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Prevent Horizontal Failure with Proper Edge Restraint

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How NOT to Build with Pavers- Why They FAIL! *DIY your own successful paver project

What happens here

Horizontal paver failure occurs when pavers slide off the edge of the installed area. This is a crucial area where proper edge restraint is essential. Unlike typical landscaping edging, which is flexible, paver patios and driveways require a rigid edge restraint designed to be secured with steel spikes. These spikes, when driven into the ground, will rust over time, creating a strong, weld-like bond that permanently locks the pavers in place. Using concrete or asphalt as an edge restraint is strongly discouraged, as they are rigid and will crack, ultimately failing to contain the pavers. Furthermore, a plastic edge restraint allows for vegetation to grow up to the patio, unlike concrete which heats up and can inhibit plant growth.

Goal: Prevent pavers from sliding outwards and maintaining the project's perimeter.

Tools and materials

  • Landscaping Edge Restraint — Demonstrating an unsuitable type of edge restraint for pavers
  • Paver Edge Restraint — The correct type of edge restraint for paver installations
  • Steel Spikes — Securing the paver edge restraint into the ground

What they say

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add, Lucy? Can you just let me do my thing now? Horizontal failure in a PA system is kind of like the pavers falling out of bed, meaning that they slide off the edge. Edge restraint is a critical element to the overall and long-term success of a PA patio. Getting the proper edge is the difference between your pavers sloughing off or your pavers staying in place for 20, 30, 50, or even 100 years. Now, the edge restraint for a patio is different than the edge restraint that you would typically for landscaping. This is the edge restraint that you would see put around the border of a landscape project. You don't want that for a paver patio. This is the kind of edge restraint that you want for a paver patio. This is designed to allow you to drive steel spikes through it. This holds the paver in place. And the reason that I say steel very specifically is because you want to drive a spike through this to connect into the ground that will rust. You intentionally want it to rust because when that spike rusts, it acts like a weld. Welding this in place, making it an even permanent longerlasting bond. Now, there's some companies out there that tell you, "Oh, we are going to use concrete or asphalt for our edge restraints on your PA." There is nothing worse than concrete or asphalt because concrete inside the industry is actually called crackrete. That's a fact. And if you want to try to grow grass up to your patio and you use a concrete edge restraint, you have zero chance. Even if they bury it below the top of the paver, you're still only going to have a/4 to a half an inch of ground for that grass to grow on. And if the sun comes out, it'll cook that grass sure as all get out. With a plastic edge restraint, it's designed to allow you to put vegetation right up to the edge of your patio. Is designed specifically to lock that in place and to prevent horizontal paver failure. Why would you not choose this over something else? it only makes sense to use this product.

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