How to Place Pavers Beside a House

Creating a pathway alongside a house with paver stones is practical and creates a charming, old-fashioned ambiance. Pavers are made in a variety of natural and synthetic materials. They are available in many different colors and shapes. Laying individual pavers in a footpath is much easier and less expensive than building a traditional sidewalk. When done properly, a paver footpath can last decades with minimal maintenance.

Paver stones 2 inches or more thick
Heavy-duty long-bladed knife
Heavy-duty trowel
Gravel
Construction sand
Small sand brush
12-inch carpenters level
Dirt hand-tamper
12-inch ruler

Instructions

- 1
  Lay out the path where the pavers will go. The normal stride is 18 inches per step, but measure your stride and those who will use the walkway the most. Place a marker every place your foot hits the ground along the path. If the markers are considerably different for the path users then take an average of the distances to use a placement for the pavers. Otherwise, place a paver where the footstep markers are.
- 2
  Lay a paver on the beginning marker. Carve completely through the turf with the knife around the paver. Remove the paver.
- 3
  Remove the turf within the cut and dig the soil out at least 3 inches plus the depth of the paver.
- 4
  Pack the soil with the hand tamper.
- 5
  Fill the hole with 2 inches of gravel, using the ruler to keep track. Continue to fill with the sand, pausing every few seconds to brush the sand in between the gravel. From the top of the hole to the top of the smoothed and tamped sand there should be the height of the paver stone plus ¼-inch.
- 6
  Check the level of the sand to ensure that it is balanced.
- 7
  Lay the paver stone in the hole on the sand. Ensure that it is slightly below ground level. Adjust the sand level if not. Double-check the level of the paver. If the sand was level, the paver should also be level.
- 8
  Pack the loose turf back around the edges of the paver to force a tight fit in the hole.
  
  Continue the same process for all the pavers until finished.

How to Install Pavers for a Grill

Step-by-Step on How to Pave Using Bricks

Paving