MIM Cornwall Paving

Building and Paving Ground Preparation

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Ground Preparation

Ground preparation is the most important part of any paving project. If the installation of the patio or driveway etc is carried out without the ground being prepared properly, there will most certainly be future problems.

Please beware
To make sure there are no problems what so ever in the future, the correct procedure under British Standard Regulations are as follows:

Driveway Construction

1. Firstly the area must be excavated to a suitable depth. The depth depends on ground conditions but must be at least 250mm from the finished level. Any soft spots must be excavated to good ground.
2. The sub soil is to be compacted at this point. A geo textile membrane is installed next.
3. Edge restraints are now to be installed on a concrete bed with adequate haunching.
4. Any drainage which is needed is to be installed at this point.
5. There must be at least 150mm of compacted M.O.T road stone installed and compacted in two 75mm increments.
6. We now install a sharp sand bed (Not soft sand), screeded to a level depth of 30mm (Tolerance +10mm -5mm) for which the block paving will be installed. In order to ensure consistent colour distribution, blocks will be selected from a minimum of three packs.
7. Kiln dried sand will now be brushed into the joints and the finished paved surface will be sufficiently compacted to ensure all joints are completely filled. A neoprene mat will be used on the underside of the compacter plate to prevent damage to the blocks.

Patio Construction

1. The area is to be excavated to a minimum of 150mm from the finished surface level.
2. A geo textile membrane is now installed prior to the hardcore which is to be a minimum of 75mm.
3. Any drainage which is required will now be installed.
4. The paving can now be installed. Depending on the type of product installed, either a wet lay or a sand bed method can be used although we use a wet lay method 99% of the time unless asked otherwise.
5. The paving is now fully pointed with mortar.

NB. Any cutting will be carried out using a diamond blade for a more accurate and neat finish. The finished level of any paving must be at least 150mm below DPC level.