BUILD YOUR DRIVEWAY WITH PAVERS IN 6 EASY STEPS

When you think of a great looking driveway, then you must think of outdoor pavers. Nowadays, people prefer to use pavers to construct their driveways, and those people who used asphalt initially will more often than not change the asphalt to pavers because of the way pavers beautify driveways, as well as offices, homes and patios.

But before you start tearing up your driveway recklessly with a jackhammer, you need to have a plan in place. So here is our plan to build a driveway with pavers in six easy steps.

Step 1 – Measure, Measure, Measure 

Before you buy a single paver, you need grab a tape measure and some graph paper. Step outside and measure the length and breadth of your driveway, as well as your garage.

To add some style to your driveway, you could include an extra parking space, just in case you decide to have guests over in the future.

Step 2 – Choose the Best Design

The next step is very important, because now you’ll be choosing your preferred design. There are numerous design options that you can choose from. You can browse through the available patterns on the internet or you could get a catalog of the patterns offline.

Grey quartzite or grey bluestone pavers and cobbles are excellent for driveways. The show less tyre marks and have greater flexural strength than other materials.

Step 3 – Pick a Colour

After picking a pattern, the next step is to choose your preferred paver color. When you are choosing a colour, make sure that you take into consideration the colour of your house, so that the two will match. The colour for a driveway also needs to be practical, i.e. not show the dirt. Lighter colours look great but they stain and mark more easily. Keep style and practicality in mind when selecting your colour scheme.

Step 4 – Find a Shape

Now that you have the pattern and the colour out of the way, it is time to decide on your preferred paver shape. You can go online and browse through the available shapes or you can have a look at the catalog that you have with you when you chose the best design in Step 2.

An important point to remember is that small formats have the greatest flexural strength with lower risk of breaking. That is why cobbles with dimensions of 90x90mm are sometimes preferred. Additionally, the surface of the stone is critical as driveways are often steep. Stone with a natural split or flamed surface are preferred so vehicles are able to achieve good traction without the risk of spinning the wheels (and leaving unsightly rubber marks!).

Although the prices of pavers vary with their shapes, you can still get a fantastic looking paver at a reasonable price. Check out Bellstone's latest specials. 

Step 5 – Draw a Picture

The fifth step is to draw a picture of your proposed driveway. It doesn’t have to be a work of art, just good enough to give you a vague idea of how you want your new driveway to look.

If you fail to sketch it, you may get confused and end up with a driveway that looks totally different to what you wanted. This is especially true if it is your first time building a driveway.

Step 6 – Install

The last step is to install your pavers. If you do not feel confident enough to build the driveway yourself, then hire a contractor. Make sure that you show him the drawing you made in Step 5 before he starts, that way he will have a better chance of building your dream driveway.

Drainage is critical at the installation stage – there must be run-off points and drains. The run-off should be directed off the apron of the drive and not allowed to pool on the paved areas.

After successful installation, you are now the proud owner of a fantastic looking driveway built with pavers.