Creating a Beautiful Flagstone Patio

To come up with a beautiful and successful flagstone patio design, it takes good planning and preparation. While this is a very popular option for enhancing a garden, it can be challenging no matter

the surface on which it is being designed, in that paving stones used for a flagstone patio never have uniform thicknesses. That coupled with the uneven base on which the patio would be built and settling, getting it perfect is hard. Of course, thick stones for a patio such as this are what gives it character so they should never be thinned. One option to ensure the stones are similar in size is for you to personally choose the stones. This means buying stones directly from the supplier. Therefore buying stones online would not work in that you would not be able to hand pick the materials needed.

If the underlying base is stable, then you could go with thinner stones but remember, this would mean the flagstone patio would not withstand wear and tear as long as thicker stones would. What happens is that over time, being exposed to the elements and the pressure from being walked on would result in the thin stones chipping, cracking, and breaking. One possibility would be to mix thin and thick stones in the design, which would help compensate uneven surfaces but this would also produce a more natural appearance. If you think outside the box and use your creativity, you can come up with some great options for designing and building your flagstone patio.

Now, building a flagstone patio requires numerous steps so the design and layout is complicated. For this reason, few homeowners take on a job such as this on their own, choosing instead to hire a professional. If you decide to go this route and after finding someone qualified, that person would first determine the stability of the ground to now if sand or gravel would be needed. If this step were overlooked, over time as the patio settles, you would end up with an uneven, unstable, and unsightly flagstone patio.

Without doubt, one of the best methods is to build a flagstone patio on top of concrete in that you end up with a level surface, one that is strong and durable. As a result, concern over settling would be eliminated. Using a concrete pad with a layer of sand on top would also resolve issues regarding the thickness of stones. This means the problem you would otherwise experience with thinner stones would also be eliminated. Another consideration is joints. Depending on the look you want for your flagstone patio, you could use mortar for the void spaces or allow natural moss to grow, which is beautiful.