Step-by-step guidelines

One or two cracked pavers can spoil the overall visual appearance of your paving. Therefore, it is important for consumers to repair damaged pavers almost immediately. Dawid Rademeyer, operations director at Bosun Brick – specialist manufacturer of quality concrete paving – shares his tips.

STEP 1 – Mark all damaged pavers

According to Rademeyer, the first step to maintaining your paving is to identify and mark all damaged pavers. “Walk around the site from one end to another and mark all chipped or cracked pavers with chalk or something similar that will stay on the pavers until you’ve removed them from the rest of the paving,” he says. By doing so, you will prevent damaged pavers from being placed among the new ones.

STEP 2 – Remove the damaged pavers

The next step is to lift the damaged pavers. “Seeing that the existing paving will be interlocked, it would be best to break one of the damaged pavers to create a gap in the paving,” says Rademeyer. This can be done by levering the end of a pick under the paver. “Once you’ve managed to remove a few pavers, the rest of the pavers will become looser to uplift,” he says. Once lifted, you can put the marked, damaged pavers to one side so as not to use them again, and the undamaged pavers can be placed in a separate area for cleaning.

STEP 3 – Cleaning of undamaged pavers

When cleaning undamaged pavers, Rademeyer advises that a piece of hardboard, or something similar, is used to scrape along the sides of the paver to remove the old grouting sand stuck to the sides. “This has to be done to ensure that pavers interlock correctly when relayed, enabling you to get the paving’s patterns in a neat, straight line - which is imperative for the longevity and overall visual appearance of your paving,” he says.

STEP 4 – Loosening of existing paving and relaying of cleaned pavers

You will find that the existing bedding sand has hardened underneath the pavers that were removed for cleaning. “Use your pick to dig into the existing bedding sand to loosen it back to its original state,” advises Rademeyer. Now you can screed and level the bedding, preparing it for the paving to be laid. And in case you were wondering, Rademeyer says that new pavers can be laid among the undamaged old ones.

STEP 5 – Straightening of lines

When all the paving has been relayed, a straightening tool can be used to push the pavers together to get the lines or patterns of the pavers straight. “This must be done before the grouting sand is placed as you will not be able to straighten the lines once the sand is in between the joints,” comments Rademeyer.

STEP 6 – Quality check and compaction

The area can be plate compacted after you have ensured that the pavers’ are aligned.

STEP 7 – Finishing touches

Once the area has been compacted, you’ve reached the final stage of your project. “Now dry plaster sand can be swept into the joints,” says Rademeyer. Follow with more dry plaster sand, spread nicely over the area by re-plating it. “By doing this, you will plate the plaster sand deeper into the joints,” notes Rademeyer, adding that excess plaster sand can be swept into small stockpiles for use on other areas.
He concludes: “Knowledge is key when it comes to the removal and repair of damaged pavers. You can keep the rest of your paving from deteriorating by acquiring the right maintenance and repair skills.”