Paver Installation

One of our most popular projects is pavers-- and for good reason! Pavers often come with a a lifetime warranty, they are durable and when installed correctly can last for a very long time. When we install pavers, we follow ICPI standards and this is the process we use:

PLANNING Determine the area to be paved. Measure for square footage and sketch a diagram of the shape & pattern of paving stone desired.

PREPARING / EXCAVATING Before beginning excavation, make sure there are no utility lines within the area to be paved. Excavate area to the proper depth depending on the type of traffic. Refer to cross section diagram.

ALLOW FOR DRAINAGE  Establish the finish grade and slope or pitch of pavement to allow for drainage. Lay out the lines and corners with string line and stakes. Compact sub-base with mechanical compactor.

BASE INSTALLATION Spread aggregate base uniformly throughout the entire excavated area and 8 in. beyond perimeter lines. Base aggregate material should be processed 3/4” minus gravel or crushed concrete blend.

BASE COMPACTION Compact the base aggregate evenly throughout the area with a mechanical plate compactor. Do not compact the base aggregate in more than 4” layers. The compacted base should conform to the contour of the finished paved area. The grade of the base aggregate should be 3” to 4” below the finished paving stone surface depending on the thickness of the paver.

SAND SCREEDING Spread 1” of concrete sand evenly over the compacted base. Screed the bedding sand to a level, smooth surface using a screed board.  For areas wider than the width of the screed board, use 1” conduit pipe as screed guides 4’ apart. Screed sand, remove screed rails & fill in depressions with fresh sand. You should end up with a complete layer of smooth sand.  Do not disturb sand bed after it has been screeded.

EDGE RESTRAINTS Install edge restraints as required. Pavers butting against curbs or foundations will not need an edge restraint. Various types of edging materials can be used. Nicolock recommends a Snap Edge edge restraint system since it is easy to install and will not rot or decay.

PAVER PLACEMENT.
Begin placing paving stones on the screeded sand bed in the desired pattern. Hand place the paving stones with a hand tight joint.  Work from the paving stone side of the installation as they are set. To achieve the best mixture of colors and blends, remove pavers from delivered bundles section by section, not layer by layer, and work from several bundles at a time. Cut pieces as needed to fill in the pattern.

FINISHING.
When all pavers are placed, sweep surface clean. Spread a fine jointing sand over the entire surface and broom sweep to fill all joints.  Leaving excess sand on the paving stone surface, tamp the paving stones into the setting bed with the mechanical plate compactor with a rubber pad. Broom sweep more sand to fill any open joints.  Backfill over the top edge restraint and grade. Your installation is complete and ready for use.

Note: Concrete dust created by saw cutting pavers can stain the surface. Be sure to cut pavers away from your installation. The use of an approved safety mask is recommended when cutting any concrete products.

Source: http://www.nicolock.com/homeowner-tools/installation/paving-stone-installation

Who We Are

Have you met the president of our company, Ilie 'Eli' Pintilie? He really puts his heart and soul into this company-- often working 80+ hour weeks, from 5am to 10pm Monday-Saturday and he has been at this for over a decade!

He started this company based on the American dream. He came to the USA with $20 in his pocket seeking freedom and opportunity through hard work.

Eli found a job picking tomatoes and watermelons on a farm for a measly $4/hour. Although he is college educated, he took the opportunity, since other options were few and far between. He worked hard and saved his money surviving on $1 for food per day. Since he had nowhere to stay and was not making enough money to afford an apartment, he lived in abandoned buildings.

Eventually, with the money he saved, he was able to buy a lawn mower and he began pushing it door to door to get lawn care clients. As his lawn service company grew, he bought a truck and educated himself about landscape techniques and began offering larger projects.

Eli knew that knowledge was important and he continued to seek out certifications and continuing education to build his resume. He also began hiring skilled workers to help him with some of his jobs.

With Eli's determination and the hard work of his teammates, the company bloomed.  I am happy to say that Green Future is in its 12th year of business and we have seen growth each year!

One of our founding principles is that we want to make you love your yard. We know the feeling of seeing a beautifully landscaped yard, or enjoying a fall afternoon on a gorgeous patio. Our goal is to give you those feelings.

I hope this post helps you understand a little more about our company and I hope you consider using us for your next landscape, construction or tree service project. You can find us at www.greenfutureus.com or call 3016031080.

Green Future: Next Generation

My son is now old enough to enjoy movies. This means that sometimes, on Sunday nights we curl up on the couch with the latest animated flick on Netflix. While some movies are better than others, I have started noticing that the theme of many of these movies is protecting the earth.

This got me thinking, will the use of this type of propaganda help create a generation of people who care more about the earth? Will the next generation be more "green" than this one. Will we be able to stop our reliance on fossil fuels and tame global warming in the next generation.

I know that it will take much more than a few cartoons, but I am hopeful.

Look at all the technological advances that this generation has seen. Think about if all the time and energy that goes into producing the next generation of iphones went into protecting our environment.

My dream is for Green Future to become more environmentally friendly as time goes on. I hope that we can find ways to reuse or recycle more scrap materials, that we can make use of scrap wood and woodchips, that we can help people protect and save trees rather than remove them.

Who's with me? What are you doing to give the next generation a "green future."