To tamp or not to tamp? That is the question.
 

Hello all,

I am up to the stage where I lay my 1 inch layer of sand that the pavers sit on. Now that I have come this far, I have been getting some conflicting information about how to prep the sand for the pavers. Some say to tamp and screed the sand (then tamp again?), some are saying never tamp the sand as it won’t lock into the pavers. What is the correct process?

If you want it to be level you have to tamp. That’s my experience.

Screed > Tamp > Screed > Fill in holes >Tamp again.

Repeat until level.

Place pavers, "wiggling" each one to get it firmly placed > Dump sand on top > Use coarse push broom to spread it, filling the gaps.

The last time I built a paver walkway, tamping of the base layer was done with a power tamper, which I also used on the pavers themselves to "bed" them, before applying the filler sand.