Paver Walkway Installation

The walkway from our driveway to the front porch was just some flagstones laid on top of the grass. Never bothered us much since we primarily used the back door, but it was always awkward for guests, especially when wet out. The flagstones would spit out mud from the sides when you stepped on them, and our gradparents never looked very sure-footed using them. Also sort of a pain with the stroller.

Flagstones in place, playing with the layout and dimensions using two garden hoses.


I laid it out in CAD over a landscape plan we had made. This really helped with materials estimation. Total is ~160 square feet. I wanted the big curves at the entrance to sort of "guide" visitors coming up the driveway towards the front door.



Flagstones removed, and shovels in the ground. I hand dug everything. I set some stringlines at the finished walkway grade I wanted (slightly above the lawn level, and just a tad proud of the driveway where they meet. I pulled measurements off the stringlines pretty often to insure I was going deep enough . . . but not over-excavating.


All done digging. It took me roughly 8 hours to dig everything out, working alone. I got pretty lucky and had few roots or rocks to deal with. The white pipes are 4" SCH40 drainage lines from the back of the house to the curb. I added a smaller conduit with caps so if I ever want to run irrigation or electrical, I've got a clear shot under the walkway. I also had to cut a straight edge along the angled portion of the driveway. It was poured with almost an arc, which would have looked off against the pavers. I used a diamond blade on a circular saw to make the cut, since I only need a clean cut edge for the thickness of the pavers (~2-3/8").