ᐅ How many centimeters do paving stones typically settle after being compacted?

Created on: 22 Jan 2018 19:54
M
mortensit
Hello everyone,

I have an existing raised terrace and would like to add a second, lower terrace. For this, I plan to create a C-shaped strip foundation. On top of that, I want to lay 2-3 rows of natural stone wall blocks (about 28 x 21 x 14 cm (11 x 8 x 6 inches)), bonded with thin-bed mortar. The entire terrace will be only about 30-45 cm (12-18 inches) high and cover an area of around 15 square meters (160 square feet).

The resulting "interior space" will be filled with gravel and compacted, a bedding layer will be applied, and then approximately 8 cm (3 inches) thick paving stones will be installed on top. The border wall and the paving stones should end up at the same height.

My question is whether I need to set the paving stones higher so that after compacting they are level with the wall. If yes, approximately how many centimeters? Or does the paver not settle any further after installation? I have no experience with this.
11ant25 Jan 2018 14:26
fima82ND schrieb:
The substructure and the paving must be vibrated! Otherwise, the paving will settle unevenly.

The purpose of vibrating is to encourage the aggregate layer to compact densely, essentially achieving the stable final state of settlement before the surface layer is applied.
Vibrating the surface layer itself would cause each individual paving stone—which is already densely stable—to vibrate, effectively accelerating material fatigue.
In my opinion, any trade journal recommending that would have to be an April edition.
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Y
ypg
25 Jan 2018 15:21
@mortensit
I also tend to think that natural stones might break if you mortar several layers on top of each other.
In our case, this “nice natural stone edge” was installed later... well, we don’t have paving stones but rather slabs.
Paving stones themselves should be compacted on a solid base, but they won’t settle much if you stabilize the substrate beforehand and all the stones are at the same height, so you just lay them down without having to embed them into the ground.
fima82ND25 Jan 2018 23:16
I can only recommend this to you. Build a proper subbase and compact it thoroughly. Set the edge stones on a mortar bed and pave the inner paving stones about 1 cm (0.4 inches) higher, then fill the joints with sand and vibrate the loosely laid stones to settle them. After that, sweep in more sand and you’re done. I’ve trained in landscaping and have seen many poorly done terraces and driveways.
M
mortensit
2 Feb 2018 18:51
All right, thanks. I’ll do it that way.