Travertine Pavers Settle

I have been having trouble with travertine pavers settling and the polymeric sand washing out. Is there something i can do different to eliminate my call backs?

Thank you,
Mark
NOLA Pavers and Hardscapes LLC
pavermanstanton@gmail.com

ANSWER

Hi Mark,
The key to not having travertine pavers settle is to install them correctly. The first thing to make sure of is that there is virgin soil where the travertine is being placed. This means that the soil has never been disturbed. It can't be fill or have been moved around. Virgin soil means that the soil is compacted correctly and thus will support hardscape above it.

I hope this was helpful and thanks for visiting my site.

If the soil has been disturbed, it does not mean that you can't install a patio (or walkway) in this location, but the soil must be tamped in 6" to 12" lifts to compact it. Another alternative is to replace the soil with stone, but of course this would be more time consuming and costly. This is often done beneath pools.

Here is a page that would be helpful.
Building A Patio

The first layer above the soil will be loose stone and this must be the required depth of 4 to 6 inches. On top of this a layer of sand is placed, the travertine pavers are placed and then the joints are filled.

I have decide that I do not like polymeric sand, so you might try stone dust instead. I know it is supposed to be the greatest new (although it is not that new now) thing, but it does have it's disadvantages. Cracking, settling, and problems with replacement are a few of them. Please visit my page on Polymeric Sand where I discuss this topic with a landscape contractor. His idea of no joint filler needed is an interesting one, but of course you need to be working with top quality travertine pavers.