How to Build an Outside Patio
- 1). Lay out your patio area where there are no utility lines running through the yard and away from any trees. Keep in mind your patio's intended use when choosing a spot. A small reading patio can be placed in a corner of the yard, but one intended for barbecue cooking should be near the kitchen door.
- 2). Place sticks in the ground at all four corners of your proposed patio area and run string around the outside of all the sticks. This will give you a visual outline of the patio space.
- 3). Measure the thickness of your paving stones. Add 4 inches to this amount to determine the depth of your patio base hole. If your pavers are 2 inches thick, dig your patio base 6 inches deep. Use the level to ensure that the floor of the hole has a level surface.
- 4). Place landscape fabric over the bottom surface of the hole. This will help to prevent weeds from growing up through the cracks between patio stones.
- 5). Pour a 3-inch layer of gravel over the landscape fabric. Use the level to ensure that the gravel is 3 inches deep in all spots.
- 6). Add a 1-inch layer of sand over the gravel. Smooth the sand layer with a broom and use the level to make sure that the top of the surface is a completely flat plane.
- 7). Lay the paving stones in the patio hole on top of the sand. Begin in one corner and work your way up in rows. Push each stone down firmly into the sand.
- 8). Spread sand over the surface of the finished patio and sweep it into the cracks between the stones. Add more sand and sweep it into the cracks until the sand between the stones is at the level with the top of the stones. Spray the entire patio surface with water to moisten the sand between the stones and to wash a final layer of sand into the cracks to help hold the stones in place.
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