Install a Flagstone Walkway

For a casual walkway that looks as if it has been in place for years, consider a flagstone path. The seasoned look is achieved by leaving sod between the stones. As with any masonry materials set directly into the soil, these stones will settle with time and have to be reset every few years.

Begin by laying out the path. Lay a charged hose (close the nozzle and turn on the water) in the pattern you want. Pour flour or sand on it to establish outlines.

Time: Several hours to install about 50 square feet of flagstone.

Skills: No special skills needed.

Expert's Insight: Establishing a Walkable Surface Although a flagstone walkway should look casual and pleasantly free-form when you are done, try for as even a surface as possible when laying the stones. Use a straight 2x4 to check that you don't have radical rises or valleys.

Unless you have extremely firm or claylike soil, it usually is best to set the flagstones so they are 3/4 inch or so higher than you want them. In time, they will settle.

Step-by-Step

1. Lay out the flagstones

Following the outline for your path, lay the stones directly on the ground. Turn them in different directions and try different stones, until you come up with a pattern with fairly consistent joint lines that are about 1-1/2 inches wide. Combine large and small stones as you lay out the pattern. If you need to cut a stone, use a baby sledgehammer and brick set to etch a 1/8-inch-deep line on both sides of the stone. Support the stone along the cut line and strike the waste side until it breaks. Slice the sod around the first stone.

2. Excavate and tamp

Move the stone away. Dig out the sod, being careful to preserve the sod between the stones. Remove roots or stones that might make it difficult to set the stone level. Fill the hole with soil or sand as necessary and tamp it firmly.

3. Place the stone

If a stone rocks or wobbles when you step on it, take it out and note the pattern of indentations made in the ground. Add soil to the places where the stone did not rest on the soil or dig away places where the stone made a heavy indentation mark. Replace the stone. After all the stones are in place, give the path a good soaking with a fine spray of water.

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