How to Install a Rock Patio
A simple outdoor home improvement project is to add a rock patio to your backyard. Flagstones and field stones complement many home styles and landscape plans, and they offer an attractive alternative to wood decks and concrete pads. Installing one yourself is a simple job that requires no special skills or experience and can be completed in a single afternoon. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Stakes
- Rubber mallet
- Measuring tape
- Shovel
- Pick or mattock (optional)
- Level
- Dirt tamper
- Sand
- Iron rake
- Safety goggles
- Hammer
- Stone chisel
- Flagstones or field stones
- Push broom
Instructions
-
Preparation
-
1
Select an area to build your patio that is already reasonably level. Siting the patio on a slope will require resurfacing a large area to make it level, greatly expanding and complicating the entire task.
-
2
Mark the perimeter of your patio with stakes, a rubber mallet and measuring tape. Your work area needs to be between 3 and 6 inches larger than your proposed patio.
-
-
3
Dig out the working area to a depth of 4 to 6 inches. Use a level to spot-check the area as you go to ensure the site remains reasonably level, then either dig out further or fill in areas that aren't plumb.
Laying Rock
-
4
Pour sand into the work area, filling the hole but allowing approximately 1 to 2 inches to place the stones so they will be level with the surrounding ground. After pouring the sand, check the work area again with your level and use an iron rake to smooth any uneven spots.
-
5
Wet down the sand with a hose, then use a dirt tamper to compact the sand.
-
6
Lay your paving rocks, beginning along the outer perimeter and working your way inward. The rocks should never be in contact with each other but never more than 1 inch apart---consider 1/2 an inch to be ideal. Fit smaller stones into gaps as necessary.
-
7
Cut rocks to create good fits in stubborn areas. While wearing safety goggles, use a hammer and stone chisel to tap out a cutting line. Next, use solid, strong blows of the chisel to break the stone along that line. Do not strike the chisel too hard, however, or the stone will shatter rather than split.
-
8
Fill in the patio the rest of the way by pouring sand into the spaces between the rocks. Brush up the job by pushing excess sand off the stones and into the cracks with a push broom. Wet the fresh sand with a hose.
-
9
Repeat Step 5 until the spaces between the stones are completely filled with sand.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
To roughly calculate how much rock and sand to buy, estimate 1 ton of sand per every 55 square feet and 1 ton of stone for every 100 square feet. Be liberal in making your estimate, and try to have a little more sand and stone than you think you might need.
This same method can be used to construct rock walkways.
In addition to safety goggles, heavy gloves are recommended when cutting flagstones to protect yourself from splintering rock.
