How to Install a Patio

Installing your own patio of brick or flat stone takes some physical labor as well as a little careful planning, but it is something you can do in a day if you are competent with a shovel. The challenge is to get the area level before you lay the bricks. By following these instructions, you will be able to create a level plane using a series of stakes and strings around the patio area.

Things You'll Need

• Spade Flat snow shovel Tape measure Enough plastic or mesh weed-block to cover the area Enough sand to cover the area at a depth of three inches Twelve sturdy wooden stakes Ball of twine Miniature bubble level, designed to hang from a horizontally positioned string Standard garden hose with gentle spray setting Enough brick or flat stone to cover the area

Instructions

1. Put stakes around the perimeter of the area you want to become the patio. Place one stake at each corner and one on each side. With your spade, dig up and discard any sod in the area. Use your snow shovel to get the area as level as you can. Lay your weed barrier over the area, letting the edges overlap with each other.

2. Dump your sand into the area and smooth it out with your show shovel, getting it as level as you can, at a depth of about three inches throughout.

3. Tie string between each of the stakes along the perimeter, so it surrounds the patio area at the edges. Position the string so that it is about one foot above the surface of the sand. Then run more string between opposite stakes over the top of the patio, corner to corner and side to side, forming a web of string over the area. Keep the string tight and as straight as possible.

4. Hang your level on one span of string and adjust the string at either end until it reads level. Repeat for each span of string, until the whole web is level.

5. Measure down from the leveled web of string to the surface of the sand at various points throughout the area to figure out where it is high and low. Use your snow shovel to smooth out and adjust the surface of the sand so it is consistently one foot below the leveled string.

6. Once you have gotten the sand as level as possible, remove the stakes. Spray the area with the hose, using a gentle spray setting, so it does not disturb the position of the sand. Soak it well, allow it to dry and repeat twice, until the sand becomes tight and compact.

7. Once the sand is completely dry, lay your patio bricks in the pattern you have chosen. Once they are down, walk around the edge of the patio, using your feet to push and pack the surrounding sod and dirt against the outer perimeter to help set it in place.

Tips & Warnings

• Determine the cubic footage of sand needed by taking the square footage of the area and dividing by four. Example: A 10-by-10-foot area is 100 square feet, so will require 25 cubic feet of sand.

References

• More on Laying the Sand