Quote:
Originally posted by Greensmith
How long will concrete last before it falls apart? In one of my clients neighborhoods a contractor blew out about 50 patios in a two month period but he used concrete for all of them. They look decent to me at last glance.
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Thanks for all the replies.
While i'm not saying that the concrete edge is right or wrong. It has worked for me for years. i was taught that way, In the oakland county area of michigan and never thought twice about it. I don't even think they had a edge restraint system when the first pavers were manufactured. When I first saw the edge restraint system I figured it was another marketing idea that someone or company thought of to sell more products, so I just kept laying them the way i was taught. I've done probaly 30 paver jobs a year for over 15 years and never once have i had to do a repair. I live in a small town and had to make sure that all the work was quality or you will hear about it quick. here is a picture of a job after about 9 years. I do that quit often to show what a well estabilished job looks like over time.
The other reason for never changing was cost. When i do 250 ft of concrete it costs roughly $43 for material , while paving restraint would cost $250 plus nails. On 500 sq.ft that would be .50 more a sq.ft. plus I didn't figure on packing 10" of gravel to nail a spike.That would increase the cost even more. Once it goes through the 4" of base it's in pure sand. It does not hold well. They make the nails long for a reason. Now in clay that might be different. Maybe it has to do with sand not heaving as much in the winter. Sand is the next best base to Gravel. Once the grass roots it holds it even better. I always save sod from my excavation to pack along the edge for a nice clean finished look.
I guess i'm old school.
