We are doing this paver walkway project on a budget so buckle up, grab some hand tools and let build some muscle! This project without a fancy digger does take a lot of grit, determination and will definitely test your arm strength. Estimated paver project time will vary depending on whether you are doing it yourself/have help, your proficiency and even the weather.
As a solo DIYer living in a hot tropical climate with moderate proficiency it took me about a month and a half of weekends to finish the paver walkway, and the additional plant border. I started the paver project the first weekend of March and finished mid April before Easter. The weather varied with the first two weekends in the 70s but it rapidly heated up to 90s. If you are in Florida…this paver walkway project is a winter/ early spring project, it was hotter than usual this spring where usually we don’t get our first 90º day until May, but we had several in February. I went in knowing March was the last month I could reasonably do this project.
This is what we are starting with: plain front yard with a mix of grass, but lets be honest, a lot of weeds. The goal is to add function by adding a walkway from the front door to the street. There is a walkway that goes toward the garage, but often times I see delivery drivers struggling to have to go “the long way”.
I know it’s a lot, but you may have some of these items on hand already!
Why add a paver walkway?
A paver walkway can add a lot function to a space. The purpose of a paver walkway is to give people an even area to walk from point a to point b, ideally in the shortest way possible.
A paver walkway:
Adds curb appeal
Creates a defined area, keeping people off grass
Add durability
Low maintenance
Step 1: Plan and Mark your Paver Walkway
Planning is one of the most important parts of a successful project. This paver walkway project was no different. I find it easier to draw out a rough plan on my iPad. You could do the same if you have a tablet, some people also use AI to help generate an image. It’s all up to you how you want to do it. I like the creativity of drawing it out, erasing , and coming up with something unique for my space.
You do you.
Here’s my rough drawing for the paver walkway….and for the future to add function and curb appeal to the front of the house. I’m no artist obviously, but I still enjoyed the process.
Paver walkway plan and future garden
Initially I wanted to do a Checkerboard walkway with red and white pavers to look similar to my ORC patio Project. If you missed that project you can see all the weekly progress here:
You can use Marking Spray paint, a garden hose or go freeform to mark the shape you want on the grass for your paver walkway. It’s a good idea to mark your plan ahead of time to make sure you have the shape you want and the width you want. This also allows you to make any adjustments to the shape as you see fit. In my case I didn’t check the width and in some parts had to widen as I went along. Learn from my mistake!
While making my plans I knew I didn’t want to have to dig 8+ inches of dirt and grass so I researched alternatives. In a traditional paver installation you have to have at least a 6in gravel base then a 1-2in sand leveling base then you can lay your pavers on top. I chose to use Paverbase panels which just require weed fabric, then 1in sand base, then the panel.
Step 2: Dig, dig and dig some more
This is where that muscle building starts off! I had lots of weeds and roots to fight through. My first step was to get the layer of vegetation. I used my edging tool to get through the first few inches of vegetation, tilted it so it would lift it up, then I uses my hand stiller too twist the vegetation from its roots. The edging tool was also useful for getting the shape I wanted for the paver walkway.
Once I got all the weeds out I moved on to digging out all tithe dirt. Since I am connecting two sidewalks by adding this paver walkway I needed to dig deep enough so that the pavers would be flush in the end. So for me I dug about 8in deep as the grass was higher than the sidewalks using my digging shovel. The thickness of the pavers you choose along with the layers of sand/base/ fabric you will be using will determine how deep you need to dig. The labels on he pavers at Lowes and on the website will tell you all this information! make sure you look carefully so you can properly plan.
Moving dirt: As a dug I used my Transfershovel to move dirt into my gorilla cart. It can hold 300lbs and makes moving the dirt somewhere else much easier. Pro tip: make sure your tires a properly filled with air + correct psi.
Example Paver info
Paver label example
Step 3: Level the ground
I said previously that prep is one of the most important parts of this project. It is most apparent here in the leveling stage. This literally sets the base for your whole project. There are lots of ways to level the ground, but the other factors include making sure you have a proper slope for water runoff. I used this paver pathway slope calculator to determine the slope I needed but also keep in mind I am connecting two sidewalks.
Starting from this step make sure you’re wearing knee pads. This will save your knees so much, and you will hate yourself a little less.
To make sure I was level left to right I used a 2×4 and a level to screed the dirt. Screeding the dirt just means I moved the 2×4 down the length of the pathway and its would remove any excess dirt or I would add dirt to low spots as I moved along. I made several passes.
Once you’re satisfied you’ve gotten it pretty level, you want to use your Tamper to tamp and compact the dirt. I used an 8×8 hand tamper to do this but you can also rent or buy a plate compactor which will make this step much easier. I am doing this project on a budget so a plane compactor was not in that budget, but tilt could be for your project.
Leveled dir with pvc to set depthLeveling the sandWeed fabric
Step 4: Set the base for your Paver Walkway
Are you wearing your knee pads?!
I am using Brock Paverbase panels for the base which means I only needed weed fabric and 1/2in layer of sand, to lay the panels on as my base.
1: Cut and lay weed fabric layer. I used pins to help hold and smooth out the weed fabric. Make sure you have a sharp blade to cut smoothly
2: Lay down two pieces of 1/2in PVC pipe. This helps you set your depth for the sand
3: lay your sand
4: Use a piece of 2×4 to screed through sand to to the needed depth. Make sure your 2×4 glides over the pvc. As you move your 24 it will remove excess sand and help fill low spots in the sand
5: Tamp down sand
6: Repeat steps 3-4 until you have a compacted payer of 1/2in sand
7: remove pvc pipe and fill with sand
8: Lay Paver base panels interlocking pieces
Brock Paverbase panel review: These panels are great for reducing the amount of base material you need to lay pavers. If I was doing a straight walkway with uniform height pavers I would have given this product a 5/5. BUT I wasn’t and with a curved walkway with differing height pavers I give this product a 3/5. It required additional sand to level the pavers, required more weed fabric and I wasted a lot of the Brock paverbase material (its like a thick styrofoam) to make my curve and it was not forgiving for the shape I wanted.
Step 5: Lay your Paver Walkway
Health check: Are you wearing your knee pads?! You’ll also wan to use gloves in this step to save your hands.
You have soft hands…wear gloves because you don’t have the calluses experienced paver workers have doing this daily.
Glove wear and tear laying pavers, this could be your hands!
This is the Fun part, laying your pavers! Once you have your base all level, your base foundation is all set, now it’s time you lay your pavers. Since you planned, you know the orientation and way you want your pavers to go. Laying pavers is as easy as putting them down on the base, keeping an eye out on the spacing, checking he pavers are level as you go and adjusting as needed.
Laying straight pavers on a curve does throw a curveball to your plans. The traditional way of doing a curve with pavers is to lay them all straight then cutting the curve on the paver at the edges with a tile saw. I didn’t want to do all that and I didn’t have the space to do that. So I opted for option two which was to sort of angle the pavers into a curve. This added gaps I latter filled by cutting pavers into triangle shapes to fit. In the end, it worked.
Once I had all the pavers down on the walkway, I waled on each of them to make sure none wobbled. If they did Id pull them up, add some more leveling sand and lay it back down. If you had all pavers of the same size, you wouldn’t need this step.
Step 6: Fill Gaps in Paver Walkway
The Final step of this project once all the pavers are laid for your paver walkway is to fill any gaps with polymeric sand. The steps are really easy:
1: Clean your paver walkway and your pavers.
Get rid rid of any dirt, leaves, pollen that may have gotten on them
2: Brush on Polymeric sand with a broom
3: Remove excess polymeric sand
Use your broom to remove excess or a leaf blower if you have one
4: Mist water over the paver walkway (check the instructions for your specific steps)
The steps say to use the shower setting but I found it washed away a lot of the sand. The mist setting was a lot lighter and used less water
5: Wait 2 minutes and mist again (check the instructions for your specific steps)
6: Rinse off any excess
Polymeric sand fills gaps
Once the walkway was complete I added a lot more finishing touches. I added a scalloped border, I added plants and I added lights. In addition I expanded the paver border up toward the house. Remember my goal for most projects is FUNCTION!!! So by expanding the border on the sidewalk toward the house I made it easier to walk on as I always felt it was too narrow before.
Paver walkway Reveal
Is it perfect, no. I am not a professional paver layer. I think I did a darn good job and the best part it has added the function I needed in the front. I also took the time to pressure wash the driveway and the sidewalks to make this project look more complete. I did have to nix my checkerboard look because the pavers were incompatible so I had to update mylist.
To finish the walkway I added a lot of plants and some pathway lights to set the mood.
sometimes DIY means making the call yourself to a pro. In this case thats what I did this week to get a new ceiling fan (yes the beautiful one from my ORC Kickoff moodboard!) and four new recessed lights. It doesn’t mean you aren’t capable of a failure, but that you are being strategic with the jobs that you do tackle.
Navigating Facebook Marketplace demands strategic interaction—personalized messages, and be ready for immediate pickup. Snag that great deal before anyone else!
After demoing a wall, removing the header, and opening up the closet. It’s now time to get the pieces back together. Welcome to Week 7 of the One Room Challenge! We have one week left to go and it is crunch time! I made several mistakes that have delayed some of what I was planning…
