Should I Leave A Gap Between Concrete Pavers?

Should I leave a gap between concrete pavers? How much of a gap do I need to leave? You can make pavers using different types of materials such as stones, bricks, or concrete. Also, you can consider different shapes including rectangles, squares, fieldstone, or flagstone for walkways, patios, or paved driveways. Through different materials are used for pavers, they are common in many aspects. You need to lay pavers on compacted gravel with a top sand layer. All the pavers need a gap between them.

Should I Leave A Gap Between Concrete Pavers? — What You Should Know

The gap is important to secure pavers. The gap size will be decided depending on the material and the purpose. For example, you might not need more gap for your concrete patio pavers. However, bricks will need more gap.

Gap for Pavers

Walkway Gaps

If you are using bricks and stones for walkways, you will have to leave wider gaps. For the stone walkways, you can consider the stepping stone fashion while leaving board spaces. You need to leave space between each stone and fill it with sod or decorative gravel. You can think of a fieldstone or flagstone shape to get an attractive look. But make sure that the gap is filled with colorful and attractive pea gravel. You need to maintain a 1.2-inch space. However, space can be more when pavers are laid in stepping stone fashion. Over time, these pavers can get loosened up. Knowing how to fix loose pavers can help you make your pavers look like they were just installed.

Accent Gaps

You might have heard about accent gaps. These gaps are not important for stability purposes. However, they can transform the look of your pavers. You can fill the gap with dry or dust cement to get an impressive and decorative wall-like look. This option will be perfectly fine with brick pavers. Brick pavers need more gap than other materials. Just imagine the color contrast between white seams and red brick that will highlight your brick paver patterns. You can consider trying a similar effect for your concrete block pavers. You can try different colors including the contrasting tones such as cement or gravel fillers. These fillers can be great. In stone paver gaps, you can use pea gravel to get the same effect. It is not important to maintain the gap only. At the same time, you will have to use the right filler to maintain integrity as well as looks.

Sand Sealing

Sand is one of the key ingredients for laying pavers. You can use sand in many ways, but you should calculate and know the amount that you’ll need for your project. Use it as the basic element for your pavers to seal gaps. Sand offers the best solution when it comes to set together. It can be an ideal option when you use fillers to solidify your pavers. However, it might not be that effective to get a decorative look. For stronger bonds, you can consider using polymeric sand that hardens well to create a stronger joint between your pavers.

Conclusion

Should I leave a gap between concrete pavers? Yes, you will have to leave a gap between pavers. The size will depend on the paving material. Concrete pavers need fewer gaps than other materials. You can use gaps as an accent and secure your pavers well.