Hey folks, can I get away with using thinner flagstone material that is 1" - 1 1/2" thick for laying and surrounding with sod? I would keep the pieces as large as possible 2' x 2' to give them some weight.
I was thinking of excavating the area and adding 3-4" crusher run then 1" sand bed (just like pavers obviously) then lay the stone and surround with sod.
The only issue I am foreseeing is there will only be roughly 1" of space for good soil and the overall thickness of the sod without getting to much above the grade of the stone. Does this make sense?
Hey folks, can I get away with using thinner flagstone material that is 1" - 1 1/2" thick for laying and surrounding with sod? I would keep the pieces as large as possible 2' x 2' to give them some weight.
I was thinking of excavating the area and adding 3-4" crusher run then 1" sand bed (just like pavers obviously) then lay the stone and surround with sod.
The only issue I am foreseeing is there will only be roughly 1" of space for good soil and the overall thickness of the sod without getting to much above the grade of the stone. Does this make sense?
Should be fine, 2" is better but it should work. Only problem with keeping the pieces large is they will crack easier.
If you're surrounding each piece with sod, that sod will have a hard time rooting in crushed stone. What's more, prepping an area for a single stone isn't really going to buy you much in the way of added stability. Just dig out what you need for the depth of the stone plus a little bit more, use sand as a bedding course and set those stones in that.
But I wouldn't use 1" pieces that are 2'x2' - they'll be broken by the end of the first week. Either use smaller pieces that are that thin, or use bigger pieces that are thicker.
I have an inside corner area of a retaining wall that is 4' - 5' high in this corner. I wanted to landscape that corner then come out and put a firepit. I was thinking of going ahead and sod all around the firepit and cut the sod away in the shape of some larger flagstone pieces. Dig down 4-5 inches adding and packing crusher run to a depth of 3-4" then adding sand to finish off the desired heigth. It would pretty much be a patio of sorts. I was going to leave plenty of grass in between stones.
The idea of doing this was to soften the area since the wall is pretty large and adding in flagstone just makes it appear harder to me. I was thinking the grass in between stones would help break/soften things a bit???
What is your soil like? Unless it gets really soft when its wet, I don't know why you would excavate so deep. If that is that case it will be muddy all around your stepping stones anyway, so you would do best to build a solid walk.
I was thinking of adding more support beneath the individual stones with the crusher run base tamped.
I am trying to keep from having a solid patio surface by laying large stones with 8-12" gaps minimum.
I agree with you StoneH about the sod rooting into the subbase, that is why I was leaning towards large stones with big gaps and digging under each stone to add the base instead of one large subbase pad
The area is not all that big maybe 10 x 12 if put all together. I was thinking of maybe 10 - 15 large stones around the firepit area instead of a solid surface.
Will larger stones crack even with a solid base as if you would lay pavers on?
How much money are you going to save with thinner stone for that small of an area? Sod it and then cut in the thicker stone. You can level it out with the existing soil if it is not too organic or too much clay.
Base preparation for a patio is important because you are making an even surface out of many pieces. Any slight change between them ruins the surface and creates a trip edge. A stone 8"-12" away from another with a grass joint can be a half inch higher or lower from freeze/thaw or other movement without much consequence.
I never have done base preparation for stepping stones.
Also, I worked for a contractor out west about 15 years ago who used thin stone on a patio. It was a big mistake. Those stones too light and too unembedded that they moved around from just walking on them. Base prep made it worse because it was so firm that the stones were that much less embedded. He did not do that again.
I understand fully. I am not trying to save money on using thinner stone. I have a nice size stack with a few larger 2"+ stones. Just was wanting some input from you folks on trying to utilize all of the stack by using some of the thinner 1 1/4"+ pieces.
I can try and put up some photos of the area. I have a 300 sq ft. paver patio about 25' away and as I said I was wanting to break up some of the area with sod gaps.
10x12 and you already have the stones! What do you have to loose? Throw them on the ground, take a sawzall with a 10inch long demo blade, cut out the sod (I know, sounds bad, but works supprisingly well for small areas). level stones with stone dust, Done.
1 wheelebarrow, 1 shovel, 4 hrs.labor plus 1/2 cu/yd stone dust. Dont like it in a year? lift out stones, give them to your neighbor, top soil, seed, straw, water. Done!
Total project - 8 hrs labor. $50.00 materials. Get 'er done.
Hi. I am a spammer. Right now Stonehenge has his hand shoved up my *ahem* to make my mouth move and talk. I should be banned, because I provide no redeeming value to any of the communities I join.
Last edited by Stonehenge : 07-02-2009 at 02:26 PM.
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