Polymeric sand relies on a chemical reaction to harden it into the joints between your paving stones. Once it hardens, it is permanent.

You don’t have to lay gravel before pavers, but doing so can be beneficial to your project.

White Vinegar Pour the vinegar into an empty spray bottle and spray the cracks between the pavers, leaving it to sit and work its way into the sand. When a few hours have passed, rinse away the vinegar with a garden hose. This simple remedy will kill the weeds without damaging the pavers or damaging nearby plants.

• 1 – DO map out your project area.
• 2 – DON’T try to ‘guesstimate’
• 3- DO work with a reputable supplier.
• 4- DON’T cut corners.
• 5 – DO compact base layers at 3” intervals.
• 6 – DON’T compact bedding sand.
• 7 – DO use precision when laying and spacing your pavers.
• 8 – DON’T hammer pavers together.

Polymeric Sand works best when it is used to fill the entire depth of the paver. In addition, it works best on joints that are between ¼ inch and 1.5 inches wide.

A minimum of 24 hours drying time is required prior to allowing significant foot traffic and 48 hours for vehicular traffic on the paver surface. Polymeric sands are designed to soften and re-heal.

EnviroSAND

10 years

24 hours

After installation, a hard rain on polymeric sand that has not fully set up could result in polymeric sand all over the top of the pavers. However, once water is applied, any remaining polymeric sand particles will harden and remain on the surface resulting in an unhappy customer.

Depending on the size of the cracks, polymeric sand will fill in the cracks and if it has been applied properly, it should prevent weeds from growing. However, this product does not seal the cracks as some tar-like crack sealants will. I have used polymeric sand to fill gaps between slabs on my driveway.

Regular sand can wash away after a heavy rainstorm. But this isn’t an issue with polymeric sand, which reduces the amount of water that will work its way into the space between your pavers.

Unlike conventional sand it stays in place and remains stable. It softens when wet and firms up when dry to better resist soil movements. Because the sand gets stiff you can expect fewer weeds and less insect damage.

If your polymeric sand didn’t harden up, it’s pretty much guaranteed there’s a moisture issue. If the joints remain wet after the installation, they will remain soft until they dry. (Alliance Gator polymeric sands are considered rainproof in one hour at temperatures over 32° F degrees.)

Unfortunately with polymeric sand replacement, you can’t just uproot any weeds and top it up. Secondly, you will have to wait a day while the surface dries before you can reapply your new sand. Remember polymeric sand and moisture don’t mix until after it’s in the joints!

Paver base depth is determined by the type of stones used and the type of sand or gravel that will be laid under them. Paver thickness is generally about 3- to 3 1/2-inches. Therefore, you need to dig a paver patio base depth of about 9 inches (22.86 cm) to accommodate any kind of paver.

Average Costs to Repair a Patio

In general, paver patios do not require permits, because they are not considered “permanent structures”. As you get into more complex outdoor living areas that include electric, plumbing, and other wood structures, permits/inspections may be required, but it does vary widely between municipalities.

There must be at least three feet between the deck or porch and the property line on the sides. Regardless of how tall your deck is, you can’t build it within 10 feet of the rear border or within 5 feet of the side borders of your lot.

All hardscape within 10 feet of a building must slope away from the building with a minimum slope of 2 percent. That means that the patio must slope away from your house at least 1/4 inch per foot, for at least the first 10 feet from the house exterior.

It is also possible to build your patio up to 500mm from the fence, only if you obtain a signed consent from your neighbour. Or, you can have your patio columns right next to the fence, as long as the roofline remains 500mm off the fence line.

If less than 9m in length, the structure can be built within 1.5m of any side or rear boundary (when calculating total length, this includes any existing structures on the boundary). Can be built within the standard 6m setback from the front boundary; however, numerous conditions need to be considered.

Raised patios and areas of decking require planning permission if they stand more than 30cm above ground level or if they cover more than 50 per cent of the area of the garden. If you feel the project contravenes either of these parameters it is worth contacting your local authority to complain.

Patio Areas. If you wish to lay a patio around your house, there are no restrictions on the area of land you can cover with hard surfaces, at, or near ground level. So basically, you will not need planning permission to do this in most cases.

The porch can’t be higher than three metres at the highest point. To make a build worthwhile with enough additional space, we recommend that a porch is no smaller than two square metres. Therefore, the ideal size for a porch that doesn’t need planning permission would be between two and three square metres.

How do you lay paving in your garden legally? The new planning permission for paving a green area does not apply to existing paved or hard-surfaced areas. The law only applies if you are adding new paving or creating an additional paved area. It applies to new paving that drains water to existing drains.

Once you have obtained permission for your crossover — or after your council has confirmed such permission isn’t necessary — you can convert your front garden into a driveway under permitted development rules, subject to certain conditions.

You will not need planning permission if a new or replacement driveway of any size uses permeable (or porous) surfacing which allows water to drain through, such as gravel, permeable concrete block paving or porous asphalt, or if the rainwater is directed to a lawn or border to drain naturally.

Permeable surfacing can be gravel or permeable concrete, for example. This is anything that will let rainwater drain through to the ground. It is necessary to apply for planning permission if the are you are paving is over 5 metres squared. These materials include concrete, asphalt, and clay.