How To Lay A Flagstone Patio
Why Choose Flagstone For Your Patio?
If you want to have a stylish, cost-effective and durable patio, flagstone is an excellent alternative compared to plain old concrete. Flagstone has an attractive natural appearance that can perfectly complement the landscape design of your garden.
Mineral Composition
Flagstone is a sedimentary rock. It’s a type of sandstone that is mainly composed of quartz and mica. Over the years, the sediment builds up several layers of rock which can then be cut or split into flat workable pieces of stone. Because it’s a natural material, flagstone can vary in color. Most commonly though it has a greyish appearance with varying patches of colors and gloss which contribute to its aesthetic appeal. The most common varieties used in patios are Arizona and Colorado Flagstone along with Pennsylvania Bluestone.
Benefits Of Flagstone
The beauty of flagstone is that you can design your patio in any many different and creative ways. It’s an extremely hardy material whose appearance will improve with aging. Once installed, flagstone is practically zero maintenance. You can lay flagstone on several surfaces, such as grass, cement or sand.
The stones can be arranged in tessellating (tiling), overlapping or random patterns to form your desired patio surface. Alternatively you can buy flagstone pavers, precut pieces of stone, easy to assemble to give you a more regular patio surface.
The Cost Of Installing A Flagstone Patio
Prices for building a flagstone patio can vary greatly. A landscape artist can charge anything from hundreds to thousands of dollars. The most cost effective way is to make it a DIY project of your own. Working with a such a fine natural material will challenge your mental, creative and physical limits. However, when you step back at look at your finished creation, you’ll feel a sense of achievement that will stay with you for many years to come.
Quick Step By Step Guide
Laying flagstones for a patio is simple enough that you can do it on your own even without an assistant. Here are some simple steps that you can follow in laying flagstones for your patio. Here’s a quick step-by-step introduction on how to lay flagstone on an existing grass lawn.
1: You must first determine the size and shape of the patio that you plan to build using flagstones. You can use spray paint or flour to make an outline of the patio.
2: Before you can lay the flagstones and apply mortar, you first need to remove the turf and make a shallow excavation of approximately five inches. You will need this for the sand base and the thickness of the flagstones.
3: The next step in building your flagstone patio is to install the edging material. Plastic edging can be used for this purpose. You can use twelve-inch nails to secure the plastic edging to the ground.
4: You can then pour the masonry sand base into the outlined hole. Use a compactor to establish a three-inch sand base. However, make sure that the base is slightly slanting away from the house to prevent water backflow.
5: The next step in the flagstone installation process is to lay the flagstone pieces in the design or pattern that you prefer.
6: Make the necessary cuts to trim the flag stones.
7: You may then fill the seams between the stones with sand or flagstone mortar.
If you want want to know more, check out this comprehensive stress free guide to DIY flagstone patio installation.
Tags: Flagstone, Flagstone Cost, flagstone design, Flagstone Mortar, Flagstone Patio, walkway
