Laying a Path

• 1). Determine where you wish to place your path and pavers. If you plan a winding path, you may want to have a hose handy to help mark the turns. Spray paint along the hose to outline the cut lines. Measure the rest of your path, and and mark it with spray paint. Landscaping paint sprays straight down and gives clean lines (See Reference 1).
  
  
• 2). Use a spade to cut out the edges along the painted lines. This will give clean, straight edges. Dig the middle portions out with a regular shovel. Dig to a depth of six inches. This will allow for four inches of sand and leave space for the two-inch-thick pavers (See Reference 2).
  
  
• 3). Use a garden rake to break up large clumps of dirt, and reduce them to the size of a pea or smaller. Fine dust is even better. Check all your measurements once more to ensure accuracy (See Reference 3).
  
  
• 4). Pour sand into the areas that you have dug up. Use the back edge of a rake or a 2x4 to level the sand to a depth of four inches. Tamp the sand down with a tamping device. Do not walk on the surface after you have tamped it (See Reference 1).
  
  
• 5). Determine where you want to start. Early planning is important. If you are setting the pavers on an angle, the first row must be perfect. Ensure that your first row of a pattern is straight. Lay your first row, and check for level and accuracy of pattern. If the paver is not level, tap it softly with a mallet. Continue this process until you are finished. Check your work after every section. This will assure a cleaner job (See Reference 3).
  
  
• 6). Throw sand onto the surface of the pavers, and use a broom to fill the cracks between them. Sweep the excess sand up after you finished (See Reference 2).
  
  

Cutting Pavers

• 1). Measure the paver, and mark a cut line. Hold a chisel on the cut line, and strike the chisel with a hammer. Continue doing this until you have a groove about one-eighth-inch deep. Do this on both sides of the paver (See Reference 3).
  
  
• 2). Strike the end of the paver you wish to discard with the hammer. This will cause the paver to break along the cut line (See Reference 3).
  
  
• 3). Clean the cut edge of the paver with the back pick on a mason's hammer (See Reference 3).