How to Lay a Stone Patio
By , This Old House magazine
- Time: 3 to 4 days to set a 12x16-foot patio
- Cost: $4 to $8 per square foot
- Difficulty: Hard
Shopping & Tool Lists
- Supplies You Will Need:
- 1. LEATHER GLOVES
2. MASON'S TWINEfor establishing reference points between stakes
3. GOGGLES
4. DUST MASK
5. CARBIDE-TIPPED AWLfor marking stone
6. EAR PROTECTION
- Tools You Will Need:
-
1. Steel rake,
for spreading stone dust
2. Push broom,
for sweeping stone dust
3. Spade shovel,
for digging and spreading
4. Square shovel,
for measuring and mixing
5. Wheelbarrow,
for mixing wet material
6. Builder's level,
for determining pitch
7. Leveling rod,
for measuring pitch with builder's level
8. Angle grinder,
for cutting curves in stone
9. Tape measure
10. Circle cutter,
for scribing stone
11. 2- and 4-foot levels,
for leveling stones
12. Pointing trowel,
for adding cement mix and packing in joints
13. Hand rake,
for leveling wet material
14. Hand tamper,
for tamping base along walls and siding
15. Plate compactor,
rent, if needed, to compact base
16. Circular saw with diamond blade,
for cutting stone
17. Rubber mallet,
for tapping stone into cement mix
18. Hand sledge,
for driving stakes and snapping stone
19. Skid-steer loader,
rent, if needed, to clear and dig base
Introduction
With all the beauty of a well-manicured lawn but without the maintenance, a stone patio makes an elegant addition to any home. A variety of flat stones will do—smooth squares of slate or rough flags of limestone—as long as they can withstand foot traffic and the local climate. For most of his patios, This Old House landscaping contractor Roger Cook favors 1 ½- to 2-inch-thick bluestone, a tough sandstone quarried in New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont.
"Setting stone is similar to laying bathroom tile," Roger says. You prepare a base, level each piece, and fill in the joints. But while tile can be set with one hand, laying a 100-pound stone slab takes brawn and is best handled by two people. "You only want to move them once," Roger says, "so take your time to set each stone straight with uniform 3/8-inch gaps between them."
—Shannon Brady Marin