Flagstone patios are creating elegant and give the area a sense of ease, are not in brick or concrete. It may also be more durable and require little maintenance for their return. Unlike wood decks or terraces, there is no need to worry about rot, and in contrast to bricks and mortar, you'd better look over and dyed.
Basic tips
When building a paved courtyard, there are some things to keep in mind. Best, the terraces are longer defined in the rulesand and / or gravel. Some people may choose to use a cement mortar or a foundation. While nice for the first year, it still plays up, and the concrete and mortar to crumble and break even faster base of gravel and sand. Then, when it's time to get concrete and mortar repair the foundations, the terrace must be whole and new cards must be purchased.
The best materials for the job are, of course sand and decomposed granite. Although notHow paved with crushed gravel, limestone gravel, or crushed concrete is to work well. However, ensure that you are over sand or sand instead of rounded beach sand from the multi-faceted, the grains of sand, the less likely they are to hold together.
Optimally, Granite Excavation better. It acts like cement, which is not pursuing the house and not tears. As an added bonus, provides excellent protection against weeds. Granite flooring withstands immersion andChange better than any other material. Gravel is usually cheaper than granite gravel gravel or other. Maybe even for free granite gravel from local quarries, or granite processing plant are local compost yards. It is worthwhile to shop around.
Build your Flagstone Patio: Supplies you need
Accessories:
or gravel (preferably crushed granite)
or sand (of course, recommended for installation)
Flagstone or (more often is longer)
o A pair of 2x4 cardssufficient for the project
o You can also consist of metal or plastic edges
or landscape cloth
Floor marking spray paint, or biodegradable
Landscape or stone or plastic edging
Tools:
or wheelbarrow
Spade or Flat
or shovel round
or metal rake
or Level
or Leveler
tampering
or water hose
or Chisel
and Mallet
Gloves or
or eye protection (wear during braking Stone)
walking boots or steel (protection from falling objects)
A broom or shopand a light broom
or at least an assistant
First you must measure your deck and shop for the stone slab. Make sure you buy enough to fully open the area with some additional safeguards. You must be calculated to fill enough sand and gravel at least twice the depth of your pavers are. This means that if you are using 2-inch pieces, it is necessary to dig 6 inches and at least 2 cm of gravel and 2 inches of sand. If you live in an extremely drylike a desert, or were pure granite sand or soil, then a foundation with a depth of two inches should be fine.
You must also decide the shape, depth and style of both your and your patio pavers. Flagstone pavers in a variety of colors and you can find pre-cut tiles, lined or smooth edges. Pre-cut panels are large, they were together in a uniform way, cuddly. Many people like the rustic look for the uncut versions, but they require a sense of creativity andpreferably a technique for assembling a jigsaw puzzle together in a similar way. Pre-cut is knurled plates even beautiful the way they fit together better as a rule and they still have a natural look to them.
Build your patio: Step by Step
1 Once the terrace measured and acquired the necessary amount of gravel, sand and paving stones, its time to dig. I hope you now have the size and shape you want the patio and have bounded interval.This step is easy. If you have a square or rectangular courtyard, fitted out accordingly. If you want a terrace round or irregular in shape, just use spray paint to mark where you want to be on the edge of the patio.
Now for the fun part ...
2 Start to dig you. With the flat spade to dig into the ground, cut the required depth around the edge of the silhouette terrace. Then, start removing the soil with a spade round. Place this land on a towel or other designated body. Further excavationthe foundation is dug in the area. If you are planning to build a raised terrace, you still need to dig the soil to a point where it is.
3 If you are on the terrace into a building, make sure that the surface slopes away from the building so that water to escape from the building, rather than on him. Otherwise, make sure you have a plan level. It 'important that the company is well below the terrace as much as possible and tamped down.Irregularities or air bubbles is guaranteed trouble down the road.
4 Now put the landscape fabric on the floor. Be sure to leave enough extra for the edges overlap. Then you will surely have excavated material from the board.
5 If you are unsure of wood or other material that the edges of the top layer of wood with the bottom edges of the stone. You may have to dig a little '. You can alternate with the edge of the wood as the last, just make sure it is level withthe ground around it. The 2x4 will be used to screed below. If you use and landscape edging stone, the material may not be necessary or 2x4 board.
6 Gravel place evenly over the surface of the tissue landscape and take your 2x4 and use it as a device substrate. At this point it is useful to have an assistant, as they may be across the court and help her level. Make sure your gravel is very flat. Compress it if necessary and fill any air pockets or holes.If you use the crushed granite, stone, sand or course alone, then you should only need about 1 ½ times as deep as your slab of rock. If you, too, of course, with sand as a layer, you can set on the granite wet and leave it overnight for at least 12 hours. This requires, and it's like to work on concrete. If you're not with the sand, then skip this step.
7 Once you have your base of gravel, sand, or both, and made sure that it has certain level, then it is timeto start laying the flooring. It's up to you if you start on one side, the edge or center. Generally, when working with large stones, pre-cut stones, or want to make sure you have an advantage over, you better start in the middle of a courtyard or at one end of the promenade. If you want a natural boundary, then pull it really does not matter where you begin to chisel the edges far enough back so that they are all the basics and not on earth, where they will be more.
8As you lay your stones, you must use a level and add sand or gravel beneath them or remove them if necessary. If there are air pockets under rocks or rock or wiggle, they are bad wear. Make sure all the pieces are. If you put your stones closer to penetrate will need less water and fewer long-term maintenance. Just be sure to leave enough space to allow water to infiltrate or blend.
9 When you arrive at the edgesBe sure to wear safety glasses. If you need to cut stones to fit, and then only slightly rippled edge on both sides of the stone, where you happen to open the rest. Once the groove is deep enough, then you put the rock down so that the edge will be broken hanging over the edge and gently tap the edge with the mallet. Should snap easily.
10 Having laid your stone, it is time to Malta. If your pieces far enough from crushed granite, or you're leftThe use of choice in fine granite sand or any type of sand, of course, you should sweep into the cracks and fill it completely. You may need to fill in cracks and water again.
Be sure to keep some 11 'of sand or gravel to fill the hand, from time to time. If you often use in rainy and humid, and freezing and thawing, heaving will live. Rolling is easier to handle if you use natural sand or crushed granite in Malta or against normalCement. If you decided to go with the concept of cement and mortar, to be sure, the products that use it with rock terraces used.
12 The maintenance is simple. If a stone to come out of place or moved in any way, simply by temperature down and add more sand or gravel to level again. Fill cracks and re-wet the area. One can expect that the maintenance of the terrace to take this once or twice a year in areas of heavy rolling and less in dry, hot climates. This smallExtra care is worth it.
Flagstone Why?
Flagstone can last 20 years or more, if installed properly. And 'known to withstand heavy traffic areas and endure the abuse itself, trucks and equipment. Some people have reported slab maintaining their duration from 30 to 50 years or more. If properly cared for, will last slab of concrete, asphalt and stone. In addition to its longevity record is beautiful and elegant stone. Setting yourSheet correctly and with the right materials, you can expect your patio paved add beauty and elegance to your outdoor space until late in the near future. In addition, as an added bonus, the same terrace, you are putting "sweat equity" in your home. Not only save a lot of money on the labor market, but will also add value to your home.
