stacker laying guide

NATURAL STONE STACKERS LAYING GUIDE

Stackers can be installed on top of sand as well as on top of mortar. For any kind of paving there are specific instructions that should be followed in order to make sure it will function properly. Naturally, Stackers should be installed with precision.

Installing the Stackers on a sand base;

Creating the base

Stackers are usually installed on a sand base. The quality of the sand base largely determines the quality of the final result. Obviously, base requirements depend of the kind of traffic the paving will be exposed to. As such, a garden path will have different base requirements to a driveway, where the sand will fulfil a load-bearing capacity. In the case of a driveway, the sand base should transfer and spread the traffic load to deeper layers.

Traffic Category 1

Virtually non-load-bearing paving. The required base is a 150mm sand layer

Traffic category 2

Paving with very little freight traffic. The required base is a sand layer of 250mm or more, depending on the soil substrate.

Traffic category 3-5

These categories respectively represent medium-strength heavy-traffic paving, high-strength heavy-traffic paving and paving for slow or stationary heavy traffic. The paving subgrade should consist of a MOT Type 1 that complies with the British Highways Standards. The pavers should be installed with proper edge course and the joints should be filled with the right material. The street layer should consist of a full mortar bed

Stabilizing

The sand base can be stabilized if the road requires heavy-duty foundations. In case you want to apply stabilization, make sure you also install sufficient drainage. The sand base can be mixed with hydraulic additives such as cement or hydraulic lime. As a general rule 125-150kg of additives should be added to every mᶟ of sand.

Drainage

As much as possible, rainwater should be drained across the surface of the paving. To promote this, and to avoid traffic hindrance from a layer of water on the road, the paving should be installed in a slope. Generally, paving is installed sloping sideways, so that water will drain to and off the sides. For larger areas such as squares, gullies should be installed. The surrounding pavers should then slope towards the gullies or curved drainage channels that will lead the water to the gullies.