Circular paver driveway

[txdon]

Today I go live on the building of a circular paver driveway in the front yard. The last 18 months I have made the curbings and brought in the gravel.

The pavers are acme brick pavers and are heavier and thicker than the pavers at the box stores.

I have done 2 practice porches using a basket weave design and I think I'm ready to start laying On hand I have 10,000 pavers.

I think I will just lay the pavers straight staggered on the drive, I'll see what it looks like after the fist few feet.

I have put in cross curbing to divide the drive into 1500 paver sections.

To tie the pavers together I will be using polymer sand.

I will try to lay 1000 pavers a week and hopefully be done in 10 weeks. This makes my wife laugh considering I'm already 18 months into this project.

 

[txdon]

Here are a few pictures of the installation of the curbing.
(the snow is from last year)

 

[txdon]

I have one more day of leveling and tamping the first section.

I got this little gem from craig's list.

 

[MossflowerWoods]

Don,

I'm gonna stick my neck out and say that if you have not used the driveway in 18 months, maybe you don't need one at all!

Seriously, that looks like an awesome project and it will be beautiful when done.

Are you putting in any kind of weed barrier?

Thanks & Happy 2012!
David

 

[txdon]

Oh, I have been using the drive! I has been the circular gravel driveway.

I have not used a weed barrier on the porches and the polymer sand seams to seal them out. Would the weed barrier go in after the gravel but before the sand?

 

[EddieWalker]

I like the white look the best. You should just leave it like that!!!!

Eddie

 

[blueriver]

I like the white look the best. You should just leave it like that!!!!

Eddie

And a very nice uniform white look ...

 

[MossflowerWoods]

I have not used a weed barrier on the porches and the polymer sand seams to seal them out. Would the weed barrier go in after the gravel but before the sand?

Don,

I have had mixed results and tried various methods.

My 2 cents is that when I allow sand atop the weed barrier, I get weeds in the sand above the weed barrier! And recently I re-did the walkway at one of my rentals and I put the weed barrier DIRECTLY under the white decorative rocks and it seems slightly better, but at the edges and anywhere "dirt" develops on top of the weed barrier I get WEEDS!

I was hoping you had the answers and I would just copy you! :thumbsup:

Thanks,
David

 

[txdon]

I like the white look the best. You should just leave it like that!!!!

Eddie

That thought did cross my mind, and it will continue to cross my mind I'm sure during the next 10-12 weeks.

 

[beppington]

If I understand right, they're suggesting you use white gravel instead of colored pavers? I myself would prefer both the color & more stable surface you'll have with pavers. But of course that's my :2cents:

I helped install my sister's patio out of pavers. Fill the area with more sand than needed, compact it, re-fill with sand if any areas are too low after compaction, re-compact, then screed the sand off until you have a flat, hard, compacted surface of sand ... then lay down the pavers. But you prob already knew all that.

Laying something in place like that sorta rubbed me the wrong way, but it really turned out nice. Good looking & very secure.

 

[Western]

I will try to lay 1000 pavers a week and hopefully be done in 10 weeks. This makes my wife laugh considering I'm already 18 months into this project.

18 months? I didnt realize this was a TXDOT highway project Your "Superintendent" may need to withhold funds pending the outcome of the timeline

I like the white look the best. You should just leave it like that!!!!

Eddie

And Don got the color so "even" too GOOD JOB!


Don, that will look great!, can't wait to see all that labor payoff in some photos when finished:thumbsup: BTW, Why didn't:laughing: you pick a big project?? I think if I had to bend over that much, I'd be permanently crippled:laughing:

 

[bindian]

The pavers are acme brick.

Don,
Is this the same Acme Co. that the Coyote uses to try to catch the Roadroader?:laughing:
hugs, Brandi

 

[crbr]

Looks good......

 

[pacerron]

Don,

I have had mixed results and tried various methods.

My 2 cents is that when I allow sand atop the weed barrier, I get weeds in the sand above the weed barrier! And recently I re-did the walkway at one of my rentals and I put the weed barrier DIRECTLY under the white decorative rocks and it seems slightly better, but at the edges and anywhere "dirt" develops on top of the weed barrier I get WEEDS!

I was hoping you had the answers and I would just copy you! :thumbsup:

Thanks,
David

We have found the weeds will appear in time regardless. Dust in the wind, bird droppings, and weed seed from near areas will always win.
Best thing we have found is a little "Round-up" or similar spray when needed.
Also the best way to control weeds under pasture fence lines.
Ron

 

[txdon]

Thanks for all the comments! I knew TBN would keep me laughing and going.:thumbsup:

I added a thin layer of sand today to "section 1" and washed it into the gravel. I also finished up the second cross curb to enclose section 1. Tomorrow I will compact again and haul in the final layer of sand that the pavers will set on.

I will be using Paver Set - see photo - between the pavers. It has worked good on the porches, and still looks good after 2 years. It is keeping out the weeds and ants 98%.

The pavers you see on the right are the thinner Lowe's pavers for sidewalks. The Lowe's pavers are easier to lay because of the tapered top side and the protrusions that leave a space in-between the pavers. I swept in the Paver Set between the pavers on the sidewalk. That project was a mere 750 pavers. The driveway pavers are more of the brownish color and the sidewalk pavers are more of a reddish color. Hopefully the different colors, paver placement pattern, and the curbing will keep the vehicles directed on the drive.

 

[beppington]

Just occurred to me how many paver cuts you'll be making to follow the inner & outer radii of your drive ... HOLY COW! Good thing your heart is doing better! :thumbsup:

 

[txdon]

A couple of pics from the sidewalk lay.
The driveway pavers are on the porch at the bottom part of the last photo.

 

[txdon]

Just occurred to me how many paver cuts you'll be making to follow the inner & outer radii of your drive ... HOLY COW! Good thing your heart is doing better! :thumbsup:

My heart is doing better, much better! At one point I was going to leave the driveway white. But I'm going strong again and am trying to finish this project by the one year anniversary of my heart attack.

Since the drive-way pavers require a 1/4 inch space in-between each paver and because the curve is so long, I am hoping to lay the pavers longways and have very few cuts.....we will see together how that works out. If we decide to do a different lay all bets are off for the self imposed 10 weeks deadline (which by the way starts 1/1/12).
The basket-weave pattern I used on the sidewalk is not good for curves as I found out by all the cuts required on that one long curved side.

 

[forgeblast]

That will look great I am really impressed by it.
What we would do is layout everything that we could and then spend a day doing cuts on a large job. We would have one person marking, one person running the pieces over and one cutting, the person running would get a workout taking pieces back and forth. A wet stone saw is worth its weight in gold for a job like that. I cant wait to see the finished pics. good luck.

 

[MossflowerWoods]

A couple of pics from the sidewalk lay.
The driveway pavers are on the porch at the bottom part of the last photo.

W O W !

If I were in your shoes, everything would be rectangular in exact ratio to the size of the paver...

I simply do not have the patience to do what you are doing...

And nothing I ever do will look that good either...

Simply beautiful thus far sir.

W O W !

Be well,
David