Is there a difference between pavers?  Different company's using the same basic ingredients in different proportions. Cambridge offers a coating "Armortec", EP Henry AZEK and others.

How do the pavers from Home Depot and Lowes stack up. All pavers from any manufacture would look good after a quality install, but how do the pavers hold up over time? I'm looking for a recommendation on a quality block at a fair price that won't break down in a couple of years. I have seen some patios where the paver is crumbling and others that look almost new at 15 years old. Thanks in advance.

Crickets???

I have installed Belgard pavers.  They are a quality product.

It's all in the prep work.  Figure out how much class 2 base you will need for the type of use.  Excavate the area deep enough for the class 2 base, 1" of sand and the thickness of the pavers.  You will want to be about 1/8" to 1/4" high to allow for compaction.


Grade and compact the native soil.  Use a jumping jack or vibra-plate.  You will not compact it hard enough by hand.  Lay down the class 2 base and grade it smooth.  Compact it with the vibra-plate.  


Get 2 pieces of 3/4" galvanized pipe and lay it on top of the class 2 base.  Start in the middle and lay down your sand between the 2 pipes.  Use a 2x4 to screed the sand.  This gives you a 1" layer of sand.  Do not walk on the sand.  Start to lay out your pavers.  Use string lines to keep it square.  Move the pipes around the area and add more sand and pavers.  Install the field and come back and make your cuts.  


On the open edges you can use paver restraint or pour a concrete edge and mortar the pavers to it.  Sweep the polymeric sand into the joints.  Put a couple of pieces of cheap carpet on top of the pavers and run the vibra-plate over it.  Sweep in more polymeric sand as needed.  Water it in and you're done.

This is good advice.

The base needs to be a minimum of 4" thick, plus 1" of sand.  The base may need to be thicker depending on your intended use (patio, sidewalk, driveway, etc.) and your local weather patterns (hard freeze or not). I like to use the compactor every 2" as you build the base up. That gives it a nice, solid compaction.

On the open edges (those not abutting another structure), extend your base by 4"-6" outside of the planned paver area. This gives your pavers room to shift without falling off the edge of the base. This also implies that your excavation area should be 4"-6" larger on the open edges than the planned paver project.

Lastly, make sure you include the proper slope for drainage. The slope should be included all the way down to the bare earth excavation and should be maintained through each layer of material. The basic slope for drainage is 1/4" drop for every 1' of horizontal run.

We bought our pavers at Menards and they have held up well, but it's only been 3 years now. I think most of the big pave manufacturers produce a good product.

I've got Belgard, Pavestone, and Innovative Block pavers at my house, and would rank them in that order quality wise. The Belgards are really nice, but they were also 4x as expensive as the IB and Pavestone. They look like they've been in my backyard for hundreds of years.

The IB and Pavestone are at the same price point, but I like the color/molds of the Pavestone more. They look more natural and don't have that cheap concrete look to them, ie- not a lot of aggregate at the surface.

It's important to note that I'm not an installer, so for all I know, one may go down better than the other, causing labor to go down. Pavestone was waaaay easier to deal with than IB though.

Didn't you do a really nice backyard renovation? Pretty sure I followed that thread. If so, you should post pics as examples, or at least a link to a thread. Or maybe not because then I'll need a new keyboard after drooling on it

He did, and he even got around to replacing those skinny 4x4 posts that was an eyesore on the overhang.

Ha, that's on my short list for this summer. I'll see if I can get pics up later.

Not a great example, but IB 12x12 and IB "Two Step" pattern in background. It's hard to tell in the pic, but there are some old salvaged Belgards in that blend. They're the ones with the textured surface.


ETA- you can see the Belgards in this pic. They catch the sun differently.


IB. Same driveway, just newer addition and no Belgards.

Thx. This is what I'm looking for. How old is the driveway?

The 12x12s are probably 7-8 years old, the pavers in the second pic are about 4 years old, and the ones in the last pic are about 6 months old. I can only afford to pave in phases.

The main drive sees daily use by two of our trucks coming and going daily, and for several years, I parked my 1 ton dually in the same spot. I see no evidence of crumbling, settling, ruts, or voids in the pavers. I opted out of sealing them since my wife didn't like the wet look.

I don't recall how much sand my guy put in (2"?), but I personally put in 12" of compacted caliche over compacted native sandy loam. I initially did the compacting with a rented roller, but the majority came from driving on the caliche for a few years before we did pavers. It was almost like concrete at that point.

I've got a small area of the same pavers that have seen daily tractor crossings and vehicular traffic for 8 years now. Aside from tire marks, there's been no wear.

Had somebody say that you need to be careful about power washing the pavers. Is that an actual concern or total BS?