Introduction
According to Mark Roemer Oakland, building a stone patio is like putting together puzzles and finally admiring your own creation. It’s not too easy or difficult, extremely fulfilling, and improves your backyard significantly. Let’s figure out how you can build a stunning patio in your back garden.
The Details
- Materials needed – To build your patio you’ll need to source the following tools and materials:
- Wheelbarrow
- Tamper or Plate compactor
- Spade
- Garden hose and mason line
- Landscape fabric
- 2×4 board
- Broom
- Bricks, pavers, and flagstones
- PVC pipe
- Builder’s sand
- Polymetric jointing sand
- Gravel
- Outline your patio and get rid of sod – Use stakes or a garden hose along with a mason line to draw the shape of your patio. Build a large patio just to be safe. Making a smaller patio larger, later on, is a bigger challenge. Use a garden spade shovel to remove soil and sod from the marked location. Make sure the base is around 8 inches deep and slope it away from your home. After the sod and dirt are removed, you need to compact the dirt.
- Add landscape fabric – Use landscape fabric to line the base. This simple step helps to avoid weeds from growing under your patio. Otherwise, you’ll have to redo the patio once it’s ruined by sprouting weeds. Moreover, landscape fabric is an extremely cheap weed control method that wouldn’t put a dent in your budget.
- Build a gravel and sand base – Add gravel to the base up to 6 inches and even it out. Use a tamper to compact the base and then pour the builder’s sand over it. After that use the tamper one more time and create a smooth surface. If the patio is located near your home, make sure to create a slope away from it while compacting the base.
- Place stones – Lay the first flagstones or pavers on one side of the patio. Create a level surface by adding sand under the stones. Try to place the stones as tightly as possible. If there are large gaps, weeds have all the opportunity to lay waste to your DIY efforts. If your patio shape allows it, you can also install plastic edging around the perimeter to hold the stones in place.
- Add sand – After the pavers, stones and flagstones have been placed, spread polymeric sand over the patio. Get a broom and sweep over the stones till the gaps are filled up. You can use a leaf blower to get rid of excess polymeric sand. After that’s done, sprinkle the surface by turning the garden hose attachment to the mist setting. Repeat this process for a week so that you get a professional finish.
Conclusion
Mark Roemer Oakland suggests that you gather the materials and follow the above-mentioned steps to start the construction of an amazing patio in your back garden. It serves a practical purpose and finding this kind of project is highly rewarding.
