Anybody familiar with installing brick pavers? I've installed them before so I am generally familiar but this time I want to redo our driveway which is old and uneven asphalt. It's old and unevan but it is stable...ie there aren't new cracks developing or pieces crumbling off. So I want to put a thin layer of sand over the asphalt to even it and put then put the pavers down. This would save me a lot of money and is a project I could undergo myself, albeit slowly, without heavy machinery. Am I crazy in thinking I can lay brick over my existing driveway? It seems plausible.
Try calling a Company in the area who has experience with this and with the right approach you can probably get free professional advice over the phone.
I agree w/ Rhester. call a professional and work your mojo. - your still going to need a compactor to even the sand and after you install the pavers to help set everything. J
Yea, compactor is no prob but I'm not capable of laying a new concrete driveway. But I can lay brick. Yea, I've got a call into somebody now and I talked to another brick place but I've yet to get somebody to tell me anything that sounds like they are confident in their answer. I get answers but they sound like they are making it up. I was hoping somebody around here had some knowledge or experience.
Thanks for the link but this doesn't answer the question of whether you can lay brick over existing concrete or ashalt.
Can brick pavers be installed over an existing concrete or asphalt driveway, patio or walk? Brick paving can be installed over existing concrete or asphalt as long as it is in reasonably good shape. To ensure an adequate foundation for the brick, the existing concrete slab or asphalt should be inspected and repaired as necessary. Any cracks, chips, holes, ruts or spalls should be repaired in order to achieve a flat surface. The brick can be installed either with or without mortar. If no mortar is used, a half-inch setting bed of coarse sand should be laid and compacted. An edging of metal or heavy-duty plastic should be placed around the perimeter of the brickwork and set to just below the height of the finished brick surface. Pavers can then be placed in the desired pattern on top of the sand. The bricks should be placed as close to each other as possible. It may be necessary to cut some of the brick near the edging. Once the brick are all in place, install mason's sand between the brick and over the surface. Sweep away excess surface sand and the brick pavement is ready for traffic. If mortar is used, the concrete slab should be prepared in the same manner as above. A half-inch mortar setting bed should then be applied upon which the bricks are set with mortar placed between the pavers. Only a small area should receive the setting bed at a time in order to ensure that it does not set prior to laying the brick. Mortared brickwork should not be laid on asphalt.
wouldnt your driveway be a lil high? maybe you can ask someone at homedepot you would be suprised at how knowledgeable some of those guys are. Not all.. but some. You may even want to compare prices.. Get three quotes for redoing the driveway (determine if driveway can be salvaged or if it needs to be demolished) Then compare that to price of the pavers, materials, labor (if you hire any help) and see if it is still worth your time. I recently did some landscaping work and I felt the cost for me to do pavers myself and the cost for someone to pour concrete was close enough I decided on the concrete. J
Why does it need to be perfectly flat if you put down a 1-2 inch layer of sand as a bedding, just as you would if using a compacted base? The ashpalt is probably 20+ years old and has minor, but noticable, tire ruts. There are only minor hairline cracks...nothing major. Otherwise there are no chips, holes or spalls. I've owned this house for nearly 2 years and havn't noticed any movement or new cracks. So if the driveway is stable, why does the sub-base need to be perfectly flat when you can provide a perfectly level surface using compacted sand? Just curious.
Thanks for the reply. Yea, actually I need to raise the level of the driveway a bit so I'm hoping this will do it. Yea, I got quotes and that is why I'm looking into this option. A new driveway will be >10k using a reputable contractor. I found cheaper guys but they were fly-by-nights. If I can reuse my existing driveway as a base, I figure I can do it in about 5k. That's pretty significant.
Ah, thats a good point. You wouldn't want water pooling under the sand. Crap! I actually found somewhere on the Internet (since I posted this) that they drilled occasional holes through the ashpalt and filled it with substrate for just that reason. They said they don't recommend this for heavy-use applications but driveways are just fine.
