With spring right around the corner, now is the perfect time to begin sprucing up your outdoor entertaining area. Creating a solid foundation is important so the best place to start is from the ground up – with pavers, turf and pebbles.
“For variety, style and impact for your home, the flexibility that pavers provide is hard to beat. With any one paver, you can create four to six different paving patterns styles allowing you to find the right match for your home,” says Adbri Masonry brand ambassador Jason Hodges.
Another important consideration is the colour and texture, as this will set the scene for the entire area.
“Consider which paving colour will best complement your existing space by matching them with roof tiles, guttering, bricks or render,” says Jason.
When laying a paver, it’s important to leave a 3mm gap between each paver for jointing sand that is swept over the surface once you’ve finished the job. The sand will help to avoid the pavers from rubbing and chipping.
The most important element for those looking at DIY paving projects is the fact that some areas and paving patterns require half pavers to fill gaps and involves cutting.
“Some paving patterns will require cuts via the use of a brick saw which can be hired from Bunnings or a local hire shop. While the hiring is easy, the operation of the saw requires caution and all of the required safety gear, so take your time or better still, engage the help of a tradesmen,” says Jason.
If you’re using pavers that will be cut, Jason recommends running a header course around all the paving to help ‘hide’ the smaller paver throughout the overall space.
Below are Jason’s tips on how to design different paver patterns.
Stretcher Bond
Stretcher Bond is the most common paving pattern as its DIY friendly, requires minimal cutting and leaves little wastage. It’s a traditional pattern that replicates the classic look of brickwork and can easily hide imperfections in the pattern.
Stackbond
This pattern is an excellent choice when paving feature spaces such as entertaining areas and patios where the finished look is important. Stackbond is a great paving pattern choice for large format pavers and can make smaller layouts appear bigger – a great design hack. The pattern is simple to install by carefully laying each paver down by one corner and once laid you will see that all four corners of the pavers will meet. Keep in mind that lines do have to be straight, as this pattern will show up any imperfections.
Herringbone
The Herringbone pattern is a savvy choice that is making a comeback thanks to its eye-catching design. Using a smaller format sized paver, interlock the pavers on a 90° or 45° angle.
Basket Weave
The Basket Weave pattern is a design that adds character, dimension and complements existing brick surfaces. To achieve a Basket Weave pattern, simply lay two pavers the same way each time, swapping in direction every ‘set’ of two pavers and repeat. When choosing a paving colour, be sure to take a close look at the bricks in your home as they will be flecked with a few different colours. You need a rectangular paver to achieve this.
Mixed Euro Stone
This is a new trend for both residential and commercial applications that incorporates mixed pavers of different sizes and colours for a modern, paved look. It’s a great option for families as the colour variation can easily hide any stains as opposed to one solid colour.
