Instructions for Installing Patio Pavers

Mark out the patio's size and shape on the grass, using spray paint. Begin digging out the patio area around the edges. Use a shovel to dig a trench approximately 7 inches deep.

Remove the sod inside the trench with a flat-edged shovel. Maintain the same depth as you did with your trench. Place a level in various places to check that the ground is level. Place soil in any low areas to maintain the 7-inch depth and keep the base level.

Tamp down the dug-out area with either a hand tamper or a plate compactor. Measure the length and width of the dug out area. Cut strips of landscape fabric to length with a scissors and lay them across the area. Overlap the landscape fabric's edges by 4 to 6 inches.

Pour paver base over the landscape fabric. Use a metal garden rake to evenly distribute the paver base across the entire area. When finished, the paver base should be approximately 4 inches deep and level. Lightly water the paver base's surface with a garden hose. Tamp the paver base down with either a hand tamper or a plate compactor. Go over it a few times so the surface is hardened.

Pour sand onto the patio paver base. Use a metal rake to level the sand out approximately 1 inch thick. Lay a 2-by-4-by-12 across the sand in various places. Put a level on the 2-by-4. Add sand to any low areas. Take your time in making the sand perfectly level.

Place the first patio paver in one corner. Continue laying the pavers, working toward one direction. If your pavers form a pattern, lay one complete pattern and then start again. Check that the pavers are sitting level by placing a level on them. Tap down high pavers with a rubber mallet until they are sitting at the same height as the surrounding pavers. If a paver is sitting too low, add a bit of sand underneath it, then tap it down with a rubber mallet until it is the same height as the other pavers.

Cut pavers to fit in small areas or to form a border around the patio. Mark the length you need on the paver with a piece of chalk. Use a diamond-blade wet saw to cut the paver to the desired length.

Lay a strip of landscape edging against the patio's exterior edges. The edging's top edge should be approximately 1 inch lower than the patio's surface. Secure the edging in place, following the manufacturer's directions. Most edgings use spikes to hold them in place. Hammer one spike through each hole and into the ground.

Pour paver sand onto the patio's surface. Sweep the sand into the cracks between every paver. A stiff-bristled broom works best. Sweep any extra paver sand off the patio and into the surrounding grass.

Spray the patio's surface lightly with water from a garden hose. Walk over the patio and look for any gaps that did not get filled with paver sand. Fill those gaps and spray the patio again.

Spread topsoil around the patio's edges to cover the landscape edging and fill in any parts of the trench not covered with a patio paver. Either plant flowers around the patio or lightly rake grass seed into the topsoil.