Last Updated on October 20, 2026 by Umar Farooq
Wood edging is not recommended as an edge restraint for pavers. The Concrete Masonry & Hardscapes Association's tech note on edge restraints says so in one line: "Timber is not recommended for an edge restraint because it warps and eventually rots." A restraint has to stay exactly where you put it for decades, and wood is a material that moves and then decays. Where wood works well is outside the restraint, as the border between the patio and the lawn or a flower bed.
I went looking for the case in favour of wood edging for pavers. The top pages I opened barely mention it (the 475-word and 600-word guides list plastic, metal, concrete and stone, and one throws in a single sentence about wood). The only source that rules on it directly is the CMHA note. That is why this page is short.
What the restraint actually has to do
A sand-set paver field is held together by friction, and the outer row has nothing pushing back unless you put something there. CMHA describes restraints as the part that holds the pavers tightly together so the interlock works across the whole surface, and says they must "remain stationary while receiving impacts during installation, from vehicles and from freeze-thaw cycles."
Stationary is the key word. Wood is not stationary. It twists as it dries, swells when wet and goes soft where it touches damp soil. The first time a board bows outward, the outer row of pavers has room to move, the joints open, and the sand starts leaving. (Pavers without a proper edge are a patio with plans to travel. Wood is a way of making those plans slowly.)
Why wood loses even on price
Wood edging looks like the cheap option, and I'd normally tell you to start with the cheapest thing that works. This is the exception, because plastic paver restraint is the cheaper thing that works. CMHA says plastic edging "installs quickly and will not rust or rot," and the side-by-side with aluminum, including costs per foot from Sure-loc, is in our plastic vs metal paver edging comparison. For the full list of restraint types, see paver edging.
Where wood edging for pavers does belong
Wood is fine for the job the restraint does not do: tidying the line between patio and garden. Put the real restraint on the compacted base against the last paver, then set a board or sleeper outside it to hold back a bed or mark the lawn line. That is my own layout suggestion rather than a published detail, but it follows from CMHA's rule that restraints sit on the base, extended past the spikes by roughly the thickness of the base.
The benefit is that when the wood rots, you replace a border. You don't rebuild an edge. Our patio edging guide covers timber, sleepers and logs as visible edges, and landscaping around a paver patio shows where beds meet the paving.
If you build a wooden edge anyway
Wood is not impossible, only a worse bet. Municipal engineers do draw it. The City of Winnipeg's standard walkway and timber edging detail calls for 150 x 150 mm pressure-treated timber (about 6 x 6 inches) with chamfered corners, pinned by 12.7 mm (1/2 inch) rebar dowels 1,000 mm long at 600 mm spacing. In inches that is a dowel about 39 inches long every 24 inches (my conversion). That is a very different animal from a 2×4 and a few stakes.
If you go ahead, the safest version I can support from the sources I opened:
- Use ground-contact rated pressure-treated timber, heavy section, not thin boards.
- Pin it deep. Winnipeg uses long steel dowels, not short stakes.
- Set it on the compacted base, never on the bedding sand. CMHA says restraints should never sit on bedding sand.
- Keep the top below the paver surface, with the finish pavers sitting slightly proud of the edge, as CMHA describes for sand-set pavers.
- Plan to inspect and replace it. I could not find an independent lifespan figure for treated timber at a paver edge, only manufacturers' marketing, so I won't give you one.
Keep the wood decorative
For pavers, wood edging is a border, not a restraint. Hold the pavers with plastic or aluminum on the compacted base, and let the timber do the pretty work outside it. If you really want a rustic edge, that's the way to get it without betting the patio on a board. And when the board eventually goes soft, you'll be changing a border on a Saturday morning instead of resetting a row of pavers that has wandered toward the lawn.
FAQ
Can you use wood as an edge restraint for pavers?
It is not recommended. The CMHA tech note on edge restraints says timber is not recommended because it warps and eventually rots. Plastic, aluminum, concrete and stone restraints are the supported choices.
Can you use pressure-treated lumber to edge pavers?
Treated lumber slows rot but does not stop warping, and CMHA's objection covers timber in general. If you use it, choose a heavy, ground-contact rated section and pin it into the base, as the City of Winnipeg's 6 x 6 inch detail does.
What is the cheapest way to edge pavers?
Plastic paver edging on the compacted base, spiked at the manufacturer's spacing. It is cheaper than aluminum and, unlike wood, will not rot.
Where should wood go on a paver patio?
Outside the restraint, as a border between the patio and a lawn or garden bed. The restraint sits on the base against the pavers and does the structural work.
How long does wood edging last?
I could not find an independent figure. Any wood in contact with soil rots eventually, so expect to replace it before the pavers need attention.
