Dry-set Flagstone Patio Do-It-Yourself Steps

Dry-setFlagstonePatioDo-It-YourselfSteps
MATERIALS TOOLS
1-2-½”NaturalFlagstone
Shovels(roundpoint,square)
LandscapeFabricBowRake
CrushedStoneBaseWheelbarrow
GraniteSandLevels(4’,2’stringlevel-alluseful)
EdgeMaterialWoodenGradeStakesandString
JointFillerRockHammer,RubberMallet,Chisel,
HandTamper,CircularSaw
Gloves&SafetyGlasses
Spraynozzle&hose
BeforeYouDig:
• Callthe811hotlinetoverifythelocationsofundergroundutilitylines.Gentlydig
aroundanylocatorpaintmarkstoactuallyfindtheutilitylinesorcables.Theymight
notbewherethepaintmarkappearsaspaintmarksindicateapproximatelocations
ina"tolerancezone."InGeorgia,atolerancezoneis24”oneithersideofapaint
mark.Digparalleltothepaintmarks.
• Usingyourpatiodesignorplan,outlinethepatiospacewithspraypaint.Afterward,
calculatethesquarefootageofthepatiobymultiplyingthespace’slengthandwidth.
Thismeasurementwillhelpyouordertherightmaterialsintheappropriate
quantities.
Excavation:
• Createaplanforreuseorremovalofexcavateddirt.
• Theexcavationshouldextendabout6”beyondtheplannedpatiosurface.Hand
tools,likeshovels,aresufficientforsmallspaces.However,ifyourareaislarge,
considerrentingasmallexcavatingmachine.Properexcavateddepthis6to7”.
• Rememberthatthepatioshouldslopeinthedirectionyouwantwatertoflow–
especiallyawayfromfoundations.Aslopeof⅛-¼”perfootofsurfaceis
recommended.
BuildingthePatio:
• Beforerefillingtheexcavatedarea,covertheareawithlandscapefabric,beingsure
towrapthefabricupandoverthesidesoftheexcavation.Youwillrefillthe
excavationwithbasematerialsconsistingof:
o 4”crushedstonebase,compactedat2”levels
o 1”ofun-compactedgranitesand,usedforlevelingstonepieces
o Yourchosenstoneatabout2”thickness
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Maintaintheslopeofthepatiobydrivinggradestakesintothegroundatopposite
sidesandstretchingstringacrossthearea.Ensurethatthestringistautandusea
stringleveltoobtainthecorrectslope.Useasmanysetsofstakesandstringasit’s
practicaltoworkaround.Later,youcanusethemforlevelingstone.
Followingtheplannedoutlineofthepatio,layouttheedgingmaterial.As
mentioned,leaveabout6”ofcompactedstonebaseoutsideoftheedging.Thiswill
providesupportbeyondtheedgeofthepatio,andyoucanhideitwithsod,mulch,
orpinestraw.
Ifyou’reusingaplasticormetaltypeedge,simplydrivespikesintothestonebase
andbackfill.Ifyou’reusingnaturalstone,likerubblestrip,digoutabout6”ofstone
basearoundtheshapeofthepatioandplaceabout2-3”ofmortarinthebottomof
thistrenchtoprovidestabilityfortheedge.
Topreventtrippoints,thetopoftheedgingshouldbelevelwiththestonesurface.
Whetherthestoneisatorabovegrasslevelisoptional.
Naturalstonevariesinthickness,solevelingittopreventtrippointscanbea
challengingendeavor!You’llhavetoaddorsubtracttheun-compactedgranitesand.
Beforelayinganyflagstone,cleandirtoffthetopsurface.Beginstoneplacementina
cornerandworkalongandoutfromthestringlines,lettingthestonesurfacetouch
thestring(again,accomplishedbyaddingorremovinggranitesand).
Uselargestonesalongedgeswhereegressislikelyandthroughouttheareawhere
activitywilllikelyoccur.Largestonesarealsoaestheticandfunctionalatgateways
anddoors.Avoidusingnumeroussmallpieces,excepttofilllargerspaceswhere
stonesdonotmeetoneanotherevenly.Jointspacesbetweenstonesofaboutone
incharepreferable,butlargerspaceswilloccurduetostoneirregularities.Joint
linesshouldintersectwithotherstonesapproximatelyevery2feet.
Keepinmindthatstonesmayneedshapingwithasaworhammertofittogether.
Generally,thishappensduringtheplacementworkratherthanlater.Levelingcan
beperformedasplacementproceeds,oritcanbecompletedonceallstonesare
placed.
Fillspacesbetweenstoneswithmaterialslikeaggregategravel,sand,plantswith
addedsoil,orpolymericsand.Gravelandsandrequirereplacement.Giventheright
growingconditionsandmaintenance,plantscanprovideasoftened,naturalappeal.
OuradviceforminimalmaintenanceistouseapolymericsandcalledGatorDust.
Thisproductisspecificallymanufacturedtofilljointsfrom½-4”wide.When
installedproperly,itsetsuplikemortarandenduresallweatherconditionsand
normalfoottraffic.Cleaningthestonepreventssurfacedirtfrommixingwith
polymericsand.Allyouhavetodoisfollowtheinstallationinstructionsprintedon
thebag.
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