Download patio software to begin designing your pave stone patio. The online patio design tool will help design the outer parmeter. Once you finished the design plan for your paving stone patio, set stakes to mark the proposed edge of the stone patio or paved walkway. Mark the outside corners 6" beyond the proposed edge. Use a framing square to confirm that the patio corners form right angles. For a free-formed pave stone patio, lay out the pavers with curves using the garden hose. Now go around the patio outline, sinking a spade into the earth to score the perimeter. Once you've scored the future paved stone ground, remove the stakes, string, or hose.

do it yourself

Set your pave stones about 1 inch above the patio ground. To do this, excavate to a depth that equals: the thickness of your paving stone minus 1 inch. Then figure 2 inches for the sand bed, plus 4 inches for a gravel base if one is needed. Remove all grass, roots and large rocks from the area to be finished. Now place the gravel if using any. Tamp the pavers down with a hand or mechanical tamper. Install a layer of landscape fabric on the excavation or on top of the gravel if used. Overlap by 4 to 6 inches. Landscape fabric is designed to prevent weeds to grow through the pave stones. Top the landscape fabric with about 2 inches of regular construction sand. Tamp it down, and use a straight length of 2x4 to screed the sand level.

diy Home Patio

Starting in one corner, place the patio paving stones on the sand and tamp them into place using a rubber mallet. Make sure that the pavers are solidly bedded, level, and do not wobble. If necessary, dig out sand to make the bedding more stable. Arrange the straight edged pave stones toward the outside perimeter and fit any irregular edges together. Leave a half-inch space between the stones. Once the stone pavers are set, butt them against each other, with a quarter to a half-inch space between them. If you made your own pavers or bricks with concrete molds to save money, the angle of the sides needed to enable demolding will automatically give you the spacing when butted tightly against each other.

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If you have to kneel on the sand to lay stone, use a piece of plywood to keep from creating depressions. After you have laid a few stones, kneel on the stone instead. Use a 4-foot-long level to maintain the paving level. Some stones may need to be trimmed for a better fit. First, hold the stone to be cut over those in place and mark the cutting line with a pencil or crayon. For small cuts, trim using a brick hammer. For large cuts, score the marked line with a pitching chisel and hammer. Gently tap off the unwanted piece using the hammer. With pavers or brick you may not need to trim anything if you've pre-planned the dimensions of your project.

Outdoor Patios

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When all stones are in place, sweep the joints full of sand. Wet the surface with a fine mist from your hose to compact the sand, then sweep more sand into the joints until they are full. Fill the joints again in a few days when the sand settles.

Arthor and Source: John McKenzie Panagos