A SUREFIRE PLAN TO PROTECT AGAINST PAVER SAND EROSION
Water, weather, and wear. They’re the three W’s that ultimately lead to paver sand erosion. In this blog post, we’ll discuss a few ways you can help maintain your project's integrity, protect jointing material, and keep your outdoor patio or walkway looking sharp for a long time.
If you’ve read some of our other blog posts, you know we’re a huge advocate of “doing it right the first time.” This is because we’ve seen too many jobs go awry due to a step being missed during the installation process. One of these critical steps is utilizing a geotextile. Geotextiles can be used as a layer of separation and reinforcement underneath your hardscape surface to help minimize the potential for movement or settling, which can potentially damage jointing materials and accelerate erosion. (For more information on the benefits of using a geotextile, be sure to read our blog post, 5 Ways A Geotextile Can Improve Your Hardscape Design.)
Another integral step in the installation process is compaction. Neglecting to properly compact the native soil or base material can put your project in jeopardy of settling and joint failure over time. Properly compacting your polymeric sand into the joints will also result in a stronger and more water resistant joint. Need some expert advice on compaction techniques? Check out these two blog posts by our Technical Support Manager, Mike Huber:
Hardscape surfaces that are subject to freeze/thaw cycles are especially susceptible to erosion and failure. As the ground heaves during drastic temperature changes, pavers can move out of place and joints can widen, crack, or otherwise sustain damage. Using Gator Base can dramatically enhance the strength and durability of any project that will experience freeze/thaw conditions. Gator Base is an environmentally friendly product engineered to return water to the native soil through evacuation channels. Just one Gator Base panel has an equivalent R-value to 18˝ of crushed stone and acts as a thermal blanket beneath the surface. It is three times more effective than crushed stone as an insulator and significantly reduces the impact of freeze/thaw cycles.
The final piece to our Paver Sand Protection Plan (doesn’t that have a nice ring to it?) is using top quality polymeric sand. Polymeric sand is specifically designed to stand up against freeze/thaw, extreme heat, and … you guessed it ... erosion! Polymeric sands will eliminate the need to sweep fresh sand into the joints every year, along with a long list of other fantastic benefits! To learn more, read our blog post: Why Use Polymeric Sand? You can also read up on the features and benefits of Gator brand polymeric sands by visiting our Super Sand or Maxx product pages.
In a nutshell … using top quality products along with proper installation techniques will substantially elongate the lifespan of your paver project.
