The two basic methods for cutting pavers are either with a diamond saw blade or mechanical paver splitter. Because of their high strength, pavers are hard to cut. A paver splitter, with a little practice, will make a nice cut but cannot make smaller precision pieces. For more precision cuts and difficult pieces around down spouts, drains, utility boxes, etc., a brick saw using a wet diamond blade is recommended.

Important note: If wet cutting, be careful to not drip or spray the contaminated water onto the pavers. This type of staining is extremely, if not impossible to remove. Pavers should be rinsed thoroughly before placing them into the laying field.

No, sealing is just an option. But sealing the pavers does have some advantages. Sealing your pavers will:

- Make clean up of oil, food, or vegetation stains easier.

- Help stabilize the joint sand from being washed out by rains or heavy cleanings.

- Help prevent efflorescence from occurring or recurring.

- Help prevent vegetation growth.

- Darken and brighten the color pigments in your pavers.

Sealing your pavers can take place immediately upon completion of installation or at anytime in the future provided the pavers are clean and weather permitting. The area to be sealed should be cleaned and allowed to thoroughly dry (approximately 3 - 5 days of warm weather) before the application of the sealer can take place. Although pavers may appear dry on the surface, it is very important to wait the prescribed drying time before the application of the sealer.

Occasionally, some pavers may have a whitish residue upon them. The whitish colored residue is called efflorescence. Efflorescence is a natural by-product from the cement hydration process and can be found in any concrete or mortar product.

Calcium oxide inside the paver reacts with water in the capillaries and forms calcium hydroxide. This seeps to the surface, and reacts with the carbon dioxide in the air to form calcium carbonate, a whitish residue. When moisture on the surface evaporates, the white efflorescence becomes visible.

If efflorescence is present, it will wear off over the course of time with traffic and the elements. If you wish to speed up the removal of efflorescence, Calstone recommends the Aldon Paver Restore.

No. Setting the pavers in wet mortar or concrete will eliminate the flexibility and superiority of sand set installation and will prevent interlock. It is recommended that you use course angular sand as the bedding course, and a slightly finer angular sand as the joint sand.

No. In fact, Calstone paving stones exceed the CalTrans standards for friction coefficient (slip and skid resistance) for freeways and highway construction. Pavers also surpass the slip resistance standards established by the American Disabilities Act.

Important note: Some sealers on the market can decrease the friction coefficient under wet conditions. Calstone recommends Aldon Penetrating Paver Sealer if you decide to seal your paving stone project. This sealer does not effect the slip resistance.

Calstone pavers are individual precast concrete units. They are manufactured with our state of the art paving stone machine located in San Martin California. This specialized manufacturing process ensures an exacting quality controlled environment that produces pavers of higher strength and durability than normal concrete. Per industry speciadfaffications, pavers must meet a minimum average compressive strength of 8,000 psi. This can be compared to a range of about 1,500 to 2,500 psi for poured in place concrete. That means a Calstone paver is 3 times stronger than your current concrete driveway or patio.