How to Block Pave a Drive for Beginners

Measure the area of your driveway. Know this area measurement when purchasing your sand, blocks and subbase, as a building supply salesperson can help you determine how much of each you will need.

Mark your designated area with string or flags before digging. This keeps your place as you create the foundation for your new driveway.

Remove a few inches of topsoil using a shovel. Take the depth of your blocks, subbase and sand into consideration. Dig the topsoil so that you have at least a 1-inch downward slope across both the width and length of your drive area for drainage purposes.

Run the plate vibrator across the entire surface of your soil. Fill any soft areas of the soil with subbase material.

Lay three to four inches of subbase material on top of the soil.

Place edge restraints along the soil’s length and width. Use a spade to shoulder the sides of your edge restraints that face the outside of the drive area. Spread cement along the area where the ground and bottom-most exposed area of the edge restraints meet.

Lay two to three inches of soft concreting sand on top of the subbase material within the edge restraints. Smooth the sand with a flat surface, such as a wooden beam or two-by-four.

Lay blocks on top of the soft concreting sand in your desired pattern. Avoid walking on the sand in the process.

Run the plate vibrator over the blocks two or three times. This compacts the sand and pushes it between spaces in the base of your blocks.

Spread fine joint-filling sand over the blocks. Use a broom to spread the sand over the blocks evenly. This allows the sand to set between the blocks’ crevices.

Run the plate vibrator over the sand until it has settled between the blocks.