Building a Stone Patio

Building a stone patio would be a dream addition to the landscape of most homeowners. Few realize, however, that building a stone patio is a simple project once you get past the earthwork and heavy lifting. If you and a few helpers are up to the challenge, you can create a stone patio in a weekend.

Steps For Building A Stone Patio

• Locate your patio. First, determine where in your yard you'll want to place your patio. While a patio near your back entrance makes sense, you may want to place your patio where it can take advantage of a great view or where it can have the most privacy.
• Lay out your patio. Once you've decided where to put your patio, you'll need to mark the limits of the structure on the ground. Place stakes at the corners of where you want the patio to be, making sure your corners are square. Run string between the stakes.
• Feeling blue. Although there are many choices of material when building a stone patio, bluestone is a great choice. Cut from quarries in the northeastern US, bluestone comes in nice, rectangular pieces with at least one flat side.
• Getting dirty. After marking the perimeter of the patio, you'll need to remove all turf and soil from the patio area. Try to get a uniform depth of about 6" across the surface of your excavated area.
• A firm base.  Pour enough gravel into the patio area to create a bed 4" deep. Spread the gravel evenly with a rake and tamp it down firmly. Check the surface slope regularly-you want a slope of at least 1" per 8'-and adjust as needed. If your patio is next to your house, the slope should be away from the house.
• Better than sand. In order to help lock your stone in place, create a mixture of seven parts stone dust and one part Portland cement. Spread this mixture in a 1" thick layer over your gravel base. Use a length of 2"x4" wood to smooth the mixture and be sure to maintain your 1" to 8' slope along the top of the sand.
• Adding stones. Spray a 4' by 4' area of the patio with water until just damp. Lay out your stones so that they have a ½" of space between them. With a rubber mallet, gently tap each stone into the stone dust bed. Periodically, drag a length of 2"x4" across the surface to check for high or low spots-correct as required by tapping down high stones or adding damp stone dust mixture under low ones.
• Cutting stone. Occasionally, you may have to cut stones to fit in irregular areas using a circular saw fitted with a masonry or diamond tipped blade. Wear a breathing mask and protective eyewear when cutting stones.
• Fill in the blanks. Using damp stone dust mix, pack the gaps between stones until the mixture is level with the surface of the stones-an ice scraper or mason's trowel makes a good tool for this task. Remove excess stone dust with a stiff broom. After you've filled all gaps, lightly mist the entire patio with water and allow to dry.