Hiya Folks,
Getting everything in order to install brick pavers at mi casa this summer.
These will be external for walkways and possibly part of my driveway over a
bed of basecourse and sand. Anyway, I've got a few basic questions.
One, I can find 1" Base Course/Crushed rock or 3/4". The price for the 1"
is significantly cheaper so my question is, does it matter that it's a bit
larger than the typical 3/4" stuff? Two, the walkways will have some
curves in them. Do you recommend I just fudge the gaps to make the curves
or cut the bricks. I realize this probably depends on how sharp a curve
but just curious. I've got a wet saw and had planned on cutting so if
that's preferable, then I'll go that route (I think I'd prefer this to
excessive gaps between the pavers). I'd probably have all sorts of
headaches with changing geometry if I'm cutting the bricks though. Anyway,
any other tips or advice is most appreciated.
Cheers,
cc

James "Cubby" Culbertson wrote:
Hiya Folks,
Getting everything in order to install brick pavers at mi casa this summer.
These will be external for walkways and possibly part of my driveway over a
bed of basecourse and sand. Anyway, I've got a few basic questions.
One, I can find 1" Base Course/Crushed rock or 3/4". The price for the 1"
is significantly cheaper so my question is, does it matter that it's a bit
larger than the typical 3/4" stuff? Two, the walkways will have some
curves in them. Do you recommend I just fudge the gaps to make the curves
or cut the bricks. I realize this probably depends on how sharp a curve
but just curious. I've got a wet saw and had planned on cutting so if
that's preferable, then I'll go that route (I think I'd prefer this to
excessive gaps between the pavers). I'd probably have all sorts of
headaches with changing geometry if I'm cutting the bricks though. Anyway,
any other tips or advice is most appreciated.

You should look into pavers that are tapered and designed to create
curves. Far less work than cutting and you won't have those hard
cornered edges of the cut stone - that always looks odd if you use the
typical paver that has eased edges or are tumbled. Rinox is a good
brand. As far as the base course, I usually set walkway pavers in sand
and driveway pavers on crushed rock. As long as you compact the base
well, and use fine aggregate for the actual setting course, the size of
the largest stone doesn't really matter all that much.

R

"James \"Cubby\" Culbertson" wrote:

Hiya Folks,
Getting everything in order to install brick pavers at mi casa this summer.
These will be external for walkways and possibly part of my driveway over a
bed of basecourse and sand. Anyway, I've got a few basic questions.
One, I can find 1" Base Course/Crushed rock or 3/4". The price for the 1"
is significantly cheaper so my question is, does it matter that it's a bit
larger than the typical 3/4" stuff?

I used #2 chushed stone for my patio base. Held up fine in NY for 3
years, now. I used crusher-run instead of sand. It packs better,
IMO, but it did stain some pavers the first year.
Two, the walkways will have some
curves in them. Do you recommend I just fudge the gaps to make the curves
or cut the bricks. I realize this probably depends on how sharp a curve

Definately depends on how big the curve. My patio is concentric
circles with 4" pavers. I bought a pallet of pavers to make the
circle-- 2 half-rounds, a bunch of tapered ones, some 2x4, & 4x4's.
Then I bought a pallet of straight run-- 4x4s & 4x8s. There are a
diminishing number of the tapered [trapazoids with a 3 inch and a 4
inch side] in the first 13 courses. After that it is a 1/8" gap
that makes the curve. I use more of the 2x4 pieces towards the
center of the circle, and more of the 4x8's on trhe outer edges.

but just curious. I've got a wet saw and had planned on cutting so if
that's preferable, then I'll go that route (I think I'd prefer this to
excessive gaps between the pavers). I'd probably have all sorts of
headaches with changing geometry if I'm cutting the bricks though.

I would only cut the edges-- never where 2 pavers are coming together.

Compact-- compact-- compact. [rent the machine. $75 now compared
tot he time & labor cost of the job is a pittance] The beauty of
pavers is that they are easy to re-do a section if need be. . . .but
the more time you spend compacting now, the less likely it is that
you'll need to touch anything up for years.

Jim

rock covered by sand, both compacted.

frost heaving kills stuff, the gravel underneath provides drainage, the
sand a smooth surface so the pavers lay flat and dont cause tripping

"RicodJour" wrote in message
oups.com...
You should look into pavers that are tapered and designed to create
curves. Far less work than cutting and you won't have those hard
cornered edges of the cut stone - that always looks odd if you use the
typical paver that has eased edges or are tumbled. Rinox is a good
brand. As far as the base course, I usually set walkway pavers in sand
and driveway pavers on crushed rock. As long as you compact the base
well, and use fine aggregate for the actual setting course, the size of
the largest stone doesn't really matter all that much.

R


Thanks. I'm using just plain ole standard type brick (built to be a paver)
so no eased or tumbled edges. And no "shapes" available.
I will have to cut them I suppose. Thanks for the confirmation on the base.
Cheers,
cc

wrote in message
...
The guys around here keep the pattern going square and just cut the
curve along the edges. Think about a curved pattern cut from graph
paper.


Yeah, I was thinking of that as a possibility. I may have to lay it out
and see if I can go that route.
Cheers,
cc

James "Cubby" Culbertson wrote:

Thanks. I'm using just plain ole standard type brick (built to be a paver)
so no eased or tumbled edges. And no "shapes" available.
I will have to cut them I suppose. Thanks for the confirmation on the base.

If you have to cut them you could set up a jig and cut a bunch of them
beforehand. Cutting individual pieces to fit is slow work.

R

James "Cubby" Culbertson wrote:
Hiya Folks,
Getting everything in order to install brick pavers at mi casa this summer.
These will be external for walkways and possibly part of my driveway over a
bed of basecourse and sand. Anyway, I've got a few basic questions.
One, I can find 1" Base Course/Crushed rock or 3/4". The price for the 1"
is significantly cheaper so my question is, does it matter that it's a bit
larger than the typical 3/4" stuff? Two, the walkways will have some
curves in them. Do you recommend I just fudge the gaps to make the curves
or cut the bricks. I realize this probably depends on how sharp a curve
but just curious. I've got a wet saw and had planned on cutting so if
that's preferable, then I'll go that route (I think I'd prefer this to
excessive gaps between the pavers). I'd probably have all sorts of
headaches with changing geometry if I'm cutting the bricks though. Anyway,
any other tips or advice is most appreciated.
Cheers,
cc



Hey Cubby - I did a curved walk, 4' wide, 35' long. It turned 90degres
gradually. The first 2' and the last 2' were not quite straight. Think
shaped like a banana. I did not make any cuts to facilitate the curve,
I just fudged. It looked great. I let the pavers dictate the width. I
used 4" of "crusher run" and 1" of sand. Crusher run was much smaller
than 3/4", more like gravel but it packed. Frost line is 40 plus inches
here. No problem with heave or shifting. Only problem I had was when
drywall delivery truck drove over the edge and provided a bit of free
additional compaction (Dropped about 1/2").

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"No" wrote in message ...
Hey Cubby - I did a curved walk, 4' wide, 35' long. It turned 90degres
gradually. The first 2' and the last 2' were not quite straight. Think
shaped like a banana. I did not make any cuts to facilitate the curve, I
just fudged. It looked great. I let the pavers dictate the width. I used
4" of "crusher run" and 1" of sand. Crusher run was much smaller than
3/4", more like gravel but it packed. Frost line is 40 plus inches here.
No problem with heave or shifting. Only problem I had was when drywall
delivery truck drove over the edge and provided a bit of free additional
compaction (Dropped about 1/2").

Inviato da X-Privat.Org - Registrazione gratuita
http://www.x-privat.org/join.php

Thanks for the input! I plan to put down the same base and sand although
the base course is around 1" and smaller. I'm figuring it'll work fine.
Same amount too! As for the curve, I kind of figured I'd start out at the
straight part and see how it goes. If fudging the gaps looks bad, then
I'll start cutting. A guy at work who builds houses on the side
recommended taking a 4" grinder and attaching a diamond cutter to it. That
way I could cut curves fairly easily (won't cut all the way through the
brick,,,just score it enough to then use a chisel/hammer on it). I figure
between the wet saw and his idea, I may just be able to do this without too
much pain. I'm using standard paving bricks (4x9) and they don't come in
any sort of tapers etc... so I'll just have to make my own. The only
decision left to really make is whether I want just the plain bricks or
tumbled bricks....hmmm.
Cheers and thanks for the info.
cc

Jim Elbrecht wrote:
"James \"Cubby\" Culbertson" wrote:

The only
decision left to really make is whether I want just the plain bricks or
tumbled bricks....hmmm.

If you are going to *have* to cut them- don't get tumbled. Your cut
edges will stand out. Otherwise, the tumbled ones hide a multitude
of sins.

Depending on the paver, the cut edges on the tumbled can be chipped up
a bit to make them blend in. Sometimes that ends up looking better
than a cut edge on a paver that has a rounded or eased edge - you can't
fake those.

R

"Jim Elbrecht" wrote in message
...
Do they come in a 1/2 or 1/3 size? If you can mix them up a bit
with short ones you can make the curve much faster if you need to.
To figure out how much of a gap you need to make to curve them- think
of each side of the brick as the edge of a circle. You extend the
diameter of the outside by about 1/4" per brick with the gap. If you
can find matching bricks in 4x3's you can extend it 3/4" in the same
space.

Nope. Unfortunately the only size is 4x9 for the color etc...that we're
after. It's a local brick company that's been around for years but their
pavers are just the one size.

The only
decision left to really make is whether I want just the plain bricks or
tumbled bricks....hmmm.

If you are going to *have* to cut them- don't get tumbled. Your cut
edges will stand out. Otherwise, the tumbled ones hide a multitude
of sins.


Jim

I figured with tumbled, I could do some rough chipping on the edges to make
them fit in. But I don't think my wife is liking the tumbled so I'll
probably just stick with the regulars, which have no eased edges.
Cheers,
cc

wrote in message
...

You have to be careful. A lot of pavers have different material in the
middle than the top surface. If you try to radius a new edge it may
come out a different color. Since they are cast, it will certainly be
a different texture.

I suspect that won't be a problem as we're not going with a straight color
anyway. The color scheme would probably cover up any
anomolies. As well, I won't be cutting the wear surface, only the edges
which won't show anyway.
Cheers,
cc