate Materials

It’s always good to have an idea of what your paving project will cost. A good way of doing this is to breakdown the various elements. In terms of materials - pavers, sand, concrete – you need to allow for breakages, site wastage and cuts.