Hmmm...I don't know if hypertufa patio stones will hold up, especially with no reinforcement. Do you have time to make one and put it in a high traffic area and let it winter over? I wasn't confident enough with hypertufa and used purchased concrete pavers for my front-yard patio, although I am going to try some hypertufa pavers in my backyard, with reinforcement. I don't know about the cost savings but I love the pitted, "old stone" look. They've got to be cheaper than natural stone.

As far as wall cappers go, I say go for it. I'm going to do the same thing this summer on a wall in my back yard. Since these won't have REGULAR foot traffic and won't be absorbing a lot of water by being in the ground, I think they have a much better chance of surviving freeze/thaw cycles.

As far as thickness goes, I think that 2" would be a minimum for either. You have to go thicker than regular concrete because of the strength loss with hypertufa (using peat or vermiculite instead of gravel aggregate).

It's not a quick solution but experimenting in your own climate zone seems to be the best way to go. Good luck!

Deb

I could just make the patio blocks out of cement and sand. Would 2in be strong enough? I guess I am wondering it it would be saving me any money to do this by hand given that I have all this sand and my time is somewhat free too. I would love to spend some time doing some more interesting projects this summer but might get bogged down in this one if I attempt it. I imagine it might be difficult to keep up with the process until it is finished. I guess I should price out some patio blocks and see what the cost would be first.

I did start by making some very large flat cement leaves (rhubarb) and though t I might use these for the patio. But in the end I couln't leave them out in the winter to see how they did. I do have at least 2 smaller stepping stone leaves that have done fine through the winter. What have others experienced with NE winters? Does everyone bring their stuff in? I was inspired by someone's leaf walkway but then realized that they were probably in a warmer area of the country.

Hi Rainsend,

2" thick would be pleanty for concrete blocks. We made some with a purchased mold for making path/patio blocks and it is only 1 7/8" thick. We used an integral color and they've held up fine. They've been through 3 or maybe 4 winters in zone 5. I had planned to put a concrete sealer on them but never got around to it. We did have some that crumbled but they are near the driveway and were exposed to salt( concrete's enemy). However they are the same blocks that were made with a questionable bag of cement and I suspect that is what caused the problem.

I can't recall exactly how much we figured the savings to be - about 1/3 the cost of purchasing even the cheap ones - I think. And seeing as you already have the sand it should be a good bit cheaper. However the time factor is another matter. It's definately a labor intensive project. We did a 12' x 12' patio and a 50'path. It took about 2-3 weeks but DH and I did it together and we have a cement mixer. If you would be mixing by hand I suspect there's a good possibility getting sick of it about halfway through.

I also have 1 rhubarb leaf stepping stone but it's only been out this past winter - so far so good.

I too plan on making some hypertufa patio blocks for the back yard. Planning on 6" x 6" x 2" with no reinforcement. Will use portland, sand, & vermiculite; to match the edging blocks I did 2 years ago. They are holding up beautifully. The little ones (and me) love to walk on them. We don't have the winter's yall do up there though!!! I line the mold with strips of thin foam used under floating floors; cut to the depth of the mold and can immediatly mold another set without them loosing shape.

Good luck!