Back when I used to lay brick patios I would use course sand or quarry screenings inter-changeably and it was fine. You can use a course sand for under the flagstones, sure.
Most of the sands that are packaged for sale however are way too fine. Sand….well, if you use a really heavy sand you might get away with it.
But if there is cement between the joints, there just had better be a concrete foundation. I’ve built many that look great,–many years later too. The feeling you get from a well done dry laid flagstone patio, in my humble opinion, is just better than a flagstone patio set in cement.Ī flagstone patio set in cement can of course look good and last a long time. Anyway, I personally prefer dry stone work. Environmental impact of concrete production is no small issue either.
WHATSIZE FREE STAND HEAVY BAG FOR 4.5FEET TALL CRACK
In a northern climate it will likely crack within ten years-and the chances of it cracking within the next three years are pretty high too. But why on earth would you want to have a concrete foundation anyway? The concrete itself will crack, eventually. Cement is rigid-if you put a rigid top on a flexible base then systemic cracking is inevitable.Ĭement based mortar is a fine joint filling material if the flagstone happens to rest upon a concrete foundation. A gravel base will definitely move a bit-looking at any of my patios, you’d never know that, but the movement does happen. Well, if the base was done poorly the movement might be more then slight, but let’s assume the base was done well. The gravel base is flexible and will move ever so slightly during freeze-thaw. A worse way to go about it would be to lay the flagstone upon a bed of gravel and then cement the joints between stones. Especially in a climate with winters like ours in Pennsylvania. Why is gravel the best choice for your your flagstone patio’s foundation?Ĭement will (probably) crack. If you need personal assistance, we can set up a phone consultation. I hope you enjoy my free DIY hardscape articles. Better yet, use road base gravel for the foundation and then use stone dust aka quarry screenings aka grit aka quarry dust as the final leveling agent. Gravel-really no problems here, just use the right type of gravel. Sand-ants will dig it up and get it all over the place…also the sand may wash away, causing stones to settle. May last for quite awhile, but when it does fail it will be much more work to repair it then to repair dry flagstone work. First we will address the structural issue “what to use beneath the flagstone”.Ĭement-it will (probably) crack, at some point. However, there are other options available which can be utilized to achieve different aesthetic effects. Screenings are also one of the best options for in between the stones. Quarry screenings are generally best for under the flagstones. So getting right to it then, what type of foundation are we going to build for our flagstone patio: sand, cement, or gravel? Flagstone patio with branching mosaic, stone art….in old San Francisco!
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