Patios Made With Stone

Advantages

Stone patios offer a number of advantages over options like poured concrete. For one, the small gaps and spaces between the pavers allow the patio to shift slightly with changes in soil temperature and humidity. With poured concrete or mortared brick pavers, such shifting will cause cracks. Alsom using adhesives like concrete and mortar often requires a professional touch; a mixing, pouring or troweling mistake by an amateur installer can ruin the whole patio. However, because pavers don't require adhesive, nothing is "set in stone" and you can easily shift pavers as necessary to make up for mistakes or mismeasurements.

Another advantage of a stone patio is the wide variety of otpions in materials. Stone pavers include those made of concrete as well as natural stone, like flagstone and even granite. The stones also come in a huge range of colors and shapes. You don't have to choose all one style for your patio; feel free to experiment with combining colors, shapes and styles to achieve the ideal look for your patio.

The most important aspect of installing a stone patio is to provide adequate foundational support for the stones. This often involves excavating the area to a depth of 7 to 10 inches to ensure that the stones sit firmly on stable subsoil. You will need to cover the area with landscaping fabric to prevent weeds from growing up into the patio. Next comes a layer of gravel or paver base, which includes small stones and dust. This layer supports the stones and filters rainwater down from the surface so that it can drain into the soil instead of flooding your patio. Finally, a layer of leveling sand creates a flat and smooth surface on which the stones can sit. All levels of foundation are compacted and flattened with a hand tamper or plate compactor to make sure the stones sit on a level surface.

Install the stones one at a time in your desired patio design. Cut stones as necessary using a diamond-blade wet saw. The diamond blade is strong enough to stand up to cutting stone, and the water used on the saw provides lubrication to prevent the blade from tearing up the stones. Make sure that while you install, you check the level of the patio to make sure it's flat and does not have uneven edges that can cause tripping. Fill in the gaps between stones with leveling sand for a finished look.