Dry-setFlagstonePatioDo-It-YourselfSteps

MATERIALS TOOLS1-2-½”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

2501SouthMainStreetKennesaw,GA30144|770-590-1700|stoneforest.net

• 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.