Pavers walkway question

Since it sounds like you will be getting rid of the rocks, how about a lawn of grass?

I suggest paving stones.

Remove your decorative rocks.

Level the soil underneath.

Fill 1" to 2" of clean sand from hardware store on top of the soil, and level.

Lay a thin piece of plastic cover from hardware store over the leveled sand.

Lay paving stones. Make sure the paying stones you buy have traction so people won't easily slip on them. Use a thin piece of plywood as gauge to help leave a uniform narrow gap between adjacent paving stones.

Let the paving stones settle in place for a few weeks or months. Adjust if necessary.

Use a caulking gun to inject silicone adhesive into the gaps.

Weeds cannot grow, and silicone adhesive won't crack like sand/cement mix would.

Note: Silicone caulking would eventually slip out like silicone caulking on the road would, but silicone adhesive will adhere very well to the paving stones (that's why it is called silicone adhesive).

I could never do silicone without making a mess. I would be back here asking how to get silicone off my pavers.

There are lots of ways to remove silicone if you Google. There are solvents, and heatguns. There are YouTube videos too, if you look.

I used black silicone adhesive to glue my Garmin StreetPilot C330 GPS to the top of my car's dashboard. The GPS sticks very well and stays in place. When I have to move my GPS to a new car, I  VERY slowly pry the GPS off the silicone, starting from one corner. After the GPS is off the silicone adhesive, I  VERY  slowly pry the silicone adhesive off the top of my car's dashboard. No residue. If there are some, you can rub them clean with your thumb.

My Garmin StreetPilot C330 lasted about 15 years before the internal loudspeaker quit. I have moved the GPS to many replacement cars I bought in those 15 years. I have a new 9" GPS in my car now. I also used black silicone adhesive to fix the GPS bracket onto the dashboard.

It might be very difficult to pry the silicone adhesive off if the surface is not plastic.

Grass is becoming illegal in some places. People realize using up water and dumping chemicals is not a good thing

Lawn weedkiller has been banned in Canada for many years (except in private golf courses). We just let clover and other creeping lawn weed grow. The sparrows are happy because those weed produce copious amount of seeds as food for the birds. And those sparrows spread the seeds to lawns far far away wherever they poop, as nature intended.

I wonder if T has access to some sort of tamper. Weeds won't start in packed dirt.

I wouldn't scrimp on the plastic cover. Its price isn't much compared to the cost of the overall project.

You should never touch the silicone when freshly squeezed out of the tube. Use a caulking gun to squeeze. Don't try to work on the silicone immediately. Wait for about 30 minutes (depending on temperature and moisture in the air), or until the surface is not sticky when pushed with your finger, then you can start molding it with you hand or a moist cloth.

Another useful tip: Silicone is like Gorilla Glue (polyurethane) that requires moisture to set. You should store your left over silicone glue tube and Gorilla Glue bottle in your fridge or freezer. I have tried many ways to prevent my 300ml tube of left over silicone from hardening with commercial "nipples" (a tiny condom for the squeeze tip). All of those gimmicks can only delay the hardening. Only putting in the fridge or freeze can actually prevent the hardening because the fridge or freezer can deprive them of the moisture they require to set.

Not the point. I could never use silicone to fill the spaces between pavers as you suggest. You should try your suggestion and show the results. Maybe you already did that. ? I would like to see anything finished your way from anyone.

Please explain why you cannot use a caulking gun to squeeze silicone adhesive (300ml tube) into the gap between adjacent paving stones (that's what they are called where I live in Canada).

If he has 10 pavers ok. That stuff will cost more than the pavers. How about laying pavers like a normal, well paid contractor would do?

How much silicone adhesive, or that "self-leveling sealant" you'll use can be adjusted by using a 1/8" plywood as gauge (spacer) to leave exactly 1/8" space between every paving stone. Then you fill the gap with clean sand, and then use the same plywood to push the sand down

Sounds like a plan but skip the silicone and use all sand like normal people.

If the op uses silicone, suggest a good way to have drainage. Maybe drill holes every inch thru the silicone. Lol.

The OP wants to prevent weed growing through the gap. Didn't you read that?

Quote I was also thinking of cement, but was thinking that would be expensive.  Maybe some kid of sandstone mixture of something that weeds would not grow through and I would not trip on. Unquote

Sidewalk pavement don't have drainage holes in them. Get real.

The OP doesn't want weed growing through. Didn't you read? Holes will let weed grow through. Get with the programme.

I do not. The gardener does. He also does landscaping

Got a recommendation?

The OP doesn't want weed growing through. Didn't you read? Holes will let weed grow through. Get with the programme.

How do you get through life? Watch 10 paver installation vids and count how many use silicone between the pavers. Buy any book on the subject and try to find an instal instruction using silicone. The answer is none. To the op....just pave over everything because proven methods do not work according to the geniuses.