16th Street NE Old Northeast aprons

16th Street NE aprons turn off a narrow Old Northeast street, often brick or a patched asphalt edge, onto a sidewalk the old concrete no longer meets. The lip at the gutter is where tires, bike pedals, and stormwater all meet.

Match the street, not a catalog picture

An apron here has to meet the existing gutter, the sidewalk, and the driveway in three different planes. A flat paver field that ignores the sidewalk cross-slope ponds at the walk or sends water into the garage. We shoot the grades first, then set the apron so cars do not scrape and water does not sit at the sidewalk joint.

• Tie the apron into the gutter without a tire-catching lip

• Hold the sidewalk cross-slope so the city walk still drains

• Use a compacted base under the wheel path, not a thin bedding layer

• Keep the apron joint at the sidewalk open enough to reset after the street is milled

Salt, shade, and braking

Oak shade keeps the apron damp. Braking at a short street entrance polishes a smooth surface. We pick a texture that still drains, and we lock the field with edge restraint at the lawn and at the sidewalk so the first row does not walk out. A soldier course at the street edge is easier to reset when the city repairs the gutter than a field that runs under the curb.

PaverForge Hardscapes builds aprons on barrier-island and Old Northeast lots from St. Pete Beach. Call 727-490-9798 or see https://www.paverforge.com/services.