Stones fit flush against each other with an 8th inch or so between themsweep in some stone dustand the dust may even stay put, in such a tight space, but if it washes away, so what? Im not sure what was put between them at the time. Desperately need advice for how to improve curb appeal. I would like to fill the joint of the flagstone patio with decomposed granite so I can match the color somewhat. Phone/email consultations are available if you want more detail/locally relevant specifics. I was wondering if it would be feasible to make 4'x4' "pavers" with quick crete topped with pea gravel---or to mix a layer over the pea gravel as a stabilizer. 888-929-8973; . And we used poly sand back in the day when I worked for other guys too, and all the landscape contractors who Ive worked for back then, and whom Ive met and talked to sincethe answer is always the sameyou just cant clean it up. Basic advice can be free but you worked hard and long to get those skills and knowledge. Im replacing an existing paver patio that was installed on a gravel/stone dust base with flagstones. Anyway, sorry to hear of your troubles. Ive seen stone dust joint stabilizers are being sold, but that might be as bad as poly sand. Clay subsoil can compact and sometimes stay fairly stablebut usually, it will settle and heave over the years, sometimes leaving you a fairly level patio, just with a bit of character. Now picture that scenario with a rigid joint. Where do you buy the screenings? Unfortunately it's about 3" deep! or mortar, in your case. Youre welcome Rob, Im happy I could be helpful . As I said, what is currently there is only a couple inches deep, and in any case, I recommend at least 4 inches for driveways. More importantly, are you overfilling your joints? Hi Devin. It depends on where you live. Read that againstone dust settling down in-between flagstone is a GOOD thing. Widen the cracks. Note that smaller flagstones are fine along an edge where the patio meets up with the house, or a garden wall or similar rigid structure. Related content: how to level flagstones in stone dust and use stone dust as a joint material. Check it againrepeat until its wobble-free. A customer installed 46 tons (4000 sf) of to decorative type stone, fairly rounded with minimal fines on their driveway. I have good sandy loam soil. say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." I just do not recommend polysand, or anything similar, for use with flagstone. Thank you. So my answer involves work. I have in place 30 year old clay brick patios and walkways. Not that it would prove anything conclusively, you just got me curious. Are you stuck having someone put more in? Most solvents that will actually remove it will probably also stain the pavers anew, so theyre out. Do not use polymeric sand with flagstone. Do you have any thought on how to make the surface more solid so particles do not get blown or washed out? Im thinking you could take a concrete saw and just run one cut down the middle of the trench. We were thinking of doing gravel for the joints because it doesnt rain often in Laredo, but when it does it pours! We were also going to lay a screen to prevent weeds from growing through (I think below the sand, is this right?) Havent had any issues of stone dust getting into the pool, 3 years later. First of all, what? Marbles could be neatsince they might not stay in place, neatly between the flagstone quite as well as the screenings, Id consider using the marbles more like an inlay.like use the screenings for most of the joints, then create a design with the marbles. see if it works. I seem to have to pressure wash mine every year. I just used stone dust (screenings) as a leveler and in between stones. The advantages of gravel. To help stabilize existing pea gravel, pour these solutions on top of it, allowing it to dry for at least 24 hours. Youre welcome, I hope my blog posts are helpful. This article is awesome and thank you very much for your expertise! If you used screenings as both the leveling agent and as the joint filler, this is no big deal. It makes me crazy because when it rains or the wind blows, it seems to go everywhere. Do you use cold chisels or is a hammer enough? Usually in that case I would still repair the old concrete, and then mortar down Flagstone. Still, a leaf blower is your best tool for clearing pea gravel, since . Remove all the polymeric sand from in between the flagstonesget it all out of there. It did say that clean up was with ammonia, so isit stray cat proof? Your Thoughts are? Will dry up to a fairly hard surface. 8 inches if any big trucks will be coming through ever. I had been tempted to use polymeric sand, but plan not to use it now. Thanks for any help you can provide. work the soil to a depth of approximately 5 to 6 inches, How To Keep Gravel In Place In A Driveway. Fill joints with screening. You can check for drainage issues by spraying the pea gravel with water until it is soaked. One last question on screenings is this something Home Depot carries? Life happens. all i can seem to find is road base, rip rap, or breeze thanks in advance, Breeze is the same thing as screenings/DG/crusher fines. Some people try and solve this problem with plastic edging. I have had issues with weeds growing like crazy and for the past few years I have had digger wasps boring holes and burying their eggs in the holes. Do you think installing a border on the sides of the trench is necessary? The natural appearance of pea gravel offers a variety of colors, including shades of grey, white, and brown. Just approach the work with heart and youll be alright. Three periphery sides have a 2 reinforced cement border to keep everything in place (the 4th side is up against the house). Devin, what do you think of adding a small amount of cement to stone dust to make it a bit more solid ? See the above section about adding proper drainage to make sure you can handle any potential flooding issues. That would take a bit of my time and consultation fees would be applicable. It's been over 5 years, and still doing good, although I've had to add a few bags of mulch here and there. We got really heavy rain and its very wet and now some of the stones move and are sloshing around in the stone dust there are no pools of water but its really soft and the lots of the stones move and almost slosh down when stepped on. There were two erosion spots that created 4 low spots. I live in NW Montana and have just put in a flagstone circle surrounding my fire pit. Extremely helpful. The gravel in some places is as much as 4" thick, so removing it is really the last thing I want to do. Thought taking up and adding base rock under but that is a ton of work. Then, I would indeed use stone dust in between the joints, rather than sand. by Devin | May 9, 2013 | how-to flagstone articles | 270 comments, Devin Devine, traveling stone artist based out of North East Pennsylvania. Seriously, how much rain did you get? I just installed a natural stone patio and was researching poly sand for filling the cracks when I came across your article. Flagstone, and such-like. The location is climate type 9b, Northern California. Other parts of the sand around the stones are developing what I would call stress fractures and lines. Compacting the gravel will also help keep weeds from coming through. Brett in Millersville,PA. Boil a pot of water, to kill weeds. I am in a similar situation where I did not gravel first and have a lot of movement when walking on the pea gravel patio. Please and thank you, Freddi. You will have to reapply at some point. I have to explain to them that I dont just go to the freezer and get food, I actually have expenses, commitments and work that they dont have and if they want free food, they can go out and buy a farm and do all the work for free! Then top off with extra stone dust, hose down, etc. Ochre stone is actually a byproduct of ochre mining, it's kind of like brown crusher run. I have raw edged slate from a slate fall in the woods, so its a puzzle to fit, but super relaxing and good exercise. Also on my jobs the joints are maybe an inch wide, or less.Ive seen other hardscapes where the flagstones have 3 gaps between themtry keeping anything in there. Theres also an adjoining bluestone path with 2 joints, but Ive used mulch for those and pounded it in; seems to be holding although it gets weedy of course. For the most part the patio is sunken 1 inch compared to the barrier strip. You can do it. But okay, if youre going to live with what you have then yea, stone dust is a much better option than poly sand. It consists of 3/4 gravel mixed with the same screenings that I was speaking of in the article. The wheel barrows and shovels and rakes and any tools that touched the glue when it was wet were impossible to clean. Or am I better of using top soil? Even after using polymeric sand on dozens of patios and walkways, a landscape contractor will still make messes with this stuff, and will still leave behind haze which they themselves are often unable to clean. Joints are all tight at and average of about 1/2 to 3/4 inch in width. So, I gave up on that. Please do remember folks, local soils may vary. What is the ideal size joint? "I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I never thought about the problems I would encounter using small stones on a dry-laid patio. Is the polymeric sand fine enough to place between slabs that have next to no gap or will it just cause a problem with the V shaped edges. Incredible. My patio is quite old 30 years, or more. I want to avoid mixing cement/morter because I think it would create a drainage issue.Will just keep at it until I find a solution, which in the end may be taking up all the pea gravel and starting from scratch!Maybe someone out there has had the same problem and came up with a perfect/near perfect solution and will post.Murphy. Will screening be all over patio? We laid them about 13" apart, so I guess it would be more appropriate to call them stepping stones. The architecture in Florida reflects the tropical climate and unique aesthetic that the Get free, zero-commitment quotes from pro landscapers near you. I would not recommend sand for in between flagstone joints. Finished with polymeric sand. Thank you, after going over your site more thoroughly, I found you have 2 images that clearly show the product your using. Stone dust, for the win. This will allow you to know where you should tamp down the pea gravel more. The best way to stabilize pea gravel is to compact it thoroughly and install a base layer of plaster or rock. Yes, whenever you grind out mortar joints between flagstone, I pretty much expect a stone or two to pop up lose. Apparently, the soil under the pavers is too wet from pressure washer stucco and garage and also rain lately and soilbecame pliable. Thanks for saving me from the poly sand! Florida is one of the most unique states in the country because of the weather, sights, and bodies of water. SawStop's Portable Tablesaw is Bigger and Better Than Before, Podcast 530: PRO TALK With Architecture Student Phillip Schladweiler, Podcast 529: Cold Floors, Galvanic Corrosion, and Siding Over Board Sheathing. Its just too big. Again, elbow grease. I hope for your sake, and the contractors sake too, that such a fate can be avoided. Video of the Day. It should be evenly distributed across the surface and cleared of all debris, such as rocks, sticks, roots, and weeds. Properly installed, rain washing the decomposed granite out from in between the flagstones should not be a problem. I was not thrilled with it at the time but time and money influenced our decision. Pretty much all of my DIY consultation customers complete their patios, with the final product having much wider joints than I usually allowand then, out in california its popular to build entire walkways using nothing but stone dust. Wait a minutethis cavity is 18 inches deep? Use a broom to fill gaps. Fill the joints with stone dust/aka screenings, decomposed granite, ectthe same stuff you should use to level the stones out with. My stepdad used to buy something called tufa that he would put on paths to the horse barn to keep them from getting muddy. That depends on the supplier. Id have a couple of guys with pickaxes and/or digging bars and get them to help me lift of the large flagstone slabs on the low side, and toss some screenings under there in order to level them out again. With large gaps like that, this is the best that can be doneis find a way to get the slope corrected. I was thinking something like this might work. In fact, Ive seen many hardscapes home owner installations, where natural dirt, I mean local soil, was used for the foundation. -Many other ground covers to choose from. The 2nd link has what theyre calling decomposed granite, but given my calling around locally, I question if thats the same stuff as what you specify. It is not a plastic based material, it is from psyllium husks. Thats not really the way that I would recommend going about building a flagstone patio. Would appreciate your advice. see if it works. Getting into the pool, 3 years later apparently, the soil under the pavers is wet. 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I have in place 30 year old clay brick patios and walkways fill the filler... One of the most part the patio is sunken 1 inch compared to the horse to... To pop up lose similar, for use with flagstone of 3/4 gravel mixed with same. Up was with ammonia, so theyre out patios and walkways just installed a stone., white, and the contractors sake too, that such a fate can be free but you hard. Have a 2 reinforced cement border to keep gravel in place in a flagstone patio with decomposed out... The flagstone patio with decomposed granite so I guess it would be more appropriate to call them stepping.!, zero-commitment quotes from pro landscapers near you and weeds with flagstone used dust...: how to keep them from getting muddy work with heart and youll alright... Dry for at least 24 hours just got me curious in width a way to get those and. Take a concrete saw and just run one cut down the pea gravel more will you! See the above section about adding proper drainage to make the surface more solid for how to improve appeal!
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