Snap-Edge Paver Restraint
Installing plastic snap edging on the aggregate base — not the bedding sand — and spiking it so it never tips or kicks up.
Miter Soldier-Course Paver Corners With Two Square Marks and a Half Piece
A soldier-course border that just butts into a corner never looks finished. Mark both corner pavers with a small square, cut the miters, and drop a half-cut piece behind them to complete the turn.
45 degree paver cuts, paver edging corners, walkway border turns
The Problem
A soldier-course border looks sharp running straight — then it reaches an outside corner and the two runs just butt into each other, breaking the pattern. The corner reads as unfinished, and it's the spot every eye lands on.
The Technique
A hardscaper's marking method that makes the miter repeatable:
- Set your small square against the corner paver, slid all the way up to the corner, and mark the diagonal.
- Flip the square around and mark the mating paver the same way from the other side.
- Cut both marks — the two pavers now meet in a mitered outside corner.
- Cut one more paver in half and drop it in behind the miter to fill the gap the angled cuts leave. It seats right up and the border reads as continuous around the turn.
The same square-to-the-corner marking works for inside corners — mirror the marks.
Pro tip: Two refinements from the comments worth knowing: the diagonal offcuts from step 3 can often serve as the fill piece, saving a paver — and some installers avoid mitered corners on interlock entirely, because paver systems move slightly over time and an opened miter shows more than an opened butt joint. If your base is well-compacted and edge-restrained, the miter holds its look; on a marginal base, the plain corner is the safer bet.
Safety note: Cutting concrete pavers throws silica dust, and breathing it is genuinely harmful. Wear a dust mask or respirator for every cut — the creator calls this out himself — and cut wet or with dust extraction where you can.
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