How to Lay a Bluestone Patio

The bluestone that makes up millions of American patios often comes in neatly sawn rectangles. But for a rustic landscape, nothing looks more natural than "snapped" or "broken" bluestone, terms used to denote an irregular edge on the slabs. This Old House senior technical editor Mark Powers recently built a patio out of this hearty stone in his backyard. As he shows on the following pages, laying a long-lasting patio like his is as much about the base underneath it as the layout above. With a little digging endurance and the patience to piece together a rock puzzle, you too can create a gathering space that appears to come from another time.

Stone: 1½-inch-thick broken bluestone, about $240 per ton; Gault

Moss: Fern moss, about $120 for a 25-square-foot box, Moss Acres