A Spectacular Spring

How To Install Travertine Landscape Pavers

1 September 2017 by Terri Holmes

Travertine pavers can enhance your landscape, especially around pool and patio areas since it lowers the temperature around them. Travertine has a surface that can last a long time, and it resists water. The low-erosion surface is ideal for heavy foot traffic. Install travertine pavers by following these steps:

Prepare to Install the Pavers

You need the following materials to install pavers:

• work gloves
• goggles
• broom
• pencil
• paper
• level
• tape measure
• landscape paint or wood stakes
• course gravel or crushed stone
• coarse sand and fine sand
• hammer and cold chisel
• rubber mallet
• plate compactor
• natural stone sealant
• circular saw with a diamond blade
• travertine pavers

Measure the length and width of the area you want to install the pavers, and multiply length and width to get total square feet. Choose your design, draw an outline of the area on paper, then use landscape paint to mark the design on the ground or insert wooden stakes. 

A popular design is the soldier pattern created from placing the long rectangular ends of the pavers together. around the edges. Create a sailor pattern by placing a row or two of similar pavers together end to end on the exterior boundary. The classic French pattern uses four different pavers sizes installed to form an irregular interlocking square pattern. 

Remove the Dirt

To make a steady surface for the pavers so they won't get damaged, dig six to eight inches of soil. After you dig the dirt, go back over the area using the plate compactor overlapping rows to keep the soil from shifting, and check for evenness with a level. You may also use a vibrating compactor machine.

Add two or three layers of crushed gravel or stone, tamping each layer with the compactor. It is ideal to slope the gravel or stone for proper drainage by slopping the material slightly about an eight of n inch per foot. Spread a half-inch deep layer of course sand over the gravel or stone, then tamp it.

Install the Pavers

Hammer a plastic or metal landscape edging along the border to hold the soil in place, or pour a concrete edge. Lay the pavers in your chosen pattern using the mallet to tap them in place. 

When you reach the edge, mark a line to cut with a chisel and hammer, then cut it to fit using a circular saw. Use the level after each row to check evenness. After you lay the pavers, sweep fine sand in the crevices, tamping each layer, then apply a natural stone sealant to protect the surface.

Contact local landscapers for more information and assistance. 

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