The following article outlines the process and quality standards used by Boccafoli Landscaping in order to provide the highest grade work possible to our clients. All landscapers and masons can install the same brick pavers. It is the process that lies beneath that makes the difference.
About our Process:
The Base: On a standard walkway or ground level patio, a compacted 4 to 6 inch base of crushed stone, recycled concrete or quarry processed stone may be used to provide a solid base for paving stones.
One thing that separates our base process from many other landscape companies is that we take a masonry approach to creating our base for staircases and walls. Most landscapers, will prepare the base for their walls and stairs using the same 6 inch base they use for bricks. We, however create concrete forms for all our wall and stair foundations. This process is more time consuming and expensive than the more common method, but we feel that a patio worth building is worth building right the first time. We don’t ever want you to call us back saying that your wall is sagging or shifting, or your staircase is sinking.
Screening: In order to create the proper pitch for water run off on paved surfaces, it has to be properly screened. We use a transit and a system of pipes to prepare the patio for proper drainage. Proper drainage is necessary to help avoid water pooling that can lead to uneven settling of bricks. To the right is a picture of the screening process using pipes and a top layer of stone dust.
Walls: All walls and are glued layer upon layer with special concrete adhesive. It is another step that may sometimes be left out to save money by some, but once again, we feel that this is a one time job. It is also necessary to line the wall with weed paper to prevent base material from washing out through the cracks in the wall.
Compaction: To reiterate, doing a good job compacting the base material is what separates a job that will stand the test of time from one that will have you cursing out your contractor the rest of your life. Done properly, you will live a long life without any major settling issues. Note: Compaction equipment can only achieve 96% compaction rate on materials, so it is important that it be done to its fullest potential at the time of the installation.
Brick Laying and Wall Stacking: Really, this is the easiest part of the process. Once the bases have been properly set and screened, Laying out the materials is a snap. The most important part of brick laying is the cutting of the bricks and wall block. We take special pride in the details of our brick cutting, making clean lines and borders.
Staircases: As stated before, a concrete form is created as a base and block is stacked from the ground level up. This means that several courses of stone behind each step on your stairs will never see the light of day but it is necessary to start this process from the ground up so that the block will not settle. Stairs from house to patio are most commonly formed in round or square shapes and must be kept to 3 steps maximum to avoid needing hand rails per NJ construction code.
Edging and top coating: We use a invisible edge of concrete, laid outside the walkway. We find it to hold the bricks in better than aluminum or plastic edging. A special poly-sand material is used to fill in the cracks of your patio and walkway surface. This material is has an active chemical that turns into a solid glue like substance, after it has been swept into the cracks, and lightly watered. When filled with this material, your walks and patio should be more resistant to weeds and deterioration of fill materials than using sand or stone dust alone.
Materials
We recommend using Techo Bloc materials for our work. We find the quality and durability of the product to be excellent. We will provide color samples to select from to work best with your home or you can choose your own.
You can visit www.techo-bloc.com for a view of the above products, or you can visit Demarco Brothers Masonry Supply, on Rt. 22 in Whitehouse Station, to see displays of the products mentioned above.
Some of Our Work:
Please visit our GALLERY for more photos of our work.
Please visit our GALLERY for more photos of our work.
OTHER INTERESTING IDEAS:
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