A how-to guide to DIY paving

DIY paving could help you to save some money and is the perfect project if you're hoping to work up a sweat outdoors this summer.

Here are some top tips to ensuring your garden DIY doesn't encounter any unforeseen problems.

First, mark out the area you want paved using pegs and stringlines. Remove any vegetation and dig down to the depths required to accommodate the road base thickness, bedding sand and pavers.

The area should be even, but the finished article will need a slight slope of 20 mm per metre to aid drainage. Lay and compact a road base layer over the area, followed by the spreading of bedding sand and screed.

Plant edge restraints in places where the pavers will meet a rigid boundary such as the side of the house or a path.

Now it's time to start laying pavers, starting from one corner and placing slabs in a strip around a metre wide.

Work across the whole area before going back and filling in any gaps with smaller pavers - use a brick saw or a block splitter to cut pavers to size.

Compact the pavers into the bedding sand with a plate compactor before spreading fine jointing sand into the gaps between pavers.