How to Build an Outdoor Stone Patio
Stone patios offer a workable alternative to concrete patios or wood decks for enhancing an outdoor space. The stone looks more natural than concrete, and building a stone patio involves none of the advanced carpentry skills that go into erecting a wooden deck. Because patios of this type can be set into sand, building one is a manageable do-it-yourself project for even a complete novice to home improvement. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Measuring wheel (optional)
- Plastic or pine stakes
- Rubber mallet
- Mattock
- Shovel
- One 2- by 4-inch piece of lumber
- Sand
- Natural paving stones
- Garden hose
- Pencil or chalk
- Hammer
- Chisel
Instructions
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1
Stake out your work area by driving pine or plastic stakes into the ground with a hammer, marking the outer edge of the patio.
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2
Break up the ground in your work area with a mattock and shovel it out. Excavate the entire area to a depth of 4 inches.
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3
Lay out a 2- by 4-inch plank along the bed of the work area to make a visual check for levelness. Shift dirt around with the shovel to smooth out the bottom as needed.
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4
Cut open the bags of sand and dump them into the work area. If you have a pile of sand instead of bags, shovel it in. Smooth out the surface with an iron rake to create a flat bed of sand 3 inches deep.
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5
Compress the sand bed by first wetting it down with a hose, and then tamping it with a dirt tamper.
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6
Place stones onto the sand bed. Begin on the outside edge of the work area and progress inward, placing stones no more than 1 inch apart. Settle each stone into place with a few taps from a rubber mallet.
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7
Cut stones to fit any large gaps left over after Step 6. Sketch a cutting guideline around the stone in chalk or with a pencil, and then carve a channel along that line with a hammer and chisel. Insert the chisel into the channel on the top of the stone and hit it with hard, solid hammer blows to split the stone along the channel line.
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8
Place the newly cut stones into position, using the same procedure from before.
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9
Pour or shovel more sand onto the patio, and sweep it off the stones and into the gaps between the stones, filling those gaps. Compress the sand again with the garden hose. Continue putting more sand into the patio and compressing it with water until the stones are firmly anchored in sand.
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Tips & Warnings
A measuring wheel might be useful for marking out the edges of the patio work area but, strictly speaking, isn't necessary.
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
