A pedestal paver system uses individual pedestals as supports for the pavers on a deck or patio. This is a popular installation method when installing a range of pavers, including concrete, porcelain, bamboo, and wood. Despite their popularity, pedestal paver systems come with a number of problems that are important to consider before making the decision to use a decking pedestal system in your project.
5 Pedestal Paver System Drawbacks to Consider
1. Complicated Installation Process
Installing a tile pedestal paver system requires a lot of adjustment as the pedestals are raised or lowered to create a level paver surface. These are the steps typically followed to install this type of system:
Measure the height of the thresholds and place the first pedestals accordingly.
Use a laser level and a chalk line to ensure pedestals are at the correct height across the entire deck or patio area.
Place a few pedestals, spacing them to accommodate the four corners of the paver and adjust their height.
Continue to position pedestals, adjust their height to ensure they are at the same height to maintain a level surface on a sloped substrate, and lay pavers on top.
Where pavers meet the wall, cut them to size.
Pedestals may need to be cut to accommodate a corner or the edge of the deck or patio.
Ensure the perimeter is contained, so pavers aren’t able to shift and separate over time.
2. Requires Lots of Parts
The adjustable pedestals for decking in a rooftop pedestal paver system are made of several pieces — the head, base, stem, and nut — and some may use top and bottom levelers. It is a lot to keep track of and manipulate as you work to get the pedestals to the correct height and then lay the pavers on top.
3. Difficult to Achieve a Curved or Irregular Deck
Creating a curved or irregular edge requires additional effort to place the pedestals in the correct place, level them, and then cut the pavers to the correct size and shape. Since pedestal systems require heavy pavers to support their own weight, like concrete, cutting them to size is a difficult task.
4. Additional Support May Be Needed to Support Pedestals
Pedestal systems support the pavers on the four corners, so the pavers must be sufficiently strong enough to maintain their integrity when supported on the four corners and not in the middle. Because of this, composite materials or natural stone pavers may require a support grid as well as the adjustable pedestals for pavers.
5. Wind Uplift Concerns
A pedestal system depends on the weight of the pavers themselves to hold the system down. In areas of high wind, concerns of pavers lifting off the system due to insufficient weight can be mitigated by connecting groups of pavers together, which adds a step to the installation process.
Benefits of Pedestal Paver Systems
While there are a number of problems that come with pedestal paver systems, there are also some benefits to consider.
Creates a level surface
Even flat roofs are slightly sloped to aid in water drainage. A pedestal paver system is adjustable and will create a flat walking surface despite the slope of the roof.
Allows for air flow and drainage below the pavers
Because the pavers are raised off of the surface, air can flow freely under the pavers and water can easily drain away without getting caught in the pavers which can create moisture buildup that will cause moisture-related damage. Pedestal paver systems can also leave a small gap between pavers that further facilitates drainage.
Aspire Offers Easy Installation and Durability
Our patented grid system follows the slope of the roof and still leaves space for water to drain off of the roof’s surface. As a result, installation goes much faster than adjusting individual pedestals across the span of the surface.
To install Aspire Pavers:
Lay out several grids to start, starting on the edge of the patio or deck area. The pavers are shipped on grids that you will use for installation, but we recommend ordering a few extra grids to increase the speed getting started.
Dump the pavers from their grid onto the ground or surface and begin to lay them on the grids you already placed.
Make sure the pavers overlap the grids in both directions. Where pavers meet the wall or another obstacle, simply cut them to size with a jigsaw or miter saw fitted with a low tooth count wood ripping blade.
Where there are undulations in a flat roof surface, scrap pieces of rubber membrane can be used as shims.
For curved designs, lay the pavers, mark the curve, and then cut on the line.
When edging is installed, you can drill through the installation grid to provide a space for edging supports.
To complete the design, install our Resurfacing Bullnose Pavers or Resurfacing Transition Pavers.
Aspire provides detailed installation instructions to ensure the product is properly installed.
Solve Pedestal Paver System Issues with Aspire
To see the difference in the installation methods, watch this video on how to install pedestal pavers and this video on how to install Aspire Pavers. Where pedestal paver systems require positioning and repositioning the pedestals to just the right place and pedestal paver materials require a lot of effort to cut and place, Aspire Pavers are installed on our patented grid systems and can be installed in 40% less time than a pedestal system.
Contact the experts at Aspire today to discuss the benefits of our patented grid system versus a pedestal paver system and plan your project.
