Importance of Compacting Pavers After Laying | Using a Compactor Pad for Pavers 

I absolutely love your channel. I've been searching far and wide and nothing has been more in-depth or informative than your videos. thank you so much

fantastic. thank you! getting the circular villa stone pavers from abbotsford concrete delivered today. I think I've done all the prep properly so far and will do the install on monday when the rain stops. Thank you for this reminder!

I have been installing pavers since 1982, and rarely compact them after they are laid. My opinion has always been that, if you have to run the plate over them, the grade was not perfect enough. Almost nothing bothers me more than getting all your lines 99% straight, and having the plate kick them in every direction. Plywood stops this, but anything on the bottom of the plate does not. To settle poly sand, hammer each paver 2 or 3 times with a rubber mallet before watering

Very helpful.. Great video work and explanations overall. Thank you!!

We put our sand down before we rented to plate compactor.......is it ok to use the compactor on top of the sand layer?? We haven't put the pavers down yet. Great video. Thanks!

If you are just replacing polymetric sand, is a compactor worth renting?

The most pain in the butt part of this process is the water application of the poly sand post compaction and post sweeping. Many of the sand companies have made vids but don't walk you thru the exact specifics of how much and how long to apply water. AND every company is different. It took me 3 years to finally figure out how to apply G2 then my local supplier changed manufacturers!!! DANGIT! Thoughts? Might make for a good vid for you to make.

Cheap protective pad that works great for tamping directly on the pavers is a thick commercial truck mud flap!

I have a small patio area that I need to reset some pavers that have gotten unleveled over the years due to frost, etc. I also need to fill in the gaps between most pavers...do you recommend someone in West Michigan who knows this process well and could help me? Thank you.

This is great information, just a quick question. How much will the compactor set the pavers into the bed? I’m laying a paver patio in the States using Nicolock Alpine Contemporary pavers, average paver size is 15” x 15” (38 x 38 cm), on a bed of HPB. Should I set the pavers a little high before compacting. Thank you!!

OK so steps are....after the permeable pavers are laid the edges need to be cemented, you clean the pavers then you compact the pavers before putting anything in-between the pavers, then put a first round of fill in between the pavers, compact again and then fill again but not all the way to the top

The thickness of the plywood that you use looks to be 5/8 inch thick. Is that correct? Good video. Thank you.

Great video! I set in some pavers today and they are not 100% even. Will the compactor even then out for me??

In the process of finishing up my small patio. Have the sublease and panel bases all set up. Just waiting for the pavers, and then will add the polymeric sand. Is it okay to use a hand tamper to get the sand into the crevices?

Can we mix jointing sand with dry cement to fill the gaps then wet it after? Second question: I've seen builders mix cement and jointing sand and spread it all over the flat bed of sharp sand, put the slabs down, then wet the slabs for a few minutes. What do you reckon? Is it a good idea?

With a wet cast slab like aberdeen by techo bloc would you use a plate compactor? Can it be substituted for a hand tamper?

We use building sand and cement for interlocking content but its extremely dusty , can you wet it first ( apply lot of water ) before compacting

When compacting pavers into the paver base, approximately how deep into the base will the paver travel? I'm asking because I need to match the height of the pavers over the base with the height of a paver border on a fixed wall. Thank you

should I use this technique if im re sanding existing pavers after I clean all the old crap and mold out of old joints? I have a job booked next month and its my biggest one so far and I wanna do a great job on the re sanding of the pavers. thanks for the awesome content..

You are very good at what you do. When compacting large pavers, 12" x 12" and larger, are you using plywood? If so is it half inch? Also how many centrifugal pounds is that plate compactor? Thank you for producing great content.

I laid down a small 9x9 area of pavers. I want to use my hand tamper to compact them. I have a piece of dense rubber for the bottom of the tamper. Should I use the polymeric sand prior to compacting or compact once and again with the sand? Is a hand tamper sufficient for a 9x9 area?

The rental company gave us a compactor with a rubber pad on it. But we need to compact the soil and the 3/4 gravel area (not pavers). Does the rubber pad affect the compaction level?

Tried to tell my sister this. She also wanted her patio blocks so tight you can’t really sweep any sand in the cracks. Not to forget they did an entire back yard and didn’t use class 5 below the pavers. Every way how not to install patio blocks🤦‍♂️

I wonder if anyone has just cut plywood for the base of compactor then fasten or clamp

Hi. Very good and useful video. I am going to install large porcelain tiles on a patio around a house. The house sits on a rock and it is surrounded with concrete retaining walls limiting the perimeter of the patio. This area has various thickness and has been partially filled with sand during the construction process. I am planning to use two beds of gravel and one layer of hydro sand to lay the tiles. My question is: what should I do with the thick sand base prior to laying the gravel? Should I remove it (a hell of a job!), compact it (how?), or else? Thank you for your expertise. Pierre

Do you have any experience using a plate compactor with a pad on Techo Bloc pavers? Their installation instructions says they do not recommend using plate compactors on their Blu 60 product but their poly sand instructions say to use a plate compactor. I have a 1850lb plate compactor with a pad and wondering if there is any risk cracking the pavers.

I put in 16 by 24 slabs on a good size patio bought them from a home center had proper base down but some of them broke at touch of a rubber Mallett can I use plywood and a rubber pad also to keep them from breaking? Helpful video thanks

Super educational! I'm doing my first interlocking pad for a shed and I don't have a gas compactor but do have a tamper. It's only 9 x 11. Could I put a carpet down and use the hand tamper? Or will that be a waste of time?

Thank you. My question is.... is there a major difference/ need to consider a more expensive plate compactor ( Harbor Freight vs. ????) Are there any must have features I should look to have on the machine and/ or would make a big difference in time labor? Ie. Paver roller

When laying pavers next to a concrete patio how high above the concrete level should the pavers be set before final compaction? I’ve read 1/8 to 3/8 so the final paver height is level with concrete . What correct? Thanks

As im laying my pavers, some of them are higher or lower and I have been using a rubber mallet. But if i rent a compactor will that, adjust those high areas and low corners of the pavers? Some seem to stick up more and the mallet sometimes only gets them down so far into the sand .

Hi thanks for sharing the information, I’ve fairly large size patio in decent shape but there are spots low and high and last year I power washed so no sand in the joint at this point, I’ve few contractors looking at it and asking me to redo whole patio by removing and redoing base saying that there is no proper drainage. My budget is tight and wanted to know that will it be a good idea to relevel those spots by adding sand, add side edge and add polymeric sand with compactor compared to redoing it. Please share your thoughts.

Is there a point where the compression force will damage the pavers even with the protective pad. I saw somewhere that 5000 lbf compactors are better for this step than 7000 lbf compactors but I can not find a reversible 5000 lbf compactor

Does compacting apply to Architectural Slabs as well? A few of mine are a bit wobbly, but I'm concerned about breakage when compacting. Thanks!

Do you tamp after the concrete edging drys or can you tamp while concrete edging is still wet?

Do I need to plate compact porcelain pavers? Or will they brake upon impact?

Hey should I do my cement border before or after I compact pavers to prep for polymeric?

When do you place the side plastic edging to your interlocking (before or after you compact)?

Do you think a heavy duty tarp would work, maybe folded on itself?

even if you use HPB + synthetic base. Should I do this step?

I’ve got 450mm square x 40mm thick concrete pavers to compact. Would the plywood be enough to help prevent cracking? The hire shops don’t have the pads to clamp to the plate.

Hi. Could I have the link for the compacting pad? I am planning on renting a machine but do not know that they will have the right kind of pad or a pad at all. I have a bluestone (flagstone cut) patio that the polymeric sand failed on after 2 years. After a lot of research I see all the places the contractor cut corners and why it did fail. I am hoping I can do a better job. Anything to prevent breakage on this step aside from a good pad?

Very informative but I can’t find the link for the pad

Great info! What about maintenance a few years after installation. When pressure washing clears out most of the sand that’s covered with moss. Would you still use a compactor or is brushing in the sand good enough?

Is 24 hr drying time adequate before a whole week of rain?(PNW rainy season starts early this year😫) I m doing the gator base(small enclosed L-shape yard). Layer pavers now. But I only have less than 48 hr before the rain starts!!! I’m stressed out af. Not sure if I should wait for a dry window to do poly sand. It may never dry until winter. Curious to know what you would do in this scenario?

So when you compact the pavers with the jointing compound how much lower will the paver go down?

I do have a question. Is compaction still necessary when using paver base panels? And does any part of the compaction process change?

Does carpet work as well as a pad or plywood to prevent damaging pavers?

Instead of renting a compactor I was looking at purchasing one from lowes. Yardmax 2500lbs compaction force plate compactor. Do you think this will be undersized or can I just do more passes? Thanks in advance.

there are roller compactors that do this job without using anything underneath

Would this application be appropriate for large (up to 36x36) PA bluestone?

Do you use polymetric sand when using gatorbase? It seems like there is nothing below the polymetric sand for it to bind to if it is just the gatorbase (and sometimes some concrete sand for leveling)?

EXCELLENT Video!

Can this be done with a hand tamp and a board of wood for protection?

How many pounds of pressure on the compactor?

Can you use a jumping jack compactor for this?

Where I buy?

Hey😃 Where did you find those String along adjustable collars? I can't find them. Home Hardware has them in them in their warehouse but that's take too long, IHL never heard of them. 🙄🙄🙄🙄 Also, I DMed you on Instagram about getting a quote.

Who the fuck layed those Rosebel pavers? What the F###!!!!