Are you considering stone paving installation at your home? Perhaps you are looking to hire a landscape contractor for proper installation. In spite of the fact that professional pavers are best suited for the job, it is essential to have a good idea about paving while opting for professional paver services.

Usually, installing stone pavers is not much of a difficulty, provided you have the perfect knowhow about the laying method. Here are four time-and-tested tips to help you with installing stone pavers without professional guidance.

• Ensure that the soil on which the pavers are to be laid must be 'virgin soil' which means the soil mustn't have been disturbed. Using disturbed soil underneath might lead to faulty paving installation resulting in uneven surface. So before starting off with paving installation yourself, you must make sure to lay the stone pavers on virgin soil.

• Paving installations requires proper base construction. Without a solid base, the paving stones won't fit in place properly. If you lay the stones on disturbed soil it might lead to wrong settings. However, in the absence of virgin soil, you have to carry on the paving work with disturbed soil or soil with fill added to it. In that case, you need to adopt the following measures before laying the stones.

• Compress the soil by tamping in about 6 inches. This will make it look like undistrubed soil. If there's any existing 'disturbed soil', it's better to remove it. Then add crushed stone to take its place. The depth of this place should not be more than 8 inches. In addition to the above, add ‘aggregate' or crushed stone, about 5 inches thick. Finally you need to add sand on top of the stones for proper paving ground preparation.

• If you want to drain any surface water from the pavers to a certain direction, be sure to slope the paving surface accordingly. Channelizing ways to drive the surface runoff water is important especially if you're paving patios and walkways which are close to your house. It averts any future drainage issues. Without doing this, water would either accumulate creating puddle or it will go towards the house damaging its exterior and the foundation as well.

Paver stones vary in types, size, texture, and color. Whether you need paver stones for your driveway, walkways, pool, or retaining walls, be sure to buy products manufactured by the best brands. While searching for best quality pavers, Butler PA residents should opt for Lockcrete Bauer products, an exclusive manufacturer of keystone retaining wall products since 1995!