How to Install a Paver Brick Driveway
- 1). Break up the old driveway with a jackhammer. Haul away the debris. Dig nine to eleven inches below ground level. Compact the soil with a vibratory plate compactor. The compactor will level the soil and provide a solid foundation for the brick driveway.
- 2). Roll out flexible edging along all four sides of the driveway. Drive metal stakes through the holes in the edging to keep it in place.
- 3). Run a line level across the area at the same height as the top of the new driveway. You will need 3/16 inch of drop for every foot of driveway. Drive a stake into the ground at the top of the driveway. Tie a line at one end of the driveway. Run it down the driveway and tie at the same height.
- 4). Move the line at the bottom of the driveway down 3/16 inch times the length of the driveway in feet. The driveway should be graded with soil so the base is 3 1/2 inches from this line all the way down the drive.
- 5). Compact the soil with a plate compactor. Plate compactors can be rented for a home improvement store.
- 6). Fill the driveway space with five inches of gravel. Spread the gravel evenly with a screed to create a level surface.
- 7). Compact the gravel with the plate compactor. Keep going over the area until the driveway area is completely compacted and you cannot make an indentation by walking over the gravel. Add more gravel and compact again. Continue to add gravel until the top of the gravel is 3 and 1/2 inches from the line level all the way down the driveway.
- 8). Cover the gravel with 1 inch of sand. Spread the sand with a screed until it is level.
- 9). Set the bricks at all four sides of the driveway to create the perimeter. Press the bricks firmly to the flexible edging. Start at one corner of the driveway and set all whole bricks into the sand. Tap the bricks tightly into place with a rubber mallet.
- 10
Turn on the wet saw. Put on safety goggles. Run any bricks that need to be sized through the wet saw. Set the cut bricks into place with the rubber mallet. - 11
Shovel sand onto the top of the driveway to fill the gaps. Spread the sand with a broom.
