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BS 7533-102:2025 Pavements constructed with clay, concrete or natural stone paving units - Installation of pavements using modular paving units. Code of practice, 2025
- Foreword
- 1 Scope
- 2 Normative references
- 3 Terms, definitions and abbreviated terms [Go to Page]
- 3.1 Terms and definitions
- Figure 1 — Pavement layers
- Figure 2 — Pavement layers over a structural slab
- Table 1 — Traffic categories for pavement construction
- 3.2 Abbreviated terms
- 4 Traffic categories 3 and below where no design has been provided in accordance with BS 7533‑101:2021 [Go to Page]
- 4.1 General
- 4.2 Surface drainage
- 4.3 Paving units and their installation [Go to Page]
- 4.3.1 Performance criteria for paving units
- 4.3.2 Standard dimensions of paving units
- 4.3.3 Non-standard paving units
- 4.3.4 Joint width [Go to Page]
- 4.3.4.1 Joint width for unbound construction
- 4.3.4.2 Joint width for bound construction
- 4.3.5 Construction depth [Go to Page]
- 4.3.5.1 General
- 4.3.5.2 Thickness of bedding or laying course
- 4.3.6 Base layer for all surface construction types [Go to Page]
- 4.3.6.1 Minimum thickness
- 4.3.6.2 Sub-base and base layer materials
- Table 2a) — Concrete flagsA)
- Table 2b) — Limiting dimensions and thickness: Natural stone paving slabs
- Table 2c) — Concrete blocks, clay pavers and natural stone setts
- Table 2d) — Limiting dimensions and thickness: Porcelain paving units of 35 MPaA)
- Table 3 — Joint widths for unbound surface construction
- Table 4 — Laying course, base and sub-base thickness
- 4.4 Site assessment and investigation [Go to Page]
- 4.4.1 Presence of plants and tree roots
- 4.4.2 Visual site investigation
- 4.4.3 Simple intrusive investigation
- 4.4.4 Previously built ground [Go to Page]
- 4.4.4.1 General
- 4.4.4.2 Adjacent areas combining existing base and new base construction
- 4.5 Kerbs and restraints [Go to Page]
- 4.5.1 Kerbs and perimeter edge restraints
- 4.5.2 Intermediate restraints
- 4.6 Installation of kerbs and restraints
- 4.7 Construction of sub-base and base
- 4.8 Construction of an unbound surface course
- 4.9 Construction of a bound surface course
- 5 Pre-construction phase for work in all traffic categories [Go to Page]
- 5.1 Review of design and specification
- 5.2 Construction drawings
- 5.3 Risk assessments
- 5.4 Storage and disposal of waste
- 5.5 Construction programme management
- 5.6 Method statement [Go to Page]
- 5.6.1 General
- 5.6.2 Hold points
- 5.6.3 Personnel and welfare
- 5.6.4 Equipment
- 5.6.5 Materials
- 5.6.6 Reclaimed paving
- 5.6.7 Lead times
- 5.6.8 Acceptance and storage of materials
- 5.6.9 Recording and correcting defects identified during the installation
- 5.7 Inspection and test plan
- 5.8 Site investigation [Go to Page]
- 5.8.1 General
- 5.8.2 Trial holes and ground conditions
- 5.8.3 Evaluation of existing materials for overlay construction
- 5.8.4 Acceptance of overall construction design
- 6 Site set-out [Go to Page]
- 6.1 Expansion and movement joints
- 6.2 Setting out datum point, lines and levels
- 7 Construction of sub-base and base for all traffic categories [Go to Page]
- 7.1 Sub-surface utilities
- 7.2 Prior to installation
- 7.3 Installation procedure
- 7.4 Sub-base and base compaction
- 7.5 Checks on thickness of sub-base and base
- 8 Installation of waterproofing layer for structural slabs
- 9 Installation of restraints, kerbs, channels and linear drainage units [Go to Page]
- 9.1 General
- 9.2 Jointing kerbs
- 9.3 Bedding on a concrete edge beam or base using mortar
- 9.4 Laying units directly onto a windrow of fresh concrete
- 9.5 Concrete for installing kerbs and restraints
- 9.6 Fixing units to an existing surface
- 9.7 Construction details
- 9.8 Cutting kerbs and channels to short lengths
- 9.9 Laying kerbs and channels to a radius
- 9.10 Laying straight kerbs and channels to a radius
- Figure 3 — Joints aligned in adjacent rows of straight kerb and channel units laid to a radius
- 9.11 Trimming the end of straight kerbs and channels to form a radius
- 10 Construction of steps [Go to Page]
- 10.1 General
- 10.2 Surface water drainage
- 10.3 Monolithic precast concrete or natural stone steps [Go to Page]
- 10.3.1 General
- 10.3.2 Monolithic steps laid onto fresh concrete
- 10.3.3 Monolithic steps laid onto a profiled concrete foundation
- 10.4 Steps clad using modular paving units
- 10.5 Jointing steps [Go to Page]
- 10.5.1 General
- 10.5.2 Jointing steps with mortar
- 11 Sub-surface drainage [Go to Page]
- 11.1 Formation level
- Figure 4 — Correlation between CBR and water permeability of subgrade/formation
- 11.2 Surface course [Go to Page]
- 11.2.1
- 11.2.2
- 11.2.3
- 11.3 Bound surface course
- 12 Pavement construction falls and tolerances [Go to Page]
- 12.1 Surface gradients
- 12.2 Gradients of sub-surface layers
- 12.3 Level tolerance of pavement layers and pavement surface regularity
- Table 5 — Tolerance of the surface levels of the different layers of a pavement
- Table 6 — Surface regularity of the surface course
- 13 Construction of a modular pavement surface course [Go to Page]
- 13.1 General
- 13.2 Setting out [Go to Page]
- 13.2.1 General
- 13.2.2 Rectangular paving units laid in stretcher bond pattern
- 13.2.3 Rectangular paving units having varying or random lengths
- 13.2.4 Rectangular units not aligning with an edge at 90°
- 13.2.5 Units laid in arched patterns
- 13.2.6 Cutting of rectangular paving units to form curved rows
- 13.2.7 Irregularly shaped interlocking paving units
- 13.2.8 Complementary paving units
- 13.3 Cutting of paving units around obstructions [Go to Page]
- 13.3.1 General
- 13.3.2 False joints
- 14 Construction of an unbound surface course [Go to Page]
- 14.1 Preparation [Go to Page]
- 14.1.1 General
- 14.1.2 Tolerances and levels for unbound surface construction
- 14.1.3 Installation over an impermeable base
- 14.2 Installation of laying course for unbound surface construction [Go to Page]
- 14.2.1 General
- 14.2.2 Moisture content
- 14.2.3 Precast concrete, clay and sawn-sided stone paving units
- 14.2.4 Cropped and riven paving units
- 14.3 Installation of paving units for unbound surface construction [Go to Page]
- 14.3.1 Precast concrete, clay and sawn-sided stone paving units
- 14.3.2 Paving units with cropped sides or fettled edges
- 14.3.3 Joint widths for unbound surface construction
- 14.4 Compaction procedure [Go to Page]
- 14.4.1 General
- 14.4.2 Temporary restraints in unbound surface construction
- 14.4.3 Initial compaction of paving units into the bedding layer
- 14.4.4 Final compaction of paving units into the laying course
- 14.5 Joint filling after compaction of paving units into the laying course
- 14.6 Secondary compaction of the surface course
- 14.7 Construction in adverse weather conditions for unbound surface construction
- 14.8 Additional work after early trafficking for unbound surface construction
- 15 Construction of a bound surface course [Go to Page]
- 15.1 Movement joints in bound surface construction [Go to Page]
- 15.1.1 General
- 15.1.2 Contraction and day joints
- 15.2 Tolerances and levels for bound pavements
- 15.3 Preparation [Go to Page]
- 15.3.1 General
- 15.3.2 Bound surface course laid upon a concrete or other hydraulically bound base
- 15.3.3 Bound surface course laid upon an asphalt concrete base
- 15.3.4 Bound surface course laid over an unbound sub‑base or base
- 15.4 Bedding of bound construction [Go to Page]
- 15.4.1 General
- 15.4.2 Cleaning of paving units prior to laying
- 15.4.3 Laying of bedding mortar with bonding mortar on a concrete base
- 15.4.4 Laying of paving units with bonding mortar
- 15.4.5 Laying of bedding mortar and paving units without bonding mortar
- 15.4.6 Bedding mortar in open joint voids
- 15.4.7 Cleaning of freshly laid paving
- 15.5 Filling of open joints using mortar [Go to Page]
- 15.5.1 General
- 15.5.2 Filling of joints using a mortar slurry grout
- 15.5.3 Pointing of joints using a plastic consistency mortar
- 15.6 Construction in adverse weather conditions for bound surface construction
- 15.7 Protection and curing
- 15.8 Site sampling and testing [Go to Page]
- 15.8.1 Sampling of mortar components and proprietary mortar
- 15.8.2 Consistency of fresh mortar [Go to Page]
- 15.8.2.1 Plastic mix
- 15.8.2.2 Moist mix
- 15.8.3 Bedding mortar sample preparation
- 15.8.4 Jointing mortar sample preparation
- 15.8.5 Storage of samples on site
- 15.8.6 Frequency of sampling
- 15.8.7 Testing of samples
- 15.8.8 Early trafficking for bound surface construction
- 15.9 Infill concrete
- 15.10 Pavement cleaning following completion of works
- 16 Routine cleaning
- 17 Structural maintenance and repair [Go to Page]
- 17.1 General
- 17.2 Opening of modular pavement surfaces in unbound construction
- 17.3 Opening of modular pavement surfaces in bound construction [Go to Page]
- 17.3.1 General
- 17.3.2 Removal of jointing mortar
- 17.3.3 Removal of large paving units, slabs and flags
- 17.3.4 Removal of small paving units, pavers and setts
- 17.3.5 Cleaning of paving units
- 17.4 Reinstatement of foundation layer in trench and openings [Go to Page]
- 17.4.1 General
- 17.4.2 Unbound construction
- 17.4.3 Bound construction
- 17.4.4 Foamed concrete
- 17.5 Reinstatement of unbound surface layer [Go to Page]
- 17.5.1 Preparation before laying
- 17.5.2 Laying of paving units
- 17.6 Reinstatement of bound surface layer [Go to Page]
- 17.6.1 Preparation before laying
- 17.6.2 Laying of paving units
- 17.7 Reinstatement of damaged or lost jointing mortar in bound pavements
- Annex A (informative)Modular pavement laying patterns [Go to Page]
- Figure A.1 — Concrete block, clay paver and sawn-sided sandstone sett laying patterns for unbound construction
- Figure A.1 — Concrete block, clay paver and sawn-sided sandstone sett laying patterns for unbound construction
- Figure A.1 — Concrete block, clay paver and sawn-sided sandstone sett laying patterns for unbound construction
- Figure A.1 — Concrete block, clay paver and sawn-sided sandstone sett laying patterns for unbound construction
- Figure A.2 — Concrete block, clay paver and sawn sett edge details
- Figure A.2 — Concrete block, clay paver and sawn sett edge details
- Figure A.2 — Concrete block, clay paver and sawn sett edge details
- Figure A.3 — Laying pattern that incorporates complementary fittings
- Figure A.3 — Laying pattern that incorporates complementary fittings
- Figure A.3 — Laying pattern that incorporates complementary fittings
- Figure A.4 — Laying pattern that incorporates inboard cutting at edges: Inboard cuts and half cuts breaking herringbone laying pattern
- Figure A.5 — Florentina pattern: Cube setts
- Figure A.6 — Segmental arc pattern in single direction: Cube setts
- Figure A.7 — Segmental arch pattern 90° change in direction: Cube setts
- Annex B (normative)Falls for surface drainage to pavements [Go to Page]
- Table B.1 — Falls for surface drainage to pavements
- Annex C (normative)Materials [Go to Page]
- C.1 Foundation and unbound base materials
- C.2 Bound base materials
- Table C.1 — Explanation of asphalt terms
- C.3 Laying course materials for unbound surface construction
- C.3.1 General
- C.3.2 Concrete blocks and flags, clay pavers and sawn-sided sandstone setts in all traffic categories for unbound surface construction
- C.3.3 Natural stone slabs in all traffic categories and cropped natural stone setts in traffic categories 1 to 4 for unbound surface construction
- Table C.2 — Grading for unbound laying course material for natural stone slabs in all traffic categories and cropped natural stone setts in traffic categories 1 to 4
- C.3.4 Cropped natural stone setts in traffic categories 5 to 9 for unbound surface construction
- Table C.3 — Grading for unbound laying course material for cropped natural stone setts in traffic categories 5 to 9
- C.4 Laying course materials for bound surface construction
- C.4.1 Proprietary bedding mortar
- C.4.2 Site-batched non-proprietary bedding mortar for bound surface construction
- Table C.4 — Aggregate properties for site-batched non-proprietary bedding mortar
- C.4.3 Bonding mortar for bound surface construction
- C.5 Jointing materials for unbound surface construction
- C.5.1 General
- C.5.2 Concrete, clay and sawn-sided paving units for unbound surface construction
- Table C.5 — Grading for jointing material for concrete, clay and sawn-sided stone paving units
- C.5.3 Cropped/cleft stone paving units for unbound surface construction
- C.6 Jointing materials for bound surface construction
- C.6.1 Proprietary jointing mortar
- C.6.2 Site‑batched non‑proprietary jointing mortar for bound surface construction
- C.7 Light reflection value
- C.8 Concrete blocks
- C.8.1 General
- C.8.2 Weathering resistance
- C.8.3 Abrasion resistance
- C.9 Concrete flags
- C.9.1 General
- C.9.2 Weathering resistance
- C.9.3 Abrasion resistance
- C.10 Clay pavers
- C.10.1 General
- C.10.2 Weathering resistance
- C.10.3 Abrasion resistance
- C.11 Natural stone setts and slabs
- C.11.1 General [Go to Page]
- C.11.1.1
- C.11.1.2
- C.11.2 Flexural strength of natural stone slabs
- Table C.6 — Stone slab design load
- Table C.7 — Surface construction factor for stone slab design
- C.11.3 Abrasion resistance
- C.11.4 Water absorption
- C.11.5 Weathering resistance
- C.12 Concrete kerbs
- C.12.1 General
- C.12.2 Bending strength
- C.12.3 Weathering resistance
- C.12.4 Abrasion resistance
- C.13 Natural stone kerbs
- C.14 Declaration of Performance (DoP)
- Annex D (informative)Slip/skid resistance [Go to Page]
- D.2 Trafficked surfaces
- D.3 Construction of slip/skid resistant surfaces
- D.4 Maintenance and risk management
- D.5 Slip/skid resistance requirements
- D.5.1 General
- D.5.2 Unpolished slip resistance value (USRV) and polished paver value (PPV)/polished slip resistance value (PSRV)
- Table D.1 — USRV and PPV/PSRV for concrete, clay and stone paving units (BS 7533‑101:2021)
- D.5.3 Additional testing considerations
- Annex E (informative)Vibratory compaction equipment for surface and sub-surface layers [Go to Page]
- Table E.1 — Maximum thickness of unbound material to be compacted
- Table E.2 — Plate vibrator details for unbound surface construction
- Annex F (informative)Roles and responsibilities [Go to Page]
- F.1 General
- F.2 Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015
- F.3 Client’s responsibilities
- F.4 Designer’s responsibilities
- F.5 Project manager’s responsibilities
- F.6 Contractor’s responsibilities
- F.7 Design and build responsibilities
- Annex G (normative)Reference sample, visual inspection and acceptance [Go to Page]
- Figure G.1 — Comparison between production sample and reference sample
- Annex H (informative)Identification of materials and CBR values using a simple field test [Go to Page]
- Table H.1 — Identification of materials and CBR values
- Annex I (informative)Typical edge restraint and linear drainage details [Go to Page]
- Figure I.1 — Intermediate restraint between areas of unbound construction (traffic categories 3 and below)
- Figure I.2 — Intermediate restraint between areas of unbound construction
- Figure I.3 — Transition restraint between modular construction and different construction
- Figure I.4 — Visible concrete transition restraint between modular construction and different construction
- Figure I.5 — Hidden concrete transition between modular construction and different construction
- Figure I.6 — Deep channel kerb transition restraint between modular construction and different construction
- Figure I.7 — Shallow channel kerb transition restraint between modular construction and different construction
- Figure I.8 — Drainage channels in unbound modular paving (traffic categories 3 and below): Linear drainage channel with grating
- Figure I.9 — Linear drainage channel in bound construction modular paving, employing low modulus movement joints to protect drainage channel from thermal movement in adjacent paving (transverse joint)
- Figure I.10 — Three-row dished drainage channel
- Figure I.11 — Combined drainage and kerb
- Figure I.12 — Bonded kerb
- Annex J (normative)Concrete and mortar slump test [Go to Page]
- J.1 Principle
- J.2 Test equipment
- Figure J.1 — Proprietary slump cone apparatus
- J.3 Test procedure
- J.3.1 Concrete
- J.3.2 Mortars
- J.4 Measurement
- Figure J.2 — Shear failure
- Table J.1 — Standard concrete slump classes
- Annex K (informative)Typical construction details [Go to Page]
- Figure K.1 — Recessed access chamber cover
- Figure K.2 — Ramped crossing
- Figure K.3 — Dropped crossing
- Figure K.4 — Run-out corner
- Figure K.5 — New town corner
- Figure K.6 — Bonded corner
- Figure K.7 — Splayed corner
- Figure K.8 — Profile of a step constructed using small paving units
- Figure K.9 — Monolithic step laid onto a profiled concrete foundation (step on step)
- Figure K.10 — Monolithic step laid onto a profiled concrete foundation (step behind step)
- Figure K.11 — Flag/slab tread and riser laid onto a profiled concrete foundation
- Figure K.12 — Flag/slab tread with overhanging tread and drip
- Figure K.13 — Storm drain channel and bicycle ramp attached to a flight of steps
- Annex L (informative)Simple permeameter test [Go to Page]
- L.1 Principle
- L.2 Test equipment
- L.3 Test procedure
- L.4 Evaluation of test results
- Annex M (informative)Typical movement joint details [Go to Page]
- Figure M.1 — Induced break detail in bound surface construction
- Figure M.2 — Low-modulus movement joint using shallow channel kerbs
- Figure M.3 — Low-modulus movement joint using deep channel kerbs
- Bibliography [Go to Page]
