What can a paving specialist help with?
Paving is an essential part of our lives which we often take for granted. We walk and often drive on paved surfaces, whether outside our own homes or when on public, commercial or industrial properties. Areas such as paths, driveways, parking bays, pavements, pool surrounds and entertainment spaces are all dependent upon paving to some extent. Paving is an external surround to buildings which provides practical applications, durability and visual appeal.
Why hire a paving specialist?
A paving specialist is expert in the laying of various outdoor paving materials in the commercial, industrial and residential spheres. He is experienced and skilled in the preparation of the area to be paved as well as the design and laying of the pavers. A paving specialist will be able to advise you on the best material to use for your intended paving project. His knowledge is vital in creating paved areas which will be mostly maintenance-free and last for many years. He will create the design of the area to be paved which will complement the style and age of your home and garden, whilst still being practical for everyday use. In commercial, public and larger private estates, the paving specialist is the expert tasked with creating the outer surrounds according to the plans and vision of the architects.
There are various types of material used for paving, including clay and concrete bricks. There are, in addition, paving stones made to resemble normal building bricks, larger flagstone pavers which are either square or rectangular in shape and used in differing combinations to provide unique patterns from the same materials. Flagstone pavers are very decorative since none of them are identical in appearance and are therefore used to highlight certain areas such as pools, entertainment areas, patios, balconies or entrance ways.
A less uniform and highly individual look may be achieved using multi paving, which combines pavers of light and dark colours to produce an overall mottled appearance which is both attractive and practical on driveways where oil spills would otherwise spoil the appearance of uniform light-coloured paving. There are pavers which are designed to fit or lock into one another, and appropriately called ‘interlocking’ pavers. Steep slopes are often paved to prevent soil erosion, and interlocking pavers are an ideal choice in these areas due to their tight fit and ability to withstand strong water flows.
Within the residential sphere, paving specialists are most often employed to design and lay driveways, parking areas and entrance approaches. Their skills and experience take into account the weights to be placed on the area, ensuring practicality and durability of both design and materials used. They are also invaluable in creating swimming pool surrounds which are safe, practical and eye-catching.
Paving stones may also be used in vertical applications, such as a feature wall in the garden, often with a built-in water-feature which may form part of a swimming pool design, or enhancing a wall in an outside braai area. Whilst a bricklayer is able to build such features, his building material is mainly bricks, but it falls to the paving specialist to advise and create a design using pavers which is unique, eye-catching and durable.
Finding the right paving specialist
Check customer ratings and reviews
Many paving specialists will advertise their services and particular areas of expertise, generally with photographs of their previous work freely available. Whilst these companies or individuals will nearly always back up their workmanship with guarantees, it is always advisable to check their online reviews through Uptasker as well. Companies which go the extra mile will draw 5-star reviews which will give you peace of mind when choosing a particular paving specialist, especially for very large projects. You want to know that the job will be completed on-time, within budget and to a professional standard.
