New Block Paver

Dig out about 200mm, lay and firm up 100 to 150mm of MOT Type 1 hardcore, then spread a layer of sharp sand on top for the blocks to bed into. Lay the blocks in your pattern (herringbone'sstrongest for a drive) with just a couple of millimetres between them, and set a solid edge in concrete to hold it all in. Finish by running a plate compactor (wacker plate) over the top, brush kiln-dried sand into the gaps, then give it one more pass.

Youactually needtwo sands. Sharp sand (sometimes called grit sand) goes underneath as the bed the blocks sit on, and kiln-dried sand gets brushed into the joints once the blocks are down.Don'tuse soft building sand underneath, as it holds water and moves about. We stock both, including aneco blockpaving sand for the joints.

Rough guide: one bulk bag of sharp sand covers about 12 to 15 square metres as a bedding layer, and a 25kg bag of kiln-dried sand fills the joints on about 5 square metres. It varies with how wide your joints are, so grab a bit extra to be safe. Keep the kiln-dried sand dry until you use it, or itwon'tbrush into the gaps.

A standard 200 x 100mm block gives you 50 per square metre. Work out your area, times it by 50, and add about 5% for cuts, or a bit more ifyou'regoing for herringbone or a diagonal pattern. Order full packs so the colour matches across the whole job.

Weeds get in where the sand in the joints has washed away, so the trick is keeping those joints topped up with kiln-driedsand, orsealing them with a jointing compound. Brush fresh sand in once ayear, andpull or treat any weeds before they seed. A block paving sealer also helps hold the sand in and keep weeds down.

Salt will kill weeds, butit'snot a great long-term fix. It washes into the soil, can harm nearby plants, and over time can affect the base under your paving.You'rebetter off keeping the joints sanded and using a proper pathweedkiller, andsaving the salt for the odd weed here and there.

Normal block pavingisn'tfully permeable, butthere'sa permeable type made to let rainwater soak away through wider joints and a special base underneath. This matters for driveways, because a new solid surface over 5 square metres that drains onto the road usually needs planning permission, while permeable paving normallydoesn't. Ifyou'redoing a drive, permeable blocks are worth a look just for that.