Put in a flagstone path last spring and learned a hard lesson about base prep

I was out in Phoenix helping my buddy lay a path from his driveway to his backyard gate, and we thought we could just toss the stones on top of some sand. Two months later everything shifted and settled so bad it looked like a miniature earthquake hit. Has anyone else skipped the gravel base and regretted it later?

2 comments

2 Comments

taylor66824d agoProlific Poster

You mentioned that earthquake look after two months, and I gotta ask - was that sand you used actually paver sand or just regular play sand from the hardware store? I made that exact mistake myself a few years back, thought sand was sand and it would all work out. That regular sand just washes away or shifts around with the first real rain or sprinkler run, leaving everything wobbly. The stuff they sell specifically for paver bases has angular grains that lock together way better, plus you gotta compact it in layers or it'll settle like crazy no matter what you do. Did you wet it down and tamp it before laying the stones, or was it just dry and fluffy?

bens8124d ago

Did you check the base underneath the sand for drainage issues too?