By Metro Tiles & Flooring | Canada’s Trusted Tile & Flooring Experts
Installing outdoor pavers is one of those projects that looks intimidating from the outside but becomes a lot more manageable once you understand the process from start to finish. Done correctly, a paver installation will hold up beautifully through Ontario’s freeze-thaw cycles, look great for decades, and add real value to your property. Done incorrectly — particularly if the base preparation is rushed — you’ll be relevelling and resetting pavers within a few years.
This guide walks you through the full process, from breaking ground to sweeping in the final sand. It’s written for homeowners who are hands-on and comfortable with outdoor work, but it’s equally useful as a reference if you’re hiring a contractor and want to understand exactly what the job involves.
What You’ll Need
Before you start, make sure you have the following on hand or arranged for delivery.
For materials, you’ll need your chosen pavers, crushed stone or gravel for the base layer, coarse sand or bedding sand for the setting layer, polymeric sand for the joints, landscape fabric, and edging restraints with spikes. For tools, plan on having a plate compactor (available at most equipment rental shops), a hand tamper for edges, a rubber mallet, a long level and screed board, a tape measure, chalk line, paver saw or angle grinder with a diamond blade, shovel, and a broom.
Step 1: Plan and Mark Your Area
Start with a clear plan on paper before a single shovel goes in the ground. Measure your space, decide on your paver pattern, and calculate your material quantities — add 10% for cuts and waste, and bump that to 15% for diagonal or herringbone patterns.
Mark the perimeter of your paver area using stakes and string line. Use a carpenter’s square or the 3-4-5 triangle method to confirm your corners are square. This is also the time to plan your slope — outdoor paved surfaces need a minimum grade of 1% (about 1 centimetre per metre) away from the house to direct water runoff away from your foundation.
Before you dig, call Ontario One Call at 1-800-400-2255 to have underground utilities located and marked. This is a legal requirement in Ontario and an important safety step that takes very little time to arrange.
Step 2: Excavation
With your area marked and utilities located, it’s time to dig. The total excavation depth depends on what the surface will be used for and your local soil conditions, but a standard guideline for Ontario is as follows.
For foot traffic areas like patios and walkways, excavate to a depth of approximately 200 to 250 millimetres below your desired finished surface height. This accounts for roughly 150mm of compacted gravel base, 25 to 40mm of bedding sand, and the thickness of your paver. For driveways, increase the base to 300mm or more to handle vehicle loads.
Remove all topsoil and organic material — grass, roots, and soft earth — from the excavated area. Organic material compresses over time and causes settling, which leads to uneven, sunken pavers. Don’t rush this step or try to work with existing soft soil. If the subsoil is particularly soft or clay-heavy, you may need to excavate deeper and replace with compactable fill.
Step 3: Install Landscape Fabric
Once the area is excavated and the subgrade is firm and roughly level, lay landscape fabric across the entire area before adding your base material. Overlap seams by at least 300mm and bring the fabric up the sides of the excavation. The fabric prevents weeds from pushing up through the base and also helps separate your gravel base from the subsoil beneath it, preserving the integrity of your base layer over time.
Step 4: Add and Compact the Gravel Base
The gravel base is the most critical part of the entire installation. It provides the stable, load-bearing, well-draining foundation that your pavers will sit on for decades. Skimping here is the single most common cause of paver failure.
Add your crushed stone or clear gravel in layers of no more than 75mm at a time. After each layer, compact thoroughly with a plate compactor, making multiple passes in different directions. The material should feel firm and unyielding underfoot when properly compacted. Continue adding and compacting layers until you reach your target base depth.
Check the surface with a long level as you go, maintaining your planned slope away from the house. It’s much easier to correct the grade at the base stage than after the sand and pavers are down.
Step 5: Install Edge Restraints
Before adding your bedding sand, install your edge restraints around the perimeter of the paved area. These are typically made of plastic or aluminium and are spiked into the compacted base. Edge restraints are what keep your pavers from creeping outward over time — without them, the entire installation will slowly spread and the joints will widen.
Make sure your edge restraints follow your string lines accurately and are set to account for the thickness of your paver plus your sand layer. Spike them at regular intervals — approximately every 300mm on straight runs and more frequently on curves.
Step 6: Screed the Bedding Sand
Add a 25 to 40mm layer of coarse bedding sand over your compacted gravel base. This layer provides the final fine-grading surface that your pavers will be set into — it is not a substitute for the gravel base and should never be used as such.
To screed the sand to a consistent, even depth, set two parallel guide rails or pipes on top of the compacted gravel at your desired sand depth. Pull a long, straight screed board across the rails to level the sand into a smooth, even layer. Work in sections, removing the guide rails as you go and filling the voids they leave with sand, tamped gently by hand.
Do not compact the bedding sand and do not walk on it after screeding. It needs to remain loose and undisturbed so the pavers can be set into it cleanly.
Step 7: Lay the Pavers
Start laying pavers from a straight edge — typically a wall, a building foundation, or a chalk line you’ve snapped across the screeded sand. Work forward into the unset area, kneeling on a piece of plywood rather than on already-laid pavers to distribute your weight.
Set each paver down gently and press it firmly into the sand — don’t slide it into position, as this disturbs the screeded surface. Use a rubber mallet to tap each paver to the correct height, checking frequently with your level. Maintain consistent joint spacing using paver spacers if needed — most pavers are designed with small built-in spacer lugs, but check yours before assuming.
Cut pavers as needed for edges and around obstacles. A paver saw gives the cleanest cut, but an angle grinder with a diamond blade works for simpler straight cuts. Always cut pavers away from the main installation area to keep dust and debris off your screeded sand.
Check your work frequently with a level — both across individual pavers and across the broader surface. Small adjustments are easy to make at this stage. Large corrections after compaction are much harder.
Step 8: Compact the Pavers
Once all pavers are laid and you’re satisfied with the surface, run the plate compactor over the entire area to set the pavers firmly and evenly into the bedding sand. Use a rubber or foam pad on the base of the compactor to protect the paver surface from scratching and chipping — most rental shops have these available or can tell you how to improvise one.
Make at least two to three passes in different directions. The pavers will settle slightly into the sand during this process, which is exactly what you want. Check the surface level again after compaction and address any low spots by carefully lifting the affected paver, adding a little sand beneath it, and resetting.
Step 9: Sweep in Polymeric Sand
The final step is filling the joints between pavers with polymeric sand — a specially formulated sand that contains binding agents and hardens when activated with water, locking the pavers together and resisting weed growth and ant activity.
Pour polymeric sand over the surface and sweep it into the joints with a stiff broom. Work it in thoroughly, making sure all joints are fully filled to just below the top of the paver surface. Run the plate compactor over the surface one final time to vibrate the sand deeper into the joints, then sweep in a second application to top up any joints that have settled.
When all joints are filled, blow off any remaining sand from the paver surface with a leaf blower — this step is important, as polymeric sand left on the surface will haze when activated with water. Then gently wet the entire surface with a fine mist from a garden hose. Avoid using a strong stream that could wash the sand out of the joints. The polymeric sand will activate and begin to harden over the next 24 hours. Keep foot traffic off the surface during this period and avoid rain if possible.
A Few Final Notes
Give the installation a full 24 to 48 hours before putting it back into regular use. Inspect the joints after the first significant rainfall — polymeric sand occasionally needs a small top-up in a few spots after the first wet season, which is completely normal.
In Ontario, avoid using road salt on paver surfaces — it can degrade both the pavers and the polymeric sand over time. Use sand or a paver-safe ice melt product through the winter months instead.
A well-built paver installation, with a properly compacted base and correctly filled joints, should give you twenty or more years of trouble-free use. The time invested in doing it right at the base stage is the best investment you can make in the longevity of the whole project.
Get Everything You Need at Metro Tiles & Flooring
At Metro Tiles & Flooring, we carry a wide selection of outdoor pavers suited to Ontario’s climate, along with the setting materials, polymeric sand, and edge restraints you need to complete the job properly. Whether you’re tackling the project yourself or working with a contractor, our team can help you choose the right products and make sure you have everything on site before the work begins. Come see us in store and let’s get your outdoor project started on solid ground.
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