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    RCG

    Commercial Paver Installation Contractor

    ICPI-trained installers, CSI Section 32 14 13 compliant — interlocking concrete and permeable pavement for commercial parking, plazas, walkways, and ADA transitions.

    Pavers Specified the Right Way for Commercial Loads

    Commercial paver failures look the same: ruts in fire lanes, tipped pavers at vehicular thresholds, settled patios over poorly compacted base, and PICP infiltration cells that clog because the wrong joint material was specified. Every one of those failures traces back to the spec — wrong paver thickness for the load, wrong base thickness for the soil, wrong edge restraint for the use, or wrong joint sand for permeable installs. RCG installs commercial pavers to ICPI Tech Spec standards, with paver thickness matched to loading category (Light Duty, Medium Duty, Heavy Duty per the ICPI definitions), base depth calibrated to subgrade and traffic, and PICP installs sized for the storm event the civil engineer specified — not the residential default.

    • Standard Interlocking Concrete Pavers: Belgard, Pavestone, Unilock, EP Henry — installed to ICPI Tech Spec 1, 2, and 17 for the appropriate load category.
    • Permeable Interlocking Concrete Pavement (PICP): Aqua-Roc, Eco-Optiloc, and other ICPI-certified PICP systems — installed for water-quality credit under MS4 post-construction BMPs.
    • Heavy-Duty Vehicular Pavers: 80mm thickness for fire lanes, drive aisles, and loading docks per ICPI loading classifications.
    • ADA-Compliant Walkways: Smooth-surface paver installations meeting ADA cross-slope (≤2%) and running-slope (≤5%) requirements with detectable warnings at transitions.
    • Plaza & Patio Installations: Architectural paver installations for corporate campuses, healthcare entry plazas, and retail courtyards.
    • Edge Restraint Systems: Properly specified concrete or aluminum edge restraint — the single most common failure point on commercial paver installations.
    • Coordination with Drainage: Paver installations integrated with subsurface drainage, especially for PICP systems where infiltration is the design intent.

    ICPI Certified Concrete Paver Installer

    ICPI's Concrete Paver Installer credential is the industry-standard installation certification — and it's underclaimed by Cincinnati-corridor competitors. Our crews hold or are pursuing the certification, and we install to ICPI Tech Spec sheets, not whatever the manufacturer's brochure shows.

    CSI Section 32 14 13 Compliant

    Architects and specifiers writing commercial bid documents reference CSI MasterFormat Section 32 14 13 (Precast Concrete Unit Paving). Our installs match that specification — base preparation, edge restraint, paver bedding, joint material, and compaction sequencing all per the spec. Read our full paver specifications guide.

    PICP for MS4 Water-Quality Credit

    Permeable interlocking concrete pavement is increasingly specified by civil engineers as the post-construction BMP for parking and walkway scope under MS4 rules. The install is materially different from standard pavers — coarser joint stone, open-graded base, and infiltration-rate testing at substantial completion. Get it wrong and the system fails inspection. We install PICP to the ICPI Permeable Design and Detail standards, with infiltration testing documented as part of close-out.

    Commercial Paver Installation FAQs

    Per ICPI Tech Spec, standard pedestrian and light vehicular installs use 60mm pavers. Heavy vehicular applications — fire lanes, drive aisles, loading docks, refuse areas — require 80mm pavers. Aircraft pavement and industrial heavy-duty use 100mm. Specifying the wrong thickness for the load is the most common reason commercial pavers fail prematurely. We always size to actual use, not the cheapest line item on the bid sheet.

    Standard interlocking concrete pavers are installed over a compacted dense-graded base with sand bedding and fine joint sand — designed to shed water to surface drainage. Permeable interlocking concrete pavement (PICP) is installed over an open-graded stone base with coarser bedding and joint stone — designed to infiltrate stormwater into the base and either store it for slow release or recharge groundwater. PICP is usually specified for MS4 water-quality credit; standard pavers are not.

    Standard interlocking concrete pavers (60mm) run $18–$30 per square foot installed for commercial scope, depending on paver style and base requirements. Heavy-duty vehicular pavers (80mm) run $22–$38/SF. PICP runs $25–$45/SF — the additional cost reflects the deeper open-graded base, more expensive bedding/joint stone, and infiltration testing. A typical 2,000-SF commercial plaza falls in the $40,000–$80,000 range; a 10,000-SF parking lot retrofit can range $200,000–$400,000.

    ADA requires accessible routes to have running slope ≤5%, cross slope ≤2%, and stable, firm, slip-resistant surfaces with no openings greater than 1/2 inch in the direction of travel. Standard interlocking pavers with tight joints (≤1/4 inch typical) meet that surface requirement. PICP, with its wider joints (≥3/8 inch), generally does NOT meet ADA accessible-route requirements and shouldn't be used in primary accessible paths. We design accessible routes with appropriate paver type and document compliance at close-out.

    Standard paver installations under typical commercial scopes don't require separate permitting beyond the building permit for the broader project. PICP and other post-construction BMPs are usually part of a civil engineer's stormwater management plan submitted with the site plan. We coordinate with the civil engineer on PICP infiltration rate, base specs, and inspection scheduling.

    Related Resources

    Paver Specifications GuideADA Walkway RequirementsMS4 Compliance / PICPDrainageSite Works Hub

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