Snow melting: Pavers and interlock
The heating sits in the base build-up under your pavers, so you keep the look of the paver you chose while the surface melts snow.
The elements are held on a mesh or attachment grid over the base, then covered by the setting bed and the pavers.
The order of work matters: the elements are protected and tested as the surface goes on.
The installer prepares and compacts a crushed-stone base to receive the heating layer.
A mesh or embeddable attachment grid is staked flat, and the mat or cable is fixed to it at the design spacing.
Cold leads run in conduit to a junction box, and the sensor is placed in an open area.
The mortar or sand bed goes over the elements, then the pavers, without heavy equipment over exposed elements.
The electrician tests the elements as the surface is built and once the mortar has cured.
Two ways to set the pavers over the heating layer, each with its own points to plan.
Solid setting bed
A layer of mortar covers the elements and the pavers are set in it.
Flexible setting bed
A levelled bed of sand covers the elements and the pavers are laid on it.
Where the paving has curves or borders, cable is fixed to an attachment grid staked over the crushed-stone base, then covered by the setting bed.
Both go under pavers. Rectangular runs suit mats; curves, borders and steps suit cable.
Open areas
Heating cable pre-spaced on a mesh, rolled out over the base.
Shapes and borders
Loose cable fixed to an attachment grid, laid to the shape of the paving.
Direct answers. Your design confirms the details for your property.
Yes. Heating mats or cable are laid on the base and covered by a bed of mortar or sand, and the pavers are set on top. The finished surface is your choice of paver.
The manufacturer’s manual covers both, with different cover depths for each and extra care with sand so pavers are not dropped onto the elements. Your design and the paver installer confirm which suits your project.
Yes. The heat has to travel up through the paver, so the manual recommends limiting paver thickness for best results. Choose your paver with the design in mind.
The elements sit in the base beneath the pavers, so adding them generally means rebuilding that base. Whether that is practical for your project, and what it involves, is something an assessment of your paving would confirm.
The manual has a separate method for permeable pavers, because the base is built differently. Tell us if your project uses permeable pavers so the design follows the right method.
The installation method changes with the surface.
Can this go under an existing driveway? See retrofit considerations
Tell us about the surface and the area. We come back with a design and an estimate.
