Help With Laying Your First Flagstone Patio
Trust me when I say you made a good decision on picking flagstone to lay your patio. Flagstone patios are very durable, but still beautiful and sophisticated looking.
I’m about to tell you a much easier way of laying flagstone patios, without the worry of dealing with mortar.
Dry laying flagstone is done pretty much the same as any other patio, using a very simple method. You pick an area and cover it with sand, then just throw your flagstones on top wherever you want them!
Let me walk you through the Basic Steps involved:
The first thing you should do is find a good place where you want to build your flagstone patio, then take some measurements to see how big you want it.
You don’t have to do the next step, but it will be very helpful so you know where to dig and can see how the finished patio will come out.
Place some wooden stakes in the ground in all corners of the area you choose. Then connect the stakes with some twine or any rope you might have laying around.
Finally, time to start some work! Dig out your area that should now be marked off with rope. Dig down about 6 inches all around so there’s room for about 4 inches of gravel and 2 inches of sand.
Now we’re getting somewhere.. Go ahead and throw down your gravel. Level it as you go until you reach about 3 to 4 inches.
After the gravels all set, lay landscaping fabric over the whole area. This is another optional step, but it will help keep weeds from growing up through your flagstone. Some people might actually like that look, so you choose whether to use it.
After this, go ahead and spread your sand out over the whole area. Try using a 2 by 4 to measure until you get the sand 2 inches deep.
Now you want to get the area as level as you can. Start off by getting the sand damp with a hose, and you can use another 2 by 4 to spread the sand evenly.
Now you can start thinking about where you want to put your pieces of flagstone. Make a little area next to the sand where you can place stones and line them up before laying them. Then you just have to transfer them to the sand.
Don’t try to do them all at onnce, start with a few at a time and lightly tap each one in the sand with a rubber hammer.
To get a nice, even patio all the way across, use a level or straight edge.
Almost done!
Once you get all your flagstones where you want them, and pounded them in the sand, you’ll want to throw down another layer of sand on top of everything again.
It might be easier to take and old broom to spread the sand across all the rocks.
Next you should dampen the sand again and let it dry. Then put down another layer of sand and spread it across the flagstone patio again.
Do these steps until every single flagstone is in place and securely layed in the sand.
For more information on laying flagstone patios visit Flagstone-Patios.com
Tags: Flagstone Patios, home improvement, Landscaping, outdoor patios
