Help laying large bluestone slabs

14 years ago

I am laying a patio using bluestone flagstone, salvaged from a walkway. They are being laid on hardpack base, topped with sand. Polymeric sand will be swept into the cracks,

The largest stones are just under 36"x36" and some are almost 2" or more thick. These suckers are heavy. Laying them has become a nightmare because the bottoms are extremely irregular, so I can't simply level the sand to the right height and plop them down. They must be lifted several times, the sand sculpted underneath to fit their bottoms, and readjusted -- over and over again. I worry about pockets of missing sand that will cause them to settle later (yes, I am tamping and will also rent a plate compactor, if I ever get them all down and reasonably level.)

I feel I must be missing some trick, some simple way to make this go faster. Can anyone fill me in? Or am I doomed to lift and readjust each one multiple times?

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Comments (6)

karin_mt
14 years ago
I'm totally confident you are doing this the right way because that is exactly how it goes with natural stone. Those sound like beautiful rocks though and I am envious of that.

I don't think a small pocket of missing sand will cause a big rock to shift if it is otherwise supported. So I would not worry about that too much.

As for the effort of getting it level, it is far, far easier with 2 or 3 people. 2 people to lift the stone slightly and one person to add/subtract sand as needed. That speeds things up considerably.

The landscape design forum also has a lot of wisdom to offer so you might try asking your question over there too.

Good luck!
cadillactaste
14 years ago
We were told with natural stone with the irregular thickness that you just can't shoot for it to be perfectly level. With that in mind sounds like your doing what needs done. Hope to see a picture of this project when it is done.
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chibimimi
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks, Karin and Cadi. I guess I'm going to have to pry my husband out of his Adirondack chair and make him help me. He's not going to like that!

IF it's ever finished, I'll post pics (if it comes out well enough).
karin_mt
14 years ago
You can offer your husband a simple choice: either he can come help or you can hire 2 handsome, strong helpers. Usually that works quite well. :)

Good luck!
cadillactaste
14 years ago
It sure is a time consuming project if you over analyze making it perfect. We did a flagstone patio last fall. As you say your dealing with such dramatic changes of thickness...and they are heavy! But once we totally grasp that you just can't make it perfectly level it went a lot faster. You just need to do as you are and make sure they are sitting well into the sand so they don't rock. That is the key...

We did a flagstone patio and dry stack walls...large project last fall,.finished this spring with a huge waterfall and stone flowerbeds. Once you get him moving I am sure he'll see how easily they are to install he'll want it done as well.

My problem was getting my husband to let us take breaks. Lol
chibimimi
Original Author
14 years ago
Karin, I may just hire the two handsome, strong helpers and let my husband stay in his chair!

Cadi, I've been admiring the photos of your stonework -- very inspirational!