Laying Pavers Against Driveway Edge (How Far to Dig?)

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Juneb1022

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I am laying Pavers (first paver project) that are 2.5" in height. in an 80 square foot area to extend the drive way by 2 feet wide and to make a nice walkway along the driveway edge. Would digging 7" down into the soil be enough? I've dug 6" so far with a tiller, which I am very glad I have one now because my "soil" is not really soil. Its extremely hard to dig down, I have very hard dry dirt mixed with clay it looks like as my lawn, oh and also rocks are mixed in with it.


Here is what I am calculating for digging. Am I ok with the below?
2.5" Pavers
3.5" Base
1" Sand



Thanks, June

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Last edited:
Depending on your weather, no less than 3" base. For the project we are doing right now, we have 4" base and 2 3/8" pavers in sunny San Diego. Using a power tamper on the base to get it solid and sloped perfectly.
 
If you are going to drive on them IMO 2.5 thick wont be thick enough. If I understand your plan the car wont drive on them but when you get out of a car you wont be stepping in the grass and they will add a decorative look to your driveway as well. In that case and the soil you described I would have taken just a little more than the sod off adding some crushed rock to level the pavers and that’s enough. All that extra digging of hard compacted soil to fill it in with loose fill and then try and compact it won’t buy you much. Again that’s just my opinion.

On edit:

I just saw you live in NJ and you didn’t mention what method you use for snow removal. If you shovel or use a snow blower you will be fine. If you plow with a truck or hire it plowed the pavers may end up broke or moved come spring.
 
That's the good thing about pavers. Problem is, you will redo often if you don't get it right, and it is a bear to pull them all up for a total redo.
 
Well if you cheat on the base and it dosn't work, you do get a do-over.

Unless you get below the frost line (around here 4’) and do it with something that won’t take on water you will get winter movement. If you don’t drive on them they will set back down come spring. Going deeper in hard clay IMO will just give the water more area to collect without drainage. I have been plowing for many years and there are two ways pavers get ripped out or broken. First is if the frost lifts them and you clip them and the second is when frozen ice attaches to the paver and the plow tries to shear it off. They are not that strong if there is any void under them and they will snap. If you use salt the salt lowers the freezing point and will drive the frost deeper when the real cold temps come.
 
The biggest question was never answered!!!

What are the dimensions of the individual pavers and what is the shape?

Many people dumps materials into a "category" based on the use without considering. A 12"x12"x2-3/8" piece of concrete is not a paver for structural purposes. - It is just an dependent "stepping stone" meant for pedestrian traffic and to wheel loading from cars.

The method of installation for real pavers is part of the methods to get the most out of the base used below.

Dick
 
Check with the paver manufacturer for their specs. The 2 1/2 pavers are acceptable for driveways and you don't need to get below the frost line. Most of the water will flow off the top and not go through the cracks between the pavers.

I've installed a couple of paver patios in VA and NC and I had a 12" base or so. The one I built in NC had a deeper base on the down hill side of the patio as I used gravel to level out the sloping yard.

If you were going to build on top of the driveway going below the frost line would be needed but not for a driveway. Home Time built a paver driveway on their Creekside project in Minnesota and they probably had a 12" base.
 
Just curious, since i have my own paver project in the works: what pavers did you select (Brand, style etc.)?

Hi SNS..

I have bought the Holland Stone 2 3/8" pavers from a local dealer of stone and pavers.
 
They are the Holland Stone 2 3/8 " pavers. There is always a chance they could be driven on. But i wanted them mainly to decorate the area a bit more. The place where i bought the pavers said 7" dig is enough. Think ill give the manufacture a call just to see what they say.
 
They are 4 x8 x 2 3/8. Techo Bloc: I found what I was looking for, I suppose since there's a chance of cars going over these pavers, I should follow the clayey driveway chart in the pic.

Capture.jpg
 
Juneb -

you are missing one very basic point.- For pavers to the stable and strong, you need lateral restraint out the outer edge.

A car going off the driveway and onto the driveway will cause the pavers to move away from the driveway. This causes a lack of restraint, so they can tilt and move outward and eventually settle.

Paving stones for patios, driveways, streets, highways and industrial applications must have some edge restraint. Usually for minor applications a thin strip of steel, aluminum or even plastic at least the thickness of the pavers provides enough lateral restraint.

Dick
 
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