How to Build a Patio Bed
Building a stone patio off of your house is a home improvement project that many homeowners can handle on their own. As long as you lay a proper foundation, you can construct a patio that will hold up through many years of use. Before you lay the stones or the slab that will be on the surface of your new patio, you will need to lay a patio bed as a foundation underneath. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Measure the perimeter of your site and mark it by placing stakes at each corner and stringing lines between the stakes to form the square or rectangle of your patio.
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Prepare the area. Remove all plants, rocks and limbs to ready the area for digging.
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3
Dig a trench roughly 1 foot in depth. The trench should extend the full length and width of your patio area.
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Go over the soil inside the trench three to four times with a plate compactor. This compresses the soil and makes it level for laying your foundation. Plate compactors can be rented at home improvement centers.
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Lay the bed. The bed is made of an aggregate, which is crushed stone dust and is available at home improvement stores. Layer 3 inches of aggregate material, spray the layer lightly with a hose, and compact the layer with three to four passes of the plate compactor. Continue to lay aggregate 3 inches at a time until you reach a depth that is equal to the thickness of your stones plus 1 inch. That is, if your stones are 3 inches thick, you will layer aggregate up to 4 inches below the edge of the trench. After your aggregate is layered and compacted, you are ready to lay your stone surface.
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