DIY Stone Patio Installation

[rdx]

Just found this video talking about DIY stone patio. As the guy in the video said, it does not seem hard to do.

Can someone advise what are the major differences between this one (stone patio) & interlock stone? Pro and Cons for them. I know contractor easily quotes $10k for interlocking backyard.

I am actually fine with the stone patio as shown on video. Any drawbacks to it? Look like something we can do in over one or two weekends, maybe even just by myself. I saw stones like that at Home Depot is selling for less than $10 each. So, let say I need 40-50 of them (maybe less), with the base materials and tools (rental), it should cost less than $1,000 for the project, am I correct?

Any comments and suggestions?

If someone has done in DIY, please share your experience. Thanks


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMahwSgbwU0

[JetLi]

I did a walkway and patio a few years ago. It wasn't cheap by any means, but it came out great.

Things to know about:

1) It takes more time to dig it out than anything else, I had planned to be able to dig out a 65' walkway x 3ft wide in about 1 day, it took me 2 weekends. The biggest thing was that I had to get down 8-14" deep over the 3' distance for proper sloping away from the house. Most of it was clay, I had to get a pick, etc... next time, I'll just rent a bobcat and rip it out. I didn't use sand or anything, I just used something called Pea Gravel. They are round, so they compact easily and level out fairly easily, they also allow a lot of drainage.

2) Using gravel was quick and easy, but still not cheap. For what we needed, we needed about 2.5 yards, that was a whole day of shovelling and moving it wheel barrow by wheel barrow. $55 per cubic yard *2.5 + $50 delivery = $187.50

3) Material worked out to about $6.50 a sq ft. We purchased 15% overage because we had some curves, they only recommend 7-10% overage in purchases. So that put us at $1,500 right there.

So add in the miscellaneous things we bought, like an extra shovel, a pick, some curbing to hold it in (I think these were $18 for 6 linear ft., we put in a retaining wall on one side made of allan block, but the other side was just concrete 3" curbing, let's say you need 2 sides of it, that would be 18*11*2 (11*6=66') $396 - it must have been about $2500 with all the nick nacks, beer and water + lunches and dinners over 3 weekends for the walkway. We also coated the concrete patio stones with a sealant @ $65 a gallon, about 1.5 gallons for the first coat, about 1/3 of a gallon for the 2nd coat, so add another $130 there. We re do the coating each year, but now it's about 1/3 of a gallon a year, I just store it in the basement when I'm done with it.

Oh, one last thing, pray for good weather once you have bought everything. Goodluck.

[rdx]

Thanks for the info. It definitely sounds harder than what I see from the video, and costs more than I thought.

I did a walkway and patio a few years ago. It wasn't cheap by any means, but it came out great.

Things to know about:

1) It takes more time to dig it out than anything else, I had planned to be able to dig out a 65' walkway x 3ft wide in about 1 day, it took me 2 weekends. The biggest thing was that I had to get down 8-14" deep over the 3' distance for proper sloping away from the house. Most of it was clay, I had to get a pick, etc... next time, I'll just rent a bobcat and rip it out. I didn't use sand or anything, I just used something called Pea Gravel. They are round, so they compact easily and level out fairly easily, they also allow a lot of drainage.

2) Using gravel was quick and easy, but still not cheap. For what we needed, we needed about 2.5 yards, that was a whole day of shovelling and moving it wheel barrow by wheel barrow. $55 per cubic yard *2.5 + $50 delivery = $187.50

3) Material worked out to about $6.50 a sq ft. We purchased 15% overage because we had some curves, they only recommend 7-10% overage in purchases. So that put us at $1,500 right there.

So add in the miscellaneous things we bought, like an extra shovel, a pick, some curbing to hold it in (I think these were $18 for 6 linear ft., we put in a retaining wall on one side made of allan block, but the other side was just concrete 3" curbing, let's say you need 2 sides of it, that would be 18*11*2 (11*6=66') $396 - it must have been about $2500 with all the nick nacks, beer and water + lunches and dinners over 3 weekends for the walkway. We also coated the concrete patio stones with a sealant @ $65 a gallon, about 1.5 gallons for the first coat, about 1/3 of a gallon for the 2nd coat, so add another $130 there. We re do the coating each year, but now it's about 1/3 of a gallon a year, I just store it in the basement when I'm done with it.

Oh, one last thing, pray for good weather once you have bought everything. Goodluck.

[whodaphucru]

I have done 2 interlocking patios now and it is a pretty straight forward DIY project.

Some advice:

- Shop around for materials as the prices vary widely from place to place. For example you should not pay more than $25/ yard for sand, gravel, triple mix (if there is a flower bed) + delivery
- Don't buy any materials or supplies or rent any tools at HD/ Lowes as there are better deals out there (for example tamper or masonary saw daily rental rate at United Rentals is less than HD daily rate plus you will get it from Friday to Monday for 1 day rental fee versus only getting it for 24 hours at HD)
- If the weather is uncertain then have tarps around to cover things up to avoid having a swimming pools where your hole was. Both my projects happened during rain and this helped a lot and keep us on track!
- Getting a disposal bin was the best thing I did on the second job, 10 yard bin was about $250 + GST, we had it for over a week (2 weekends). Better yet I split the cost with a few other neighbors doing work so they had a place to get rid of earth. The first job I trucked it to a guys property looking for clean fill, this slowed down the process alot.
- Doing the work in the spring worked well as the soil was fairly soft and easy to dig (even though we have alot of clay). 3 guys dug a 40 x 3 foot walkway in an evening after work going down about 10".

I can't see the video but if you are doing interlocking I can give a bunch of other tips and tricks I learned along the way. We did each job (120-140 sqft) for about $1000 each versus $3000+ we were quoted from contractors and the outcome looks great!

[mtbmxrider]

I'm a landscaper. In that video, the "professionals" didn't properly set the base. In order to make it to the gradient you need, there is a much more accurate method...but I'm guessing perfection is not what you're looking for, so merely tamping and raking will be sufficient. The larger the stones, the less chance for displayed errors within the base; I'm assuming large pavers is what you are going for.

What you'll need...

Tamper
Pavers
Polymeric Joint Sand
Limestone screenings
Additional yard tools

Instructions for applying the joint sand should be on the back of the bag(s).

Edit: Edge restraint and spikes if you deem necessary are always a good idea.

[joejack]

Hi guys, I could use some expert advise as well regarding a similar project.

I picked up some old patio stone/slabs (24" x 30") from a friend. I would like to make a walkway out of them on the side of the house from front to back. I was thinking of laying them width wise but not sure so 30" x 24"

My biggest concern is the grading. I noticed that at the side of my house, the grass is laid at a slop away from home but I also noticed that there is a gentle slop from the middle of the house (length wise) to the front and back. My concern is that once I dig to lay the stone, how do I maintain the same slop, front to middle and middle to back. House is about 55' deep (long). Is there a trick to it?

[creamsoda]

I'm a landscaper. In that video, the "professionals" didn't properly set the base. In order to make it to the gradient you need, there is a much more accurate method...

MTBMXRIDER: Can you briefly explain what the correct process would be? We're looking to hire someone and want to make sure they do it right. If we want to cut corners, we should do it ourselves. What should we ask them? We're doing general grading of the yard + relalaying of existing patio stones.

The total yard area is ~ 900 sq', of which 175 is patio. No one has mentioned the use of stakes or laser level. Is it OK to just eyeball for the grade?

Is crushed limestone essential under the patio? What's the sequence of layers there? One guy quoted us without limestone - just mesh. He says it's not necessary (overkill).

Thank you.

[led2]

Grading is so easy to check by just using a level, a straight 2x4 piece of lumber and a shim or piece of wood about 1/4 inch. You want a grade of 2 inches per 10 ft and using this method it is very easy.

This link gives you an idea of how to put your grading instrument together:
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Landscaping-Design-724/Grading-Yard.htm

MTBMXRIDER: Can you briefly explain what the correct process would be? We're looking to hire someone and want to make sure they do it right. If we want to cut corners, we should do it ourselves. What should we ask them? We're doing general grading of the yard + relalaying of existing patio stones.

The total yard area is ~ 900 sq', of which 175 is patio. No one has mentioned the use of stakes or laser level. Is it OK to just eyeball for the grade?

Is crushed limestone essential under the patio? What's the sequence of layers there? One guy quoted us without limestone - just mesh. He says it's not necessary (overkill).

Thank you.

[rdx]

How much did they quote you?

MTBMXRIDER: Can you briefly explain what the correct process would be? We're looking to hire someone and want to make sure they do it right. If we want to cut corners, we should do it ourselves. What should we ask them? We're doing general grading of the yard + relalaying of existing patio stones.

The total yard area is ~ 900 sq', of which 175 is patio. No one has mentioned the use of stakes or laser level. Is it OK to just eyeball for the grade?

Is crushed limestone essential under the patio? What's the sequence of layers there? One guy quoted us without limestone - just mesh. He says it's not necessary (overkill).

Thank you.

[creamsoda]

How much did they quote you?


We've received quotes from 1200 - 5000$. Big range! How to make sure you're comparing apples to apples? Some guys say mesh is enough. Some guys say mesh not needed. Some guys say limestone. Some guys say there's some other stone, better than limestone.

[nectar]

I think Unilock's Paverwise would be a good place to start for those who are unfamiliar with paver installation basics.

http://www.unilock.com/installation/paverwise.php