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Dry-set Flagstone Patio Do-It-Yourself Steps MATERIALS TOOLS 1-2-½” Natural Flagstone Shovels (round point, square) Landscape Fabric Bow Rake Crushed Stone Base Wheelbarrow Granite Sand Levels (4’, 2’ string level - all useful) Edge Material Wooden Grade Stakes and String Joint Filler Rock Hammer, Rubber Mallet, Chisel, Hand Tamper, Circular Saw Gloves & Safety Glasses Spray nozzle & hose Before You Dig: Call the 811 hotline to verify the locations of underground utility lines. Gently dig around any locator paint marks to actually find the utility lines or cables. They might not be where the paint mark appears as paint marks indicate approximate locations in a "tolerance zone." In Georgia, a tolerance zone is 24” on either side of a paint mark. Dig parallel to the paint marks. Using your patio design or plan, outline the patio space with spray paint. Afterward, calculate the square footage of the patio by multiplying the space’s length and width. This measurement will help you order the right materials in the appropriate quantities. Excavation: Create a plan for reuse or removal of excavated dirt. The excavation should extend about 6” beyond the planned patio surface. Hand tools, like shovels, are sufficient for small spaces. However, if your area is large, consider renting a small excavating machine. Proper excavated depth is 6 to 7”. Remember that the patio should slope in the direction you want water to flow – especially away from foundations. A slope of ⅛-¼” per foot of surface is recommended. Building the Patio: Before refilling the excavated area, cover the area with landscape fabric, being sure to wrap the fabric up and over the sides of the excavation. You will refill the excavation with base materials consisting of: o 4” crushed stone base, compacted at 2” levels o 1” of un-compacted granite sand, used for leveling stone pieces o Your chosen stone at about 2” thickness

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Page 1: Dry-set Flagstone Patio Do-It-Yourself Steps Flagstone Patio Do-It-Yourself Steps MATERIALS TOOLS 1-2-½” Natural Flagstone Shovels (round point, square) Landscape Fabric …

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

Page 2: Dry-set Flagstone Patio Do-It-Yourself Steps Flagstone Patio Do-It-Yourself Steps MATERIALS TOOLS 1-2-½” Natural Flagstone Shovels (round point, square) Landscape Fabric …

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.

Page 3: Dry-set Flagstone Patio Do-It-Yourself Steps Flagstone Patio Do-It-Yourself Steps MATERIALS TOOLS 1-2-½” Natural Flagstone Shovels (round point, square) Landscape Fabric …