Block paving laying: sub-base, edging and fall

What the price depends on

Labour is charged per square metre, and the rate depends most on what’s under the future paving. A level plot left by builders and old tarmac that has to come up first are very different amounts of groundwork. A driveway needs a thicker base than a footpath. Intricate patterns, curves and cutting around walls, flower beds and manholes all add time. Rates are in the table.

The blocks, crushed stone, sand, cement and edging are paid for separately, as are delivery of materials and taking away the excavated soil. Whether the handyman has their own plate compactor, and who pays to hire one, will be clear from the offer.

Rather hand the job over? More here: handyman services in Warsaw.

What the base is made of

First the soil is dug out to the right depth. The bottom is levelled and compacted. On clay or wet ground a geotextile membrane goes down so the stone doesn’t work its way into the soil over time.

Then comes the crushed stone sub-base, spread and compacted with a plate compactor in layers. Tip it all in at once and only run over the top, and the bottom stays loose and sinks later. Under a driveway this layer is noticeably thicker.

On top goes a bedding layer of sand and cement or fine grit, and the blocks are laid on that. Edging kerbs are set in concrete along the sides. Without them the outer rows gradually spread, and no bedding layer will stop it.

Paths usually get 6 cm blocks, driveways 8 cm. The surface is laid with a slight fall away from the house, towards the lawn or a drain, so water doesn’t pool or run towards the foundations.

Safety and underground services

Before digging, find out where gas, water, cables and drainage run on the plot. They’re shown on the mapa zasadnicza (the official base map) or in the house’s connection paperwork. Blocks are cut with an angle grinder, which throws up a lot of dust, so cutting is done wet or with an extractor, with goggles and a mask, away from open windows.

How laying works

1. The area is marked out, with levels and falls set and a check on where the water will go.
2. Soil is dug out and the bottom compacted.
3. Edging is set in concrete along a taut string line.
4. Crushed stone goes in layer by layer, each one compacted.
5. The bedding is screeded level along guide rails.
6. Blocks are laid to the pattern and cut at the edges, around manholes and against walls.
7. Joints are filled with sand, the area is run over with a compactor on a rubber mat, and more sand is brushed in.

Common mistakes

• Blocks laid on sand alone, with no stone sub-base, and the car leaves ruts.
• A thick layer of stone compacted only from the top.
• No fall, so water stands by the front step or runs to the wall of the house.
• Edging skipped to save money, and the outer rows drift apart.
• Thin footpath blocks used on a driveway.
• The compactor run without a mat, chipping the face of the blocks.

What to prepare

• Measurements and a simple sketch: where the path, driveway, steps and manholes are.
• Whatever you know about services on the plot.
• Decide who buys the blocks and edging. If it’s you, ask the handyman how much extra to allow for cuts.
• Access for a tipper lorry and somewhere to drop the stone and sand.
• A new access from the street needs consent from the road authority, sorted separately before work starts.

Frequently asked questions

How to order

Describe in the app what needs paving and where, and add measurements and photos of the plot. Tradespeople near you will send offers with their own price and timing. Compare them by reviews and pick one; only that person sees your address.

You pay the handyman directly and they issue the invoice. They stand behind their own work and will relay a section if it sinks because of the base they laid. Ground washed out by someone else’s drainage, tree roots and old hidden foundations under the area are not on them.

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