- 1). Measure your chosen site and consider if it will be large enough to satisfy your needs. Trace the perimeter of the site with landscape paint and transplant any grass or plants growing in the site.
- 2). Use a square spade to cut straight lines along the paint. Dig out a trench that is 12 inches wide and 6 inches below the lowest-lying area. Place a level on the soil and dig until the surface is level. Pound a hand tamper over the entire trench to stabilize the ground.
- 3). Spread gravel over the bottom over the trench until it is 4 inches thick, and level it with the back of a shovel. Press the tamper over the gravel until the surface doesn't shift.
- 4). Mix mortar with 1 part cement, 4 parts sand and enough water to make a stiff, brownie-batter texture.
- 5). Transfer the mortar onto the gravel with a trowel, working in 4-foot sections at a time. Smooth the mortar and begin to set the first course of stones into it. Continue adding mortar and setting stones until the first course is finished all the way around.
- 6). Spread a 1/4-inch layer of mortar over the first course of stones and on the sides of the stones you are placing. Set the second course, off-setting the joints so that each top stone overlaps the joint of two stones beneath. Run a concave jointer tool over every joint to remove excess mortar and give the retaining walls a neat look.
- 7). Build up the raised patio walls on all sides, laying one course at a time. Wait two days for the mortar to set.
- 8). Use gravel to fill up the cavity formed by the retaining walls, pouring 3-inch layers at a time and tamping the surface before adding the next layer. Cease adding gravel when the surface is 2 inches from the top of the walls plus the depth of the patio stones.
- 9). Pour coarse sand over the gravel, tamp it and continue adding sand until it is level and 2 inches thick.
- 10
Follow Step 4 to mix a small batch of mortar. - 11
Scoop the mortar with the trowel and spread no more than a 1/4-inch layer on the sides of your first patio paver. Press the paver in a corner of the surface so the top is level with the top side of the retaining wall. Continue setting the pavers, spreading mortar on all sides and removing the excess that squeezes between the joints. Wipe off excess mortar as you work and run the joint tool over each joint.
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