For almost every block paving installation on driveways and patio areas you will require more than one pack of blocks, which are normally delivered to the site on wooden pallets.
Before accepting delivery of the blocks you should try to ensure that they are all from the same manufacturing batch, just as you would with batches of wall paper or paint. Slight colour differences can occur between batches which are manufactured at different times, due to the mixture of concrete, pigments and even the amount of moisture in the atmosphere at the time of production.
When laying blocks, even if they are all from the same manufacturing batch, you should use blocks from at least 2 or 3 different pallets at the same time to minimise any slight differences in colour across the newly paved surface. Failure to do this, especially when laying blocks with a multi-blend of colours, can result in a concentration of particular colours in certain areas of the driveway or patio which will give a patchwork quilt look.
Positioning the blocks – You should always start laying blocks from the bottom of a slope (start at the top and they could slip down during the laying process), and preferably starting from a straight edge or a perfect right angle.
When laying one block against others, you should hold it directly above its proposed position and then place it down vertically, rather than with the leading edge first, otherwise you will cause an indent in the top layer of sand and the block will not sit level.
Because the top layer of sand was screeded and not compacted, blocks will sit approximately 4 to 5 mm above the required finished level initially, allowing them to be compacted later.
Border blocks – Most block paving installation projects look better with a block border of a contrasting colour (or even a different size and texture) from the main blocks, fitted in a line inside the edge restraint blocks.
The easiest way to do this is once you have installed all of the full blocks, position a border block inside the edge restraint over the main blocks and mark it’s inside position on the main blocks. These can be removed from the driveway, cut along the scribed mark and replaced leaving exactly the space you need to insert your border block.
When all of the full blocks are in position in your desired pattern, you will need to cut others to fill the smaller gaps. Paving blocks are cut with a block splitter or a diamond disc stone saw, though the latter will generally give a better cut than the former.
Water should be used with a stone saw to reduce the dust but whichever method you employ, health and safety is critical at this potentially dangerous part of the process. As a general rule you should try to avoid using small sections of block as infill pieces which are less than a third of the original block size as these are less likely to sit level, on the sand below.
