Considering block paving for your driveway or yard? This smart, small-format paving style offers great strength and durability for high-traffic areas, alongside plenty of opportunities for eye-catching patterning.
In this guide, we’ll outline some of the most popular patterning options for block paving and how to lay them, plus maintenance tips for your small-format paving once it’s in place.
What is Block Paving?
Block paving is a paving style that uses dense blocks, such as natural stone setts or concrete blocks, to create a sturdy surface for high-traffic areas such as driveways. The thickness of the sets, coupled with stacked and interlocking layouts, makes this paving style highly durable.
Block Paving Patterns
Block paving offers numerous opportunities for patterning to suit your home’s aesthetic, from neat and simple styles to more intricate layouts.
Stack Bond
Stack bond style paving is the most straightforward style, as blocks are laid in a ‘stacked’ layout similar to a brick wall. This offers a neat, sleek and uniform look.
Stretcher Bond
Stretcher bond block paving is similar to stack bond paving, but half bricks are interspersed among rectangular setts, adding a little more complexity to the style.
Herringbone Paving
A more elaborate style of block paving is herringbone, in which blocks are laid at an angle to one another to create a pattern of interlocking Vs. This interlocking doesn’t just create an attractive zigzag effect, but also an exceptionally sturdy driveway or path.
Basketweave Paving
Basketweave paving is another great choice for visual interest, as it alternates cobble setts in different directions. This can be a horizontal paver followed by two vertical pavers, three horizontal pavers followed by three vertical pavers, or a range of other combinations.
How to Lay Block Paving
Despite the differences in patterning, the laying instructions for block paving remain roughly the same across styles.
- Dig to a depth of 150mm
- Add concrete for edging, to a height of 125mm
- Add kerb edgings, tapping into place with a rubber mallet
- Add concrete haunches to keep your kerb edgings in place
- Lay a 100mm sub base of Mot Type 1 Hardcore Aggregate, compacting well with a plate compactor
- Lay a permeable membrane over your sub-base for drainage
- Add 50mm of damp sand and compact well with a vibrating plate compactor
- Lay your setts in the desired pattern, tapping them into place with a rubber mallet.
- Brush kiln-dried sand into the joints
How to Lay Herringbone Paving
For the herringbone style, use a straight-edged piece of wood to check that the blocks are in alignment. You can use a lump hammer to correct alignment if needed and ensure the blocks are pressed tightly together for a sturdy, interlocking pattern.
Cleaning Block Paving
Cleaning block paving isn’t too dissimilar from cleaning larger-format paving slabs. The key difference is that there are more joints, which can be narrower than those between classic slabs. A brush with firm but fine bristles is useful for getting into these joints.
See our guide to paving, patio and driveway aftercare to learn more.
How to Remove Weeds from Block Paving
The high number of joints in block paving also means there are more opportunities for weeds to spring up. Because these joints are relatively narrow, a weed-removing knife is one of the easiest removal tools. Our guide to getting rid of weeds in your paving offers additional tips, covering not only the removal of weeds but also their prevention.
Whichever block paving style suits your exterior, create your paving pattern with strong and durable natural stone setts from RF Paving. Need more guidance on your paving? Feel free to contact us or browse our blog.
