🚀 go-pugleaf

1/2 " of sand isn't enough. Usual is several inches of tamped gravel, for
drainage, and then an inch or more of sand, to fully support the flagstones.
You are right that ground should slope away from house- lawn getting taller
is a common problem in a house of that vintage. (been there, done that.)  Go
to library or nearest big-box home center, and look in about any DIY guide-
almost all of them go through laying landscaping stone step by step. You
wanna make sure that the water that runs off the flagstones won't just pond
underneath them, and seep back into the house. (or freeze in winter, and
throw the rocks across the yard.) That is function of gravel bed. Some
people even put a slit trench at the outside edge of the gravel, and run a
drain tile away from the house.

aem sends...
ABe <nospam_@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:t4Aa7.220$iC.4837@newscontent-01.sprint.ca...
> I will be laying 24x30 patio stones  (aprox 10x20feet).    I am looking
for
> any advice or tips you have relating to this topic.    My house is 33
years
> old.
> Over this time the earth has developed a sight incline towards the house
> (aprox 1.5
> inches over 10ft).   We have weeping tiles and did not have any water
> problems yet.  We bought
> this house 4 months ago, but there is no evidence at all of leak problems.
>
> What I am thinking of doing is killing the grass in that area.  Then add
> some dirt on top of the grass to give it a slight slope away from the
house.
> Then I
> want to add � inch of sand to level the ground.  On top of that, I would
lay
> a roll of
> landscape  fabric for weed control.   Lastly lay the rock and then add
some
> sand
> in-between the cracks.   Some one suggested adding salt to the sand for
weed
> control.
>  I figured that the earth has settled enough in 33 year that I don't need
to
> put gravel.  My guess is I will need to add about 2" of dirt at the
highest
> point by the
> house.
>
> Those this sound good?  Any other advice?
>
> btw.  The earth onder the grass is 50% sand.    Also, this patio will not
be
>  in high trafic area (just for a bbq and table).  I live in Ontario
Canada.
> What type of sand should I use (fine or coarse?).   I have plastic sheets,
> but I am afraid that the water will not drain if I use it.    Also, should
I
> uproot the grass?
>
>
>
>

ABe wrote in message ...
>I will be laying 24x30 patio stones  (aprox 10x20feet).    ...
>What I am thinking of doing is killing the grass in that area.  Then add
>some dirt on top of the grass to give it a slight slope away from the
house.
>Then I
>want to add � inch of sand to level the ground.  On top of that, I would
lay
>a roll of
>landscape  fabric for weed control.

newspaper will work too. use sections. newsprint will decompose.

Having designed and landscaped gardens, my advice would to pay
some-one else to do it for you. You need at least 4" of compacted
hardcore (hire a plate virator) and then need to bed the slabs onto a
mortar mix, with a slope of about 1" in 6ft. You also need to think
about draianage and where the water will go.

I have come across so many awful amateur laid patios. The slabs rock,
they're uneven and grass and weeds grow through the cracks. I've
worked with people who lay these things and so probably have a good
idea of how to go about it, but when I moved house I paid some-one
else to do it for me. It's really not worth the economy of doing it
yourself.

I live in a townhome, not an end unit and am building a patio in my
backyard. the yard measures approx. 20X20.  am wanting to put in a
patio approx. 20X11, (11 ft out from the house and 20 ft from neighbor
to neighbor). my problem is, i have no place to unload the dirt that's
being excavated except into the remaining portion of the yard.  As a
reult, my grassy area of the yard is being raised (getting higher),
and i'm afraid my patio will appear sunken because the grassy area is
being built up.  how do i solve this problem?  thanks.