Methods of Paver Compaction

Are you in the final stages of a paver project? If so, you may be wondering what the best method is for the final compaction of your pavers.

Paver compaction is the last step in the paver installation process and is crucial for the stability of your pavers. It is also the primary way to prevent washout of the joint sand applied between your pavers.

Here at Western Interlock, we are committed to providing you with high-quality hardscape and easily accessible resources to make paver installation as simple as possible. In this blog post, we explore four different methods available for paver compaction.

Method 1: Hand Tamper

The most common and straightforward way to compact your pavers and settle in the joint sand is with a traditional hand tamper. You likely already have one of these that you used to tamp down the paver base.

Be careful if you have any textured or large-format products, as hand tampers can break the product or chip the edges. If you don’t have a textured or large-format product, you can definitely use a hand tamper. Depending on the size of your area, it can just be a lot of work and time to achieve compaction.

Method 2: Traditional Plate Compactor

If you don’t want to deal with the physically draining effort of a hand tamper, you can move on to a vibratory steel plate compactor. These are readily available and achieve excellent compaction and sand settling.

However, plate compactors do have the same drawbacks as hand tampesr; they are metal plates banging on concrete products. Again, if you have textured pavers or larger format paving stones, you should be cautious as the compactor can potentially break or chip them.

Method 3: Traditional Plate Compactor With Roller Attachment

A roller compactor or roller attachment is the best option if you have a textured or large-format product. A roller attachment for a plate or roller compactor will do the best job of knocking down all the high spots and minor imperfections in your paving stones.

A roller compactor or attachment will also work the sand into the joints to make it nice, tight, and compact, so you don’t need to deal with sand washing out later.

The only downside to roller compactors is that they are not always readily available. If you want similar results but can’t find a roller attachment, you can use a rubber urethane pad attachment instead. You can usually source these online for a couple hundred dollars.

Attaching a rubber or urethane pad to the bottom of your compactor will help settle in the joint sand, although it will provide less compaction than a roller attachment will.

Method 4: Rubber Mallet

If none of these options are available to you, or you are worried about damaging your surface, there is one final option that you can implement. An old-fashioned rubber mallet can also be effectively used to settle the sand in the joints and achieve compaction.

Rubber mallets are a tedious way to compact your pavers. It can take a lot of time, but if that is the only option available to you, it is definitely worth it. It will ensure your pavers are settled, and the joint sand is completely down into the joints between the pavers.

Explore Additional Resources

If you want more tips for installing and maintaining a new hardscape, check out our DIY with WI page for access to tutorials, guides, and more. If you’re ready to get started today with installation, click here to check out our selection of paving stones. Our team will be happy to assist you with any questions or personalized advice you need for your project.