Patio Perfect – DIY Pavers

Get the perfect patio look for your home with these DIY pavers that are easy to create and put together. A beautiful home doesn’t have to be difficult to achieve.

What you need for your DIY Pavers

• Materials (sufficient for our project; yours may differ)
• 4.5 m² Shepstone Charcoal ¼ paver
• 23 m² Shepstone Concrete ½ paver
• 9 m² Shepstone Concrete ¼ paver
• 1.5 m³ river sand (medium)
• 7 bags cement
• 4 bags plaster sand

Tools

Tape measure; pegs (steel or wood); 2LB hammer; builder’s line; spade; stamper; spirit level; rubber mallet; bricklayer’s trowel; angle grinder with masonry cutting blade; sponge and bucket

1. Create your perfect patio using one of SmartStone’s themed DIY paver options. The patio you see above was created using pavers from SmartStone’s Modern Theme. Measure the width and breadth of the area you want to pave and calculate how many pavers you need. Mark and peg out your patio area and prepare it by removing existing grass and plants to a depth ±100 mm.

2. Compact the bare earth well before starting to lay the edging. If you need to raise the level of the area, build it up now and compact the ground well. Use the builder’s line and spirit level to plan the border height, and ensure there is a slight slope away from the house to aid run-off.

3. Mix together a ratio of four parts river sand to one part cement. Do not add too much water to the mixture – it should be a dry, crumbly mix. Spread the mixture within the area demarcated by the builder’s line, position the charcoal ¼ pavers and tap them into place with the rubber mallet. Check the builder’s line so that you can use it as the top level of the edging. Continue the same method until the border is completed. Clean up the edges as you work.

4. Start laying the inner pavers at the most visual place, either in the centre or at one end of the patio, and work towards the house. Spread the dry mix, then compact and level, covering ± 1 m² at a time, and place the inner pattern of pavers. Continue in the same manner until all the pavers are laid.

5. You will most likely have to cut some inner pavers when you get to the edge of the border pavers. Measure and mark each one, cut it to size with an angle grinder and place it on the sand/cement mix. When angle-grinding, make sure you use all the appropriate safety equipment, such as goggles and gloves.

6. Mix a ratio of three parts plaster sand to one part cement and slowly add a little water to create the grouting mixture. Mix thoroughly as you add the water, until it attains the consistency of stiff porridge. Using a grout applicator or a bricklayer’s nosing trowel, apply the grouting between all the DIY pavers, pushing it deep into all the gaps. Clean all excess from the pavers with clean water and a sponge as you go along.