Add at least 20 tons of fines. White/cream color us also available at some masonry supply places. Privacy Policy. This was done to lower costs, and because the pond area wouldnt receive heavy foot traffic (so we werent worrying about people kicking the stone dust out with their shoes) and also because we wanted a looser look, around the pond. I only need a small quantity/bag? You can check for drainage issues by spraying the pea gravel with water until it is soaked. I was planning on Breeze but hear it will be tracked into the house and wash away. The only problem with dust is the stairs on the outside (front) edge of the stairs. You fill a wheel barrow full of gravel, add some glue, mix it up with a shovel, dump it into place and rake it out level. My wife and I are interested in a new brown wave patio. The first thing I want to do is find a way to make it less sloped. Or let it happen on its own. Devin, have you tried NATRACIL as a stabilizer? I really liked the overall performance of Techniseal HP2 Polymetric sand; so I went with this as the final selection. in the cracks thinking the soil and plants will help hold the stones in place. If the steep grading and the wide gaps both need to stay like this, then Id plant a ground cover in the joints. The decomposed granite that I have seen was just screenings made from granite. Step 2 - Install the Base. Take it dry and rake it in with the pea gravel , you dont want too much cement sitting on top . I would look under the sink and see if you have any orange based cleaning products. Devin, thank you for the article and for your generosity in responding to questions/comments. How should we address this issue? Irish moss, creeping thymeidk, what plant would be best for your local conditions. Do you have any recommendations on my project? When gravel shifts, it can expose the weed cloth underneath, letting weeds overtake the edges of your gravel walkway or driveway. I selected Galleries and then Flagstone Walkways, the last two images once magnified to 500% show clear images of your stone screenings. 8-12 of compacted 21AA limestone (well compacted), decomposed granite and then filled the joints with decomposed granite. Thanks! Good luck! The patio comes off the basement door and is surround on three sides by 4-5 retaining walls, and had a 4 drain in the pave patioit was sinking especially around the drain. Make sure to take the proper steps when first installing the pea gravel. Youll be fine using screenings. After only 2 months the patio has developed a cavity probably 12-18 deep with an oblong hole in the sand about 6 long. http://www.stepables.com/ stepables . I had planned to use decomposed granite for bedding and also in the joints. No offense, but if you went through all the trouble to lay your paver base in the first . The larger material will help to jam up the drainage-cut, making it so less fines settle down below the concrete, while still letting water drain. Become a member and get instant access to thousands of videos, how-tos, tool reviews, and design features. Natural dirt could mean any combinations of these soil types. First, you will measure the area and check you have the correct amount of binding solution. Go to a place that sells gravel, sand and mulch and talk to them. It depends on where you live. The industry standard for flagstone installation these days, is still basically to use the methods, tools and materials used in concrete paver installation and adapt them to natural flagstone. Also, I just placed about 4 of them to see how it might work. You can choose from various materials like plastic edging or metal borders. 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. Shove some stuff under there. Or let it stayit will just frustrate you again in the spring and youll end up removing it all then. Theres environmental impact happening. He wants to lay a new flagstone patio on top of a mix of sand mixed with cement(about 6 to 1). For more information, please see our They took the quick easy way outand left large gaps to be filled with sand. Also, it gives a patio a good appearance, to have all larger stones along the edge. I dry laid the flagstone (on a 4-inch compacted base of 5/8th minus gravel with a 1 inch layer of 1/4 minus gravel that the stone was set on top of). We have an existing flagstone patio which was built on a layer of crushed limestone with the same in between the flagstones. also can i just use decomposed granite to level and build the basketball court? Please consider it for a minute. I would not recommend sand for in between flagstone joints. Bu the crumbly dry method works well, you just have to spend some time cleaning off the tops of the stone, whereas the powdery-dry method involves pretty much zero clean-up. Id use stone dust.but if possible, Id tighten them joints up a bit. Now practical not always my middle name, I was thinking creativity. Great article. Bad news, that stuff. Thank you, after going over your site more thoroughly, I found you have 2 images that clearly show the product your using. Its an 8 long stone, so now its sitting 2 high. Having not seen the patio in question, I really cant say what is best. Results may varypolymeric sand is not always easy to fix.. Do you know if one can expect the haze to slowly fade away over time? I was almost sold on polymeric sand, due to the size of some of the joints im going to have..but read your blog. After excavating the area, pour in about three inches of a base layer of crushed rock. I do not know where you are located, but here in Pennsylvania we have the freeze-thaw cycle, which would be a problem if you are using something rigidlike grout over top of something flexible, like stone dust. Each stone has been set and packed by hand (earth first packed by hammer, then stones packed with wood and hammer, sometimes jumping). The bricks are on now stable 1-2 dry sand beds. But its not a small thing. What I was wondering was if you could spray a water proofing like what is used on cement to settle the dust and smaller stones down and and keep them in place. Will this work to fill the cracks of should I attempt to find a finer material? thanks, Chris (Santa Cruz Ca). Old timbers get new life as a decorative element in a cottage renovation. EDIT: Ive also addressed this question in a previous blog post here: https://www.devineescapes.com/flagstone-repair-explained/. Orange oil. I have been extremely happy with it -- it looks great and has stayed neat, clean, and stable for two years now. We just put in a flagstone patio using decomposed granite in between the stones. I have old flagstone with sand in between. My plan was to go with a fairly tight joint for the whole patio but then get even tighter for the 5 feet or so immediately close to the pool.in the end, I think the entire patio got a half inch joint, maybe more like three eighths to a quarter inch, for the few feet closest to the pool, but no major difference, just a smidge tighter right by the pool. I was told to put stone dust down.lay the faly stone in place then wet the area down. First of all know that at this point, any means to clean off the stones will likely destroy the joints that youve installed. Wanted advice for DIY backyard basketball court of size 42 feet wide and 28 feet long. After the pea gravel has been dry for at least three days, follow the manufacturers directions to mix the binding solution. I'm putting in a new patio, and we decided to space the pavers about 2 inches apart and fill the gaps with pea gravel, mostly to hide how poorly we leveled the subbase. Even if you are using a more uniform paver, the gravel foundation may not compact 100 percent perfectly. Having decades of experience, I can make this type of material workby fitting them tight, malleting them into their bedding material, maybe using some of the smaller ones uprightor not at all, and other tricks Ive picked up over the yearsbut still at the end of the day, a dry laid patio built with this sort of material will probably not be 100% wobble free at job completion. And here is how I repair mortared joints. Then top off with extra stone dust, hose down, etc. Polymeric sand, in the above scenario, will either crack up, or, worse yet, it may stay solid on top, leaving that void beneath, causing more problems until the poly sand finally does crack up. *also note that i do indeed also use a 4.5 grinder and/or a 14 saw, in order to achieve a tight-fit patio. I dont want to discourage you, and I totally think you can do this. I was thinking of the polymeric hardening sand before reading your advice here and Im thinking screenings (Decomposed Granite I think is what its listed at in Lowes) might still seem attractive to the dogs if it is very loose like sand. Void formsstone sinkssolid joint sits above voidjoint cracks. Low void content, contains fines, is used as road foundations. Weed and ant proof. Just hose the patio down real well. It seemed to work pretty well. Will screening be all over patio? I cant find anyone who sells decomposed granite. But I get ityoure suggestion youd just seal the mortar itself. Leave the hammer drill in the shed. When using a hand tamper on decomposed granite, it will stick to the bottom of the hand tamper in clumps. Love the info. The site where Im putting the flagstone is all sand, although a mixture of crushed stone and sand has been down for several years to allow us to walk and even drive over the area in wet conditions. I am a contractor working on a large home renovation project in Northern California. I am considering taking the sand out, re-leveling, and filling the joints with screening instead. Thanks! Re-lay on stone dust/pathway fines/DG.they sell it in your area, but since I dont know your area I can not tell you the local name. First, lay a foundation of compacted stone aggregate, then lay individual flagstones using screenings as the leveling agent. Do a proper foundation, use real stone not pavers, pitch it 1/4 per foot, forget about poly sand and forget about sealing. As far as separation along the cracks goesthis is a matter of technique, not of product. In this he mixes 1 part water, 2 parts cement and 7 parts peagravel, (or was that 2 water 1 cement.) Hello, and thanks for taking the time to answer our questions. Gravel-Lok - Amber Color - 50 Gallon. I had a flagstone patio laid 2 years ago. Or grind out the entire joint between the flagstones. Then allow it to dry for another 24 hours. I addressed the issue of weeds and dry laid flagstone here As it states in the article, personally, weeds between flagstones dont bother me all that muchand if the weeds really are that bad, then a bit of boiling water will dispatch with them nicely. For urine & feces odor control I spray the kennels occasionally with yard odor killer, which works great.I don't use cement because it is damaging to the dogs pads.To address my problem:I have a long driveway made with reject ab. Best recommendation is to use large flagstone, small joints, stone dust/decomposed granite as the leveling agent and joint material. Devin, Thank you for this blog and great info. Clean off dust and lightly dampen the old cracked polymeric sand. Free Store Pickup Today. It's been over 5 years, and still doing good, although I've had to add a few bags of mulch here and there. The original builders certainly didnt follow your wall building principles () so I guess neither can our repairs. One questionwould mortar work better than poly sand? For more information, please see our I was trying to decide between polymeric sand and limestone screenings for filling in the gaps and came across your blog. "I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. The material will settle when you hose it down, so repeat. Anyway. Stone dust is usually available in whatever colors if road base type gravel are quarried in your area. 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