Finishing the job
Once you have cut all the end pieces and your pathway or porch is completed you will want to do a final compaction of the pavers.
Depending on the type of paver you will want to run the compactor directly on the pavers or you will want to add some sand on top of the pavers. Play sand is probably not the best choice and you should get a screened sand or screen the larger pebbles out of the sand yourself so that the pebbles do not cause damage to the face of the pavers.
You should compact the pavers until they reach the finished height of your pathway and then to lock the pavers in place you should use a broom to force the residual sand between the cracks of the pavers.
Clean up can be done with a broom and any surrounding areas of grass that need to be repaired can be fitted with the topsoil and sod that you removed earlier. You can also plant fresh seed but try to make sure that sand has not covered the topsoil in areas you are planting.
Maintaining your pathway
Maintenance is pretty easy for brick, stone or concrete pavers. For the most part you do not want to use a salt on the pavers during winter and it is better if you brush snow away with a broom instead of using a metal snow shovel to reduce the risk of gouging and scratching the surface of the paver.
Some people recommend that you use a sealer on your pavers to reduce water damage over time. This is up to you and you should only do this if the manufacturer recommends it. Water sealers may contain a wax that could increase the possibility of falling due to a slippery surface in the rain or snow.
Although pavers should last a very long time it is important to know that brick and concrete will tend to deteriorate over time while stone pavers can last hundreds of years.
One of the biggest drawbacks of installing a paver system is removing grasses that grow between the joints. Some people will install the paver in a Mortar Bed with grout joints between the paver but even this won’t completely rid you of the problem over time. If you are installing a pathway or patio it is definitely worth the expense to add a layer of garden fabric below your gravel.
Once the pavers are installed if you find you have weeds or grass growing between the pavers a chemical herbicide like Otho Roundup that will kill all plants is easy to apply. At most you will have to do this process once a year and it is best to catch any weeds before they cause heaving of the pavers when their roots begin to grow under the paver.
Well that is pretty much it for this howto but other howtos may look deeper into the materials used and the designs that are available for the home owner.