How to Do a Flagstone Walkway

Pea gravel base for flagstone walkway

A flagstone walkway is a relatively inexpensive and easy-to-install option for creating a decorative and functional path. Design the walkway based on its intended purpose. A flagstone walkway intended for formal and heavy use should be at least four feet wide. An informal walkway or path should be approximately three feet wide. Positions flagstones close together with even distances between stones for a formal walkway or place the stones randomly with randomly-spaced distances between them for an informal walkway.

Things You'll Need

• Garden hoses or string
• Tape measure
• Landscaping paint
• Shovel
• Garden rake
• Edging
• Spikes
• Landscaping fabric
• Tamper
• Pea stone

Instructions

1. Lay out the sides of the walkway with garden hoses or string. Determine the width of the walkway and use a tape measure to maintain the width from the starting to end points.

2. Spray the ground with landscaping paint along the edges of the hoses or string. Remove the hoses or string.

3. Remove the sod and soil approximately four inches deep along the walkway in the area outlined with the landscaping paint, using a shovel. Smooth out depressions and high spots on the soil along the walkway using a garden rake.

4. Compact the soil in the base of the walkway using a tamper. Raise and drop the tamper to compact the soil. Tamp the entire walkway three or four times to create a firm foundation for the walkway.

5. Install edging along each side of the walkway. Install according to the type of edging. Some edging requires spikes for installation driven at intervals along the outside of the edging. Some edging products are held in place by the soil on the outside and the pressure of the pat on the inside. Hold this type of edging in position with spikes on each side at 3 to 4-foot intervals.

6. Place landscaping fabric on the soil to cover the entire walkway.

7. Pour approximately four inches of pea stone onto the landscaping fabric.

8. Start from one end of the walkway and place flagstones on the pea stone bed. Add or remove pea stone to keep the height of the stones in line with the surrounding stones. Wiggle each stone into position. Place a board across the flagstones to maintain a common height and smooth, level surface.

9. Add more pea stone to fill in the spaces after all of the flagstones are in position in the walkway.

Tips & Warnings

• Curve the walkway around gardens and flower beds to add visual interest to the walkway. When creating curves, lay a straight piece on the path and position the curves so there always is six inches on each side of the straight line from the starting point to the end of the walkway.

References

• The Old House: How to Lay a Flagstone Walkway
• Amlink Marble: How to Build a Flagstone Walkway or Patio
• Improving Your World: Laying Out Your Own Flagstone Walkway