how to cut border pavers on a curve

Lay the pavers beyond the main body of your installation and into the border area. It's much easier if you have numerous people to help with this task. The plywood should extend below the 24 the thickness of the paver brick plus 3/4 in. Cutting with saws creates a lot of dust, some of which may be carcinogenic. Step 2: Set the marked paver up on supports (other pavers will work well) with the marked area over the space between the supports. Plastic edge border restraint. 4. Measure the space you need to fill in your layout and transfer that measurement to the paver, making a pencil mark on the front and the back of the paver. Both a standard circular saw (7 1/2-inch blade) or angle grinder (4 1/2-inch blade) make clean, easy cuts and involve similar techniques. 5 Steps in Cutting Pavers around Curve Edges 1. The vibration will cause the dry sand to fill the cracks and lock the bricks tightly together. Start by scraping the extra sand out from behind the bricks so the edging will rest on the compacted fill. Construct a screed by screwing a 14-in.-wide scrap of plywood to a 32-in. While holding the paver in place with one hand, tap the overhanging end firmly with a hammer or a mallet. Plus: Check out these unexpected materials used for landscape borders. Slope bricks alongside steps to make an attractive transition. Don't hesitate to trim the trench a bit here or there as you cut the edge to smooth curves or alter the garden bed shape. Since every project is unique, it is really common to cut pavers in order to fit them in the chosen layout. On a budget, you can use a hammer and a chisel to work around the paver along the line that you are cutting until the paver breaks at that line. MATERIALS AND TOOLS Available on Amazon Work gloves Protective eyewear Measuring tape Carpenters pencil Cold chisel Brickset chisel Hammer. As a last resort, you can rent a 10-cu.-yd. Cover everything with tarps in-between sessions. You can also clamp the paver to your work surface, if desired. Add a vertical line of bricks inside the first row. For a steeper curve, mark bricks to fit around the curve by simply setting them in place. In addition to a shovel and rake, youll need a wheelbarrow, tamper and some scraps of lumber and basic carpentry tools to construct the screeds. You can then draw a line from that mark to the corner of the paver on the opposite end and those are the lines you would cut in order to fit tightly against your initial border stone. Set the sod in place and trim it to fit with a utility knife. Last Updated: December 28, 2022 2. Having the right blade for your saw is just as important as having the right saw for the job. As you tap, the chisel will score a groove in the paver. Shop Pavers & Retaining Walls Shop Garden Decor Shop Mulch, Rock & Soil Instructions Step 1 Measure and mark your project area. If necessary, chip away any uneven or protruding bits from the center of the broken paver with the brick-set and a hammer. This will be most evident when you complete your final compaction of the pavement. Cutting Border Pavers into Curves. Follow these steps to create the perfect border. Make sure they extend beyond the final finished area. Then, you need to cover the road base with sand. Plus: Check out these unexpected materials used for landscape borders. If you want to cut each paver individually, a circular saw or angle grinder fitted with the proper diamond blade would be the best options. Turn on the saw and let it come up to full speed. Loosen soil, then make clean cuts, using a digging fork or a bed-edging tool (designed with a sharp, curved blade specifically for this task). Water should flow over the blade whenever the saw is running. These saws are especially handy on stone pavers, which can be time-consuming and tedious to cut manually with a hammer and chisel, but theyre also a good choice for cutting softer pavers if you have a lot to cut. 1. Joe Norton is a hardscape expert who designs and builds walls, patios, and walkways. Level the gravel about 3-1/2 in. https://www.thisoldhouse.com/more/how-to-hand-cut-brick, https://www.bobvila.com/articles/how-to-cut-pavers/. This gives your blade a clear path. However, this method is more likely to create a jagged edge. Pull down sharply on the handle of the tool to split the paver. If you are laying the pavers in place and cutting the curve afterward, a portable gas or electric cutoff saw or a wet-saw could do the job. Mark the cutting line across the top face of the paver, using a pencil and a square or straightedge. Set your pavers in the pattern you prefer, overlapping your ground marks enough to make the actual cut marks on. At this point, the bricks should protrude slightly above the surface of the sidewalk. These help to reduce the cuts that need to be completed and improves efficiency for the project. Read our article about how to make a curved pavers walkway without cutting for more details. If you only need to cut a few, a hammer and chisel can be employed, but if cutting many pavers, a power saw, such as an angle grinder or a circular saw, is recommended to speed up the process. You can take them all to the wet saw and make a bunch of cuts at once. Move the chisel along the mark, tapping until youve made a groove about 1/16-inch deep along the entire line on both sides and both edges. This should also be communicated if you have one person marking and another person cutting. Level the pipes. Learn tips for creating your most beautiful home and garden ever. But edging does more than simply decorate. Enjoy! For straight borders, follow a tightly stretched string line. Installing pavers this way makes it easier to mow. All standard cutting methods work for straight cuts, but for curved cuts, use a circular saw or angle grinder. Then pull the bricks up, numbering the bottoms as you go. Use a scrap of lumber and hand maul to embed the bricks in the sand and make them flush with the surface of the sidewalk. Hedges make great borders. Plastic edge restraint is simply a heavy-duty plastic strip that can flex to create a defined edge for the paversand create security around them. Complete the project by filling the trench behind the bricks with some of the soil you removed earlier. Follow the grade of the adjacent lawn to determine the slope. Remove several inches of soil from the landscaping side of the flat wall to . You would cut each paver individually and measure after each cut paver has been placed. Place the paver on the saw sled, making sure it is resting fully against the back lip of the sled. Depending on the thickness, you might need to turn the stone over and do another pass with the blade. Once you know your measurements, use a straight edge to mark cutlines onto all 4 sides of your paver. If you'd like to learn more about pavers, check out our in-depth interview with Tony Hoang. To learn how to use a circular power saw to cut pavers, keep reading! Set the saw blade to cut -inch deep, and position the paver on a flat surface, such as the ground or a sturdy board set on top a couple of sawhorses. Before cutting pavers, make sure you've measured your space and know what size you want. 5. Sketch a plan of what you want your flowerbed to look like. Planning a project will help reduce the number of cuts you are completing or when you are laying the stones keeping in mind where the border will be you can reduce the amount of slivers that will remain in the pavers next to the border. Using a grinder to cut the pavers can create a lot of dust, so wearing a quality dust mask is recommended during the cutting process. 3. The paver should break cleanly, ready to be set into your layout. Let's finish this paver tee pad up by installing the border pavers. This technique works whether you have one or several steps. With sharper curves or curves that are convex (curving inward), you may not be able to follow that line in place. Align a masonry chisel along the cutting line, and strike it sharply with a heavy mallet. If you need to make a lot of cuts, it might be best to rent a wet saw or a brick/paver splitter. wide by 8-in. Pavers are great alternatives to large pieces of plain concrete. When cutting the paving stones, youll see that it is really easy to ruin the cut, so waste is more common than you can imagine. Dont come home to a nightmare and the feeling of being invaded. Adding mulch will help keep the dirt inside the border in the case of heavy rain. Since the purpose of the gravel fill is to provide a stable base, its important to compact it well. Once the shape is completely marked, you can remove and cut each paver, replacing it before moving on to the next. Over time, your pavers will end up shifting and moving around. This slight tilt allows you to cut the pavers in place and follow that curve line nicely. This can be accomplished by spacing out the pavers to follow that curve, keeping that paver stone perpendicular to the pavers in the field as much as possible. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. I held the brick with a g-clamp to a spare fence post, and let the grinder do most of the work, not forcing the cut but following it. Place the border paver on a cutting board or other stable surface. In this case, you need to cut a 1 by 7 inch (2.5 by 17.8cm) piece from the longer side of your paver. The result is the number of cubic yards of gravel needed. If you're cutting concrete pavers, which tend to be harder than brick, make sure the splitter you rent is designed for concrete. Maintain the look with routine edging with a string trimmer. So if you are doing your own paver project, I'm sure you will learn a few things! Order gravel that ranges in size from 3/4 in. We installed a deep compacted gravel base under the bricks. If your project has curves, dont forget to add, at least, 5% more pavers when buying it. Start from one side of the permanent edge and lay pavers in a row. To protect the bottom of your circular saw base and prevent scratches from the paver surface, cover the base with blue painter's tape. This minimizes subtle changes in height/slope between sections. If you can't find a flat surface, place your paver onto a piece of plywood held up by 2 sawhorses. Caution Before beginning any excavation, call 811 to check for underground utilities. Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Shop Pavers & Retaining Walls Ideally when you are planning your cuts, you are reducing the amount of cuts that you are doing. To get a better picture of your plan, include a detailed landscaping layout of which plants will go where. Regardless of the method you use to cut them, there is always a risk of small chips getting in your eyes. You can also use a. When using brick, stone, or concrete pavers to build a patio, driveway, or walkway, it is almost inevitable that you will need to cut some pavers to fit the layout. We first begin without water and scoring the line so that the line does not disappear when we move through it with the water on. Press the edging against the bricks and drive 10-in. Set the paver face-up on a flat, sturdy surface. Were committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Or you can dig a trench and put the pavers in so they are level with the surrounding ground. You could save a lot of work by simply digging a small trench and laying the bricks right on the soil, but youd probably have to realign them every summer. This will help to prevent the blade from becoming blunt too quickly. Use a large enough blade to cut through your SRW block in 1 pass. Theres no need to mark the sides. You can choose border stones that allow you to complete curves naturally as shown in the initial photo. Do not strike too hard, or the paver may break irregularly. Even professional masons use this method to cut pavers in a pinch, and its your only option if you dont have access to electrical power on the site of your project. Use a masonry saw or wet saw to cut along the scored line. Always wear a dust mask and goggles when cutting any type of paver. Mark the pavers and cut in place. Typically for a demo saw this is going to be able 1/8. You can then hammer along the cutline groove to separate the paver into 2 pieces. Only spread as much gravel base and leveling sand as you think you can cover with pavers in a day (you dont want it getting rained on). Tony Hoang is a Landscaper and the Principal at H&J Landscaping & Concrete Contractor in Newark, CA. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 37,054 times. Then add another 3 in. There are several good tool options for DIYers, including simple hand tools and basic power tools. Hit the end of the chisel firmly with the hammer and the paver should split into two separate parts. Position the chisel edge into the groove at the center of the paver face. This design also makes it simple to mow along the curvethe wheel of the mower will glide along the lower bricks. below the bottom of the brick. Otherwise, it creates a cloud of dense silica dust that can harm your lungs. Heres how to install paver edging. The next step up would be an angle grinder that would allow you to cut more accurately and efficiently along your cut line. To determine how much gravel youll need for this size trench, grab your calculator and multiply the linear feet of the trench by .02. 3 Attach a diamond masonry blade to your power saw. One major benefit of using a plastic edge restraint is that it is made for a curved edge rather than one that is just a straight line with 90 corners. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. Lay the pavers so the outside edges of the path extend outside the desired area for the path when the curves are cut. Your cut paver is now ready to be positioned in your layout. Measure the total linear feet of edging you plan to install and multiply by 3 to arrive at the number of 4-in.-wide paver bricks youll need. It may not seem like there is much slurry on the surface of the pavers after one wash, but once the surface dries it will expose that solidified slurry on the surface especially if someone walks through the slurry and onto the surface of the pavements elsewhere. To ensure that the bricks remain stable and wont tip when you wheel a lawn mower over them, the new compacted base should be 6 in. from the thickness of a brick. A 4-inch blade will give you more mobility within the curve. Better Homes & Gardens - 100 years of powering your passions at home, Landscape and Garden Edging Ideas That Make Your Yard Look Sharp, How to Make a Flower Bed to Suit the Space You Have, How to Landscape Around a Deck to Enhance Your Backyard, How to Landscape Front Yards and Entryways to Maximize Curb Appeal, How to Build an Easy DIY Patio to Upgrade Your Backyard, How to Build a DIY Paver Patio in 9 Steps in Just One Day, 11 Landscaping Ideas for Your Front Yard on a Budget, 8 Inexpensive Garden Edging Ideas That Will Make Your Yard Look Sharp, 10 Easy Steps to Create Gardens in Your Yard for the First Time, How to Make a Stepping Stone Paver Walkway, 12 Flower Gardening Tips for Designing a Beautiful Landscape, How to Create a No-Dig Flowerbed for an Easy Start to a Garden, How to Install Drainage Around a Patio to Avoid Standing Water, How to Dig a Garden Bed and 7 Other Steps to a New Garden, How to Plant a Raised Bed Garden and Avoid 8 Common Mistakes, How to Build a Mortar-Free Wall with Interlocking Retaining Wall Blocks, 80-100 bricks for edging, for a small entryway garden like ours. Set the paver flat on your work surface, and gently but firmly, tap the waste portion of the paver with a hammer to break the paver along the cutting line. This provides the same results with a little more accuracy and efficiency. When getting this line just right, you may want to reposition pavers that you have already laid in order to reduce the number of sliver cuts that will be done which may crack upon final compaction. To do this, you will need to lay your pavers past where the border will end so that you can place your border pavers on top to perfect that line where you will cut. It isnt always necessary to cut pavers to make a curve. The edging we used required us to cut the outermost band with tin snips to allow the edging to bend around the curve. Use it to try out great new products and services nationwide without paying full pricewine, food delivery, clothing and more. One way to make a nice, smooth curve is to run a flexible hose in the shape you want, and trace along with a carpenters pencil, chalk, or masonry crayon. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. No, you really don't want to do this. Position the sharp edge of a cold chisel (a small hardened steel chisel with a sharp blade) on the pencil line and gently tap the other end with a hammer. below the top of the sidewalk to allow room for the bricks and about an inch of sand. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Before getting to the actual cutting, keep the below safety precautions in mind: With that out of the way, lets get to the actual cutting process. Wear knee pads and gloves. Cut and install several pavers, then repeat the process until the curved section is complete. Bruno Bornsztein is a home improvement addict fan who runs Curbly, LLC (including blogs "Curbly", "ManMadeDIY", and "WeeBabyStuff"). Its also a good idea to wear ear protection because the cutting process is quite loud. If your grass isnt worth saving, just dig it out and plan to buy a few rolls of sod instead. For example, your installation location might be a 7 by 7 inch (18 by 18cm) square and your paver 7 by 8 inches (18 by 20cm). A masonry saw is a tool able to make clean and fast cuts, suggested for complex projects where youll be cutting a big quantity of stones or youll need to get perfect cuts. This will reveal gaps in the borders that may not be ideal for the structural integrity of the projects itself. Its also a good idea to wear gloves when handling pavers because they can quickly wear down the skin on your fingertips. National Cancer Institute. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. If you don't have a step nearby, firmly hit the tip of the paver onto a flat, concrete surface. A larger blade will not allow you to follow the curved lines easily. How to Build a Deck Over a Concrete Patio, How to Install Pavers Over a Concrete Patio, Renew Your Concrete Patio: How to Stain Concrete, Patio Tiles: How to Build a Patio With Ceramic Tile, How to Choose the Right Retaining Wall Material, Build a Circular Patio and Retaining Wall, Fountain: How to Build a Concrete Fountain, We are no longer supporting IE (Internet Explorer). The plastic paver edging is necessary to keep the bricks from drifting. When youre done digging, rake the bottom of the trench smooth and compact it with the hand tamper for driveway edging pavers. Please note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our website and the services we offer. Mark the cutting line across the top face of the paver, using a pencil and a square or straightedge. Get free, no-commitment estimates from licensed general contractors near you. Sometimes this cannot be avoided. Lay the pavers beyond the main body of your installation and into the border area. Cutting curves is easiest when done in place. bags of sand youll need. Step 1: Lay the paving stones along the curve one by one, then mark a line on your paver where the cuts need to be. Her work has also been featured in the Epoch Times. It is always important when planning a project with curves that you account for at least 15% waste for these cuts and sometimes upwards of 25% waste. Step 5: Once each side is cut, you can either tap the scrap portion with a hammer or tap inside the cut line with a chisel, and you should have a clean break along your cuts. With curves that are not sharp and concave (curving outward), you can tilt your saw slightly outward (towards the border). This usually leaves about a inch of edging still for the the paver to catch on. Especially when taking the time to create curves that contrast the square or rectangular materials. You can cut pavers of virtually anykind with a power saw as long as you use the correct blade. Remove the tape as soon as you're done with the project (so it's not hard to remove later). Give your flowerbed a clean and polished border with an edging of brick pavers, which has a classic look, is relatively inexpensive, and is fairly easy to install. The level will drop as the gravel settles, but thats OK because youll add sand later to make up for it. As with the outer layer, push the bricks close together to prevent grass from growing between. The pavers go on top of the sand. For our project, which was a total of 60 linear feet, we ordered 1-1/4 cu. A curved path draws and entices you to follow it. The method we show takes longer initially but guarantees a long-lasting job thatll look great for decades. Traditional methods such as a hammer and chisel, can be used with some patience. You may have to experiment a little to get the level just right. Following your line, dig a trench slightly deeper than the height of your bricks when they are lying flat (usually about 3-4 inches). The pavers sit on top of the setting bed, and are held in place by plastic edging on the sides. While making your patio or walkway with pavers, keep in mind that it will have a rustic beauty that allows for some imperfections in shape and texture. Pound the gravel with a hand tamper until it feels solid. Sometimes called aguillotine, a brick splitter is a non-power tool that operates somewhat like a log splitterexcept that it cuts bricks and pavers. Deane Biermeier is an expert contractor with nearly 30 years of experience in all types of home repair, maintenance, and remodeling. of fill and drag a screed across the top to create a surface thats parallel to the top of the sidewalk. Mark the front, back, and sides of the paverthe cutline must run all the way around because youll need to score all four sides. Add an inch-thick setting bed, a layer of sand that you smooth out until its level. Following the curved outline, dig a shallow trench so the flat-laid bricks will rest just above the existing soil. Position your bricks end to end, pushing them tightly together to discourage grass from growing in the cracks. You can always clean up the curve with the grinder if there are any sharp or jagged portions. Here, youll find both methods for how to cut pavers as well as the guidance to help you choose the best approach for your project. Step 1: Mark your layout on the ground as a general reference. We rented a sod cutter to slice a neat layer of grass from along the edge of the sidewalk, but a flat shovel will also work. Mark out the curve you want to create with string or a garden hose. Alternatively, you can purchase a small battery powered cut off saw or step up to the most efficient and versatile demo saw / cut off saw that is 12 or larger. On hot days, make sure that you are consistently washing the pavers that you have cut thoroughly. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/e\/ed\/Cut-Pavers-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Cut-Pavers-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/e\/ed\/Cut-Pavers-Step-1.jpg\/aid10389921-v4-728px-Cut-Pavers-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"