I wish I watched this video first! After struggling with the first few stones I now have a much clearer idea of what it takes to prep and place the stones. I agree with Glassman a step by step that makes sense!
Two years ago I got an estimate for a patio at my home and realized I couldn't afford it. This is the only video I watched before doing it myself. I was 46 year old female with limited budget and my only help would be my 17 year old son. We watched this video and followed his advice to a tee. Today that patio is still flat as a board and used every day, it's beautiful and people often ask who did it for us. :)
You go Diane! I am 43 and I am building a flagstone patio as well. I am lucky to have my husband's help. Before we start I forced him to watch this video, the how to cut flagstone video, and the retaining wall build video (we did that as well). We are three weekends into the build and looking forward to completing the project before Christmas!!
This is the best DIY flagstone patio video on the internet. I built a 12x14 flagstone patio in only 3 days all because of this awesome step by step guide. First two days was spent digging/leveling on my own and on the last day had one person help me out with moving the flagstones. We got 2 tons of large 2" - 2.5" thick pieces which covered our 168 sqft area (with only 3 pieces to spare). Using the largest pieces around the outside first and working your way in with the smaller pieces was a huge piece of advice taken from this video. I also chose to do a square patio to limit the amount of cuts we had to make, and my cheap Ryobi angle grinder (with diamond blade) was enough to score the flagstones. We then put the scored flagstone on a 4x4 and used a sledge hammer to break it at the score line - not perfect but works 95% of the time. Taking your time with leveling the road base (type 2 gravel) and sand as best as possible definitely made it a lot easier in the end when you're laying the flagstones. It got most of our pieces pretty level without having the need to add/remove sand as much. Lastly, we used an additional layer (100lbs) of poly sand and worked it in between the stones to help seal the stones together (similar to how he was doing it @14:04) and it produced a super nice gray finish in between the cracks. Thank you Handyman Startup for saving me thousands of dollars on labor alone and for giving me the confidence to do it!
Professional here. Biggest tip I can give for leveling a flagstone patio is string, set two corners stone of your patio at the exact grade you want them to be. Lay the string across and you’ll be able to have a guide for the rest of your patio. Closer your cuts ( within reason and for enough room for poly sand) and the more level, the more professional it will look.
We're trying to figure out what type of patio to use coming off our new wooden landing. This gave me a much better appreciation of what it takes for me, or anybody I hire, to do the right type of work for a quality result. Great video, and I echo another reviewer's comments about the excellence of the audio. Thanks.
This is the best tutorial explained for The Diy'er first timer or those who need the real answers period of materials measures amounts in installing flagstone & hands down shares skills techniques tools for the materials un selfishly you will appreciate the length as well. This guy covers it. The wall in this video Same thing has a video on it. This is how you can spend / $ave money on your home & enjoy the parties to come You can do this. It does take time so dont rush it and dont skimp on materials ever & the labor of love will be more than bragging rights family n friends will be amazed at your skills. Its an Art....
Great video. The only thing I would recommend is sweeping in a polymeric sand in between the joints. Alliance Gator makes a polymeric stone dust that is specifically made for flagging just like this. Tighter bond in between joints, won't wash away, will prevent weed growth and deter ant hills.
@@ericsweeney4544 that’s why I recommended the polymeric stone dust, and not polymeric sand. The polymeric stone dust has larger granules and more polymers to fill in those larger gaps.
Thanks man - super helpful video for noobs like me! 👍 I especially appreciate the discussion of the pros and cons of large vs small flagstones, and large vs. small spaces. Exactly the things I was wondering about. Thanks again!
This is so helpful. I have several family members that have mobility impairments. I think the close together stones are better for people that use wheelchairs.
Extremely useful video! I used this as a baseline to build a flagstone patio of my own. I used irregular flagstone by the pallet, so it required a hand held concrete saw to cut/fit each piece (he's not lying when he says it takes a long time). Also went with mortar sand over DG (preference) and Gator Maxx polymeric sand to fill the joints. Took a while but I wouldn't have had the confidence to do it if not for this video. Thanks Dan!
I’ve watched many videos on flagstone installation and this is the best most complete instructional one out there. Nice job dude. I would suggest using a polymeric sand to fill in the gaps. Super easy to use and locks it in well. They usually offer a sand color or a grey color to suit your need. Thanks again for the vid.
very complete video. Simple, Short, direct and most of all CLEAR. I'm in New England so a little deeper prep is necessary. We are doing a 650 +sq. ft. patio and the scope is a little daunting. 36K lbs of dense grade for the sub base, over 27K lbs (10 yards ) of stone dust (thus far) but it is proving to be a great bonding experience for our family. THANKS! I would say one thing about polymeric sand - for large projects it can be very expensive. No doubt a great product but expensive. can't wait to watch. your other videos.
You are one smart, skilled, & very talented fellow!! Your project came out fantastic & your step by step directions were awesome. This video will help many DIY'ers. I've always done our flag areas in a more free form way with landscape fabric over leveled dirt, then brieze for the mortar. The one flagged area in the backyard has held up fairly well. But the one in our front yard got so weedy, that the weeds could only be removed by taking the flagstone out. Now we have several pallets of that flagstone & are thinking about how & where to use it. We need a diagonal path through the lawn from the patio out to our shed in a far corner of the backyard. We are hesitating though - since were older now & that project is labor intensive. Plus - were pretty sure we would have to revise the sprinkler system a lot, so the path wouldn't be saturated with sprinkler water from May through Oct. It sure would be beautiful though & so great to have when going out to the shed.
Built a 12*16 patio myself with your help. Thanks. Basically checked FB market place and Craigslist for flagstone until I found someone selling a 2.5k pallet for 500$ and then got some the rest from a mason yard and home depot cost about 1.2k after everything but beats out the 6 k quote I got.
This was a great tutorial! We used this last weekend for a DIY project. Thank you for a quality video and explanation... as someone with NO experience doing this, I felt like this gave us exactly what we needed to do this (and actually make it look good!)
Great video. I always hate video with a lot of fluff and information that is not needed. This video was great information and right to the point. Thanks for the help.
In the Northwest, we don't have DG. Instead, we use 1/4 minus with fines and dust. It fills in spaces of the 3/4 minus gravel base and it compacts very well. Spaces between flagstones are filled with polymeric stone dust aka polymeric sand.
I searched for months for a video to help me with my flagstone project. This is the first one to take me step by step through the entire process from concept to fruition. Excellent work and thank you so so so much!
Dan, outstanding project video. I am considering a similar patio/fire pit of goshen stone, here at our home in western Massachusetts. I was a bit surprised that you oriented the “low point” towards the house/deck. Maybe because it appears (by that beautiful long shot at the video’s end, “toward the hills” that you live in an arid part of the country. I would caution others - particularly where rain and snow are significant - who are considering a similar project to set the drainage-low point away from your home. At 65, but still active, I hope my knees and back are up to this. Again, Dan, Bravo-Zulu, well done on producing a great educational DIY video!
Great video, thank-you! Very clear and easy to follow. Really liked the diagram and discussion at the beginning. Also liked the way you showed how to setup the stakes and strings for setting the height and slope of the flagstone
This is a wonderful video! Your initial explanation with the white board was was really helpful in planning for the patio. Thanks you for taking the time to explain the planning process.
Yes, as others noted, you made an excellent instructional video. My one question is that I live in Maine, so winters and potential frost heaves. You appear to live in a hot climate. I'm wondering how that might change my ground preparation to avoid cold climate issues. I'll do more research, but thank you for what you provided here.
That's an excellent question that I'm not certain about. I believe the frost line is like 24" deep there or something crazy. Doing a base that deep seems crazy to me.
Great video! When it comes to a couple years down the line, how to you manage the holes and stones that may become un-level that inevitably come about?
Thanks for this great effort! I was going to wing it, but after watching this clear and detailed video, I can see some steps that I need to improve/add to make my mental plan even better! Gophers mess up everything around here. It is amazing what they will come up through! They've buckled a neighbor's paver driveway in a few places. I think I'll add a gopher layer barrier underneath your design. I have a pile of leftover flagstone pieces from another patio that a contractor put in. This is a small ~8' x 10' patio in a garden. Do you/anyone have any comments/tips if I am going to be using pieces that are nominally 12-18" across in size? Really appreciate you posting this!👍
2023 here… bought a house and the prev owner had decided to put in his flagstone wirh grout. It was 3yrs old and it was cracking and buckling and I had to have landscapers come in and redo it just like the video
This was super helpful! Thanks. I built a patio last year with my boyfriend and we went with the grass in the gaps route. It turned out really nice, however, we didn't put down that gravel in the beginning and we used sand to level everything. We're going on year one and it's holding up pretty good through the winter, but I guess only time will tell. I am actually building a new patio soon, and I will definitely go with this design.
Never done anything like this. But the labor costs are too much. I'm removing the deck for this type of patio. Hopefully, one month will be enough to get it done. 😅 I just have to remember to call before I dig. Thanks for putting this info out. It's getting to the point where we gotta learn this type of stuff because it's too expensive to hire out for. 😊
I am now in a similar situation. I have a ground level wood deck that is practically rotted away because I've been procrastinating on replacing it for so long. I've watched this video and several others and have pretty much figured out that I can do a patio by myself to save money. But then my wife steps in and says why don't we just replace the deck with a trex deck? She likes being a few inches off of the ground I guess. I had already considered that but it seems that the materials for a composite deck would be far more expensive than just buying the stone and gravel, and the carpentry and Design skills are sort of beyond my abilities and my tool set. I'm wondering if you considered the same thing.
Thank you so much for this video! It’s the most in depth and informative one I’ve found. I think taking the extra time to cut the stones was so worth it because your pattern is perfect! Thank you!
Thanks Dan. Best video I gave seen on this subject. I appreciate your candor on the parts of the job that are hard such as fitting and cutting and giving ideas for shortcuts.
Very helpful video as I start a project. Question - does the DG in between stones stay put? I will be building one that I want to be able to blow off with a leaf blower on occasion, and wasn't sure how well the DG would hold.
2020. Yes brother this is labour intensive. I'm creating a patio using man made slabs. Unfortunately I have to break them up and the bits are smaller than I'd like. I have my case of Corona chilling in the fridge so I'll be just fine! 😂 Thank you for this video! 🇯🇲🇬🇧🙏🏽❤️
First of all, this is a fantastic video. It is truly a step by step instruction for beginners to follow. What would you recommend on how to install a drainage line for rain water to flow out? I was considering installing a 2 inch PVC drainage pipe. But i can't think of a way to install it flushed to the surface of the flagstones for better esthetic..
I have a very small yard. I'm thinking of removing my lawn and adding some flagstone. Hauling dirt away could get expensive. I think I could do this. Your Video helped me understand it more. Thanks
Will the size of the flag stone make a difference if you’re in an Area that gets a lot of snow and ice will that affect the rock should you choose one that is thicker because of this?
Dan, question regarding gravel-to-DG ratio. First, very informative video. Just started my first flagstone project and am using your guidelines. I've removed the needed dirt and am about to lay the gravel base. However, I have a large amount of DG (with screenings) left over from another construction project. I believe it to be close to twice what I need based on your video. So my question is, since the DG already paid for. Can I use a thinner gravel layer and a thicker DG layer? Or one step further, could I use ONLY DG if I have at least 3-4" thickness? TIA.
Absolutely beautiful. I was looking at the portfolios of local landscapers (Co Springs,) and their patios all have a few spots where you think 🤔 . You patio looks amazing and you put a lot of time and effort into it and it shows. I don’t think I could realistically pay a company to do this kind of work but thank you for the explanation.
Not shown in video - the tedious and heavy lifting process of lifting larger pieces out for leveling. Large pieces that have jagged bottoms and take multiple attempts even by professionals to get correctly set. If it's a larger patio area, it's worth paying professionals to do (and definitely make sure they have experience because flagstone can be incredibly tedious.
Great video. We r looking to install flagstone patio this summer. I did already done digging the ground . Will let u kno how it went. Thanks. Btw love your retaining wall video too
Could you please elablrate more on the "adding an irrigation" part of your process? Is it necasary? Do i run it it from high point to low point? Donibattach it to anything? What purpose does it serve? Thank you
Do im will b doing a flagstone padio and want to know if i can use morter between my flagstones using the process you explained. Or do i need to base differently for morter joints in the end???
Would it make an even greater and better foundation if you molded a thin layer of concrete that makes a nice and flat surface under the fine ground gravel? say 1-2" instead of the 4" of packed gravel layer?
If you’re going to poor concrete then you might as well set the flagstone in it while it’s wet. That is a method used by some pros and certainly has advantages. It’s just much more challenging to install.
Need advice! I have this awful santa fe decorative gravel up to my porch. Im trying to do a flagstone pathway. Can you give me advice. Should i try to dig up and move the gravel before i start or can it be my gravel 2 base and build from there. Trying to save time and still do it right. Thanks.
Thanks for a solid video on doing flagstone patio. Would there be any benefit to using polymeric sand over the DG to fill gaps and to help lock stone into place?
Best how to flagstone video I have found! Thank you and great job!!! The combo of eraser board detail and actual real work timeline was exactly what I needed!
Thank you for this video - I am about to lay a flagstone walkway bound on one side with a short brick wall and the other side to the lawn area. Should/could I use low pro edging to lock in the flagstones on the lawn side? Also, could I mix in a little cement in the DG When I fill the gaps between the stones? Lastly, when I dig down and lay the conduit for both the irrigation and future electrical, how far down should I dig? Thank you.
You can use edging, but I prefer to instead just place the larger stones on the outside so they are less likely to move. Movement isn't a big deal since there are already gaps between the stones. I wouldn't mix cement with the DG, but you could try some polymeric sand. It will crack over time, but will stay in place better than loose DG. I'm not sure on the codes for conduit.
I had a general sense of how I wanted to design a small patio area (need space for a new fire pit), but this really laid out the specifics very well. Thanks for posting this; it's hugely helpful. Granted, a little more work than I expected, but I really like how you went through it step by step from start to finish. Well done, Dan.
First step: Buy Bitcoin at $5600... check Step 2: Sell at $63,000... check! My wife and I are finally building our dream space and your videos are the best I've seen!
I really appreciate your video, it has helped tremendously. Those other videos I explored ....well some were fine but if not industrial they were commercial or just not as thorough enough...as yours. This is my first...EVER...planning a flagstone patio and your instructions helped me first class!.
I wish I watched this video first! After struggling with the first few stones I now have a much clearer idea of what it takes to prep and place the stones. I agree with Glassman a step by step that makes sense!
Fred Norris 😞
No this is all wrong, don't listen to this guy, trust much better options out there ok, don't stop your education here!
@@robertocampoy1606 Why is this a bad guide? Who are better options? What makes a better option? How do you determine a reliable expert & info?
@@artsaffron there is no need to cut stones
@@jaredbozich9760 what would you do instead of cutting? I’m guessing use a Mason’s chisel?
Two years ago I got an estimate for a patio at my home and realized I couldn't afford it. This is the only video I watched before doing it myself. I was 46 year old female with limited budget and my only help would be my 17 year old son. We watched this video and followed his advice to a tee. Today that patio is still flat as a board and used every day, it's beautiful and people often ask who did it for us. :)
Good work Diane! That’s awesome to hear.
You go Diane! I am 43 and I am building a flagstone patio as well. I am lucky to have my husband's help. Before we start I forced him to watch this video, the how to cut flagstone video, and the retaining wall build video (we did that as well). We are three weekends into the build and looking forward to completing the project before Christmas!!
@xiaoqiaoxie how did the build go?
What was your estimate?
@@KosmicKaren $4200
Stan- you're a breath of fresh air as a speaker, easy to understand, NOT saying um every sentence. Great useful content, thank you!
I appreciate that! The names Dan though.
This is the best DIY flagstone patio video on the internet. I built a 12x14 flagstone patio in only 3 days all because of this awesome step by step guide. First two days was spent digging/leveling on my own and on the last day had one person help me out with moving the flagstones. We got 2 tons of large 2" - 2.5" thick pieces which covered our 168 sqft area (with only 3 pieces to spare). Using the largest pieces around the outside first and working your way in with the smaller pieces was a huge piece of advice taken from this video. I also chose to do a square patio to limit the amount of cuts we had to make, and my cheap Ryobi angle grinder (with diamond blade) was enough to score the flagstones. We then put the scored flagstone on a 4x4 and used a sledge hammer to break it at the score line - not perfect but works 95% of the time. Taking your time with leveling the road base (type 2 gravel) and sand as best as possible definitely made it a lot easier in the end when you're laying the flagstones. It got most of our pieces pretty level without having the need to add/remove sand as much. Lastly, we used an additional layer (100lbs) of poly sand and worked it in between the stones to help seal the stones together (similar to how he was doing it @14:04) and it produced a super nice gray finish in between the cracks. Thank you Handyman Startup for saving me thousands of dollars on labor alone and for giving me the confidence to do it!
You're welcome. Glad to hear the project went well.
Professional here. Biggest tip I can give for leveling a flagstone patio is string, set two corners stone of your patio at the exact grade you want them to be. Lay the string across and you’ll be able to have a guide for the rest of your patio. Closer your cuts ( within reason and for enough room for poly sand) and the more level, the more professional it will look.
We're trying to figure out what type of patio to use coming off our new wooden landing. This gave me a much better appreciation of what it takes for me, or anybody I hire, to do the right type of work for a quality result. Great video, and I echo another reviewer's comments about the excellence of the audio. Thanks.
Not a novice DIY guy but, no experience with Flagstone patios. Outstanding instructions with excellent comments from other viewers. Thanks!
This is the best tutorial explained for The Diy'er first timer or those who need the real answers period of materials measures amounts in installing flagstone & hands down shares skills techniques tools for the materials un selfishly you will appreciate the length as well.
This guy covers it.
The wall in this video
Same thing has a video on it.
This is how you can spend / $ave money on your home & enjoy the parties to come
You can do this.
It does take time so dont rush it and dont skimp on materials ever & the labor of love will be more than bragging rights family n friends will be amazed at your skills.
Its an Art....
Great video. The only thing I would recommend is sweeping in a polymeric sand in between the joints. Alliance Gator makes a polymeric stone dust that is specifically made for flagging just like this. Tighter bond in between joints, won't wash away, will prevent weed growth and deter ant hills.
SporadicCadence thank you
Yea, but if the gaps are bigger, it sucks
@@ericsweeney4544 that’s why I recommended the polymeric stone dust, and not polymeric sand. The polymeric stone dust has larger granules and more polymers to fill in those larger gaps.
Thanks man - super helpful video for noobs like me! 👍 I especially appreciate the discussion of the pros and cons of large vs small flagstones, and large vs. small spaces. Exactly the things I was wondering about. Thanks again!
This is so helpful. I have several family members that have mobility impairments. I think the close together stones are better for people that use wheelchairs.
Extremely useful video! I used this as a baseline to build a flagstone patio of my own. I used irregular flagstone by the pallet, so it required a hand held concrete saw to cut/fit each piece (he's not lying when he says it takes a long time). Also went with mortar sand over DG (preference) and Gator Maxx polymeric sand to fill the joints. Took a while but I wouldn't have had the confidence to do it if not for this video. Thanks Dan!
I’ve watched many videos on flagstone installation and this is the best most complete instructional one out there. Nice job dude. I would suggest using a polymeric sand to fill in the gaps. Super easy to use and locks it in well. They usually offer a sand color or a grey color to suit your need. Thanks again for the vid.
How do you lock the polymeric sand in along the edges of the patio?
very complete video. Simple, Short, direct and most of all CLEAR. I'm in New England so a little deeper prep is necessary. We are doing a 650 +sq. ft. patio and the scope is a little daunting. 36K lbs of dense grade for the sub base, over 27K lbs (10 yards ) of stone dust (thus far) but it is proving to be a
great bonding experience for our family. THANKS!
I would say one thing about polymeric sand - for large projects it can be very expensive. No doubt a great product but expensive.
can't wait to watch. your other videos.
Wow that is a big project! Glad to hear it is going well. Thanks for stopping by to leave a comment, too.
You are one smart, skilled, & very talented fellow!! Your project came out fantastic & your step by step directions were awesome. This video will help many DIY'ers. I've always done our flag areas in a more free form way with landscape fabric over leveled dirt, then brieze for the mortar. The one flagged area in the backyard has held up fairly well. But the one in our front yard got so weedy, that the weeds could only be removed by taking the flagstone out. Now we have several pallets of that flagstone & are thinking about how & where to use it. We need a diagonal path through the lawn from the patio out to our shed in a far corner of the backyard. We are hesitating though - since were older now & that project is labor intensive. Plus - were pretty sure we would have to revise the sprinkler system a lot, so the path wouldn't be saturated with sprinkler water from May through Oct. It sure would be beautiful though & so great to have when going out to the shed.
Built a 12*16 patio myself with your help. Thanks. Basically checked FB market place and Craigslist for flagstone until I found someone selling a 2.5k pallet for 500$ and then got some the rest from a mason yard and home depot cost about 1.2k after everything but beats out the 6 k quote I got.
This was a great tutorial! We used this last weekend for a DIY project. Thank you for a quality video and explanation... as someone with NO experience doing this, I felt like this gave us exactly what we needed to do this (and actually make it look good!)
Glad to hear it!
Three days cutting?! a wow…you are a perfectionist indeed
40-50 secs in I knew this video would be a gem!
Thanks!
Great video. I always hate video with a lot of fluff and information that is not needed. This video was great information and right to the point. Thanks for the help.
You're welcome!
As somebody who has built a business in the hardscape industry, your video is spot on. Awesome work, man.
I have a landscape business and am interested in doing flagstone...how would I go about offering this service if I have no experience ?
In the Northwest, we don't have DG. Instead, we use 1/4 minus with fines and dust. It fills in spaces of the 3/4 minus gravel base and it compacts very well. Spaces between flagstones are filled with polymeric stone dust aka polymeric sand.
I searched for months for a video to help me with my flagstone project. This is the first one to take me step by step through the entire process from concept to fruition. Excellent work and thank you so so so much!
Can you tell me what kind of flagstones you used? What should I be googling? Thanks!
My husband and I are planning to follow your video completely to create our stone patio. Thx!
I do this for a living and love this video. Best video i have watched.
Love it Professor great job!
haha, thanks!
I admire your hard work and patience
Dan, outstanding project video. I am considering a similar patio/fire pit of goshen stone, here at our home in western Massachusetts. I was a bit surprised that you oriented the “low point” towards the house/deck. Maybe because it appears (by that beautiful long shot at the video’s end, “toward the hills” that you live in an arid part of the country. I would caution others - particularly where rain and snow are significant - who are considering a similar project to set the drainage-low point away from your home. At 65, but still active, I hope my knees and back are up to this. Again, Dan, Bravo-Zulu, well done on producing a great educational DIY video!
It's actually graded to drain through my yard and around the side. You aren't supposed to drain off the back of your house in most cases.
Great video, thank-you! Very clear and easy to follow. Really liked the diagram and discussion at the beginning. Also liked the way you showed how to setup the stakes and strings for setting the height and slope of the flagstone
This is the best instructional video I've seen for this project! Thank you so much!
Glad it was helpful!
This is a wonderful video! Your initial explanation with the white board was was really helpful in planning for the patio. Thanks you for taking the time to explain the planning process.
Glad it was helpful!
This is exactly what i wanted to understand. IT was clear and concise and exactly what i was seeking. I am going to give it a try.
Excellent job at explaining the natural stone patio building process! Thank you!
Glad you liked it!
This was such a great detailed explanation! Thank you!
You are so welcome!
What to say thank you for doing it write look really good .I been doing flagstone for 25 years so I think I know when something is good nice
Yes, as others noted, you made an excellent instructional video. My one question is that I live in Maine, so winters and potential frost heaves. You appear to live in a hot climate. I'm wondering how that might change my ground preparation to avoid cold climate issues. I'll do more research, but thank you for what you provided here.
That's an excellent question that I'm not certain about. I believe the frost line is like 24" deep there or something crazy. Doing a base that deep seems crazy to me.
@@StayHandy Thanks, I asked the pros at my local stone shop, they said a 9-12” base is the standard here.
I’ve watched a lot of flagstone patio videos on TH-cam and yours looks the best
Great video! When it comes to a couple years down the line, how to you manage the holes and stones that may become un-level that inevitably come about?
Thanks for this great effort! I was going to wing it, but after watching this clear and detailed video, I can see some steps that I need to improve/add to make my mental plan even better! Gophers mess up everything around here. It is amazing what they will come up through! They've buckled a neighbor's paver driveway in a few places. I think I'll add a gopher layer barrier underneath your design. I have a pile of leftover flagstone pieces from another patio that a contractor put in. This is a small ~8' x 10' patio in a garden. Do you/anyone have any comments/tips if I am going to be using pieces that are nominally 12-18" across in size? Really appreciate you posting this!👍
I am so impressed by your talent and knowledge of these particular projects being as young as you are. You should be very proud of yourself:)
Thanks! although I'm probably older than you think I am.
2023 here… bought a house and the prev owner had decided to put in his flagstone wirh grout. It was 3yrs old and it was cracking and buckling and I had to have landscapers come in and redo it just like the video
This was super helpful! Thanks. I built a patio last year with my boyfriend and we went with the grass in the gaps route. It turned out really nice, however, we didn't put down that gravel in the beginning and we used sand to level everything. We're going on year one and it's holding up pretty good through the winter, but I guess only time will tell. I am actually building a new patio soon, and I will definitely go with this design.
Why not post a picture if possible?
@ipopa2000 how would they do that it's yt not insta
thanks for the intro breakdown, that was really helpful. nice, clear, concise tutorial
Do I need to actually put in poly joint compound or some other kind of mortar?
Great job man. That is a lot of work you did and it will last decades.
Never done anything like this. But the labor costs are too much. I'm removing the deck for this type of patio. Hopefully, one month will be enough to get it done. 😅 I just have to remember to call before I dig. Thanks for putting this info out. It's getting to the point where we gotta learn this type of stuff because it's too expensive to hire out for. 😊
I am now in a similar situation. I have a ground level wood deck that is practically rotted away because I've been procrastinating on replacing it for so long. I've watched this video and several others and have pretty much figured out that I can do a patio by myself to save money. But then my wife steps in and says why don't we just replace the deck with a trex deck? She likes being a few inches off of the ground I guess. I had already considered that but it seems that the materials for a composite deck would be far more expensive than just buying the stone and gravel, and the carpentry and Design skills are sort of beyond my abilities and my tool set. I'm wondering if you considered the same thing.
Love your vid. Perfect explanation. But I think you missed one thing. I believe you should always lay a weed barrier first. Then the #2 gravel.
Thank you so much for this video! It’s the most in depth and informative one I’ve found. I think taking the extra time to cut the stones was so worth it because your pattern is perfect! Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
This is awesome. Now we know what to be sure of when we hire a contractor.
That retaining wall is gorgeous!
Thanks Dan. Best video I gave seen on this subject. I appreciate your candor on the parts of the job that are hard such as fitting and cutting and giving ideas for shortcuts.
I’ve never seen a retainer wall up against a privacy fence. Pretty cool
Best tutorial I’ve seen on this! Thanks
You’re welcome!
Is there anything else that can be put down over the leveled decomposed granite (prior to putting stones) that helps prevent weeds from growing?
Very helpful video as I start a project. Question - does the DG in between stones stay put? I will be building one that I want to be able to blow off with a leaf blower on occasion, and wasn't sure how well the DG would hold.
Amazing work and good teaching can help me to my project God richly bless
2020. Yes brother this is labour intensive. I'm creating a patio using man made slabs. Unfortunately I have to break them up and the bits are smaller than I'd like. I have my case of Corona chilling in the fridge so I'll be just fine! 😂 Thank you for this video! 🇯🇲🇬🇧🙏🏽❤️
First of all, this is a fantastic video. It is truly a step by step instruction for beginners to follow. What would you recommend on how to install a drainage line for rain water to flow out? I was considering installing a 2 inch PVC drainage pipe. But i can't think of a way to install it flushed to the surface of the flagstones for better esthetic..
This turned out so pretty!!
I have a very small yard. I'm thinking of removing my lawn and adding some flagstone. Hauling dirt away could get expensive. I think I could do this. Your Video helped me understand it more. Thanks
Will the size of the flag stone make a difference if you’re in an Area that gets a lot of snow and ice will that affect the rock should you choose one that is thicker because of this?
14:35... Nice job! everything about the landscape is very nice.
Your video inspires me to take on a 6 x 8 ft flagstone project! Thanks!
Dan, question regarding gravel-to-DG ratio. First, very informative video. Just started my first flagstone project and am using your guidelines. I've removed the needed dirt and am about to lay the gravel base. However, I have a large amount of DG (with screenings) left over from another construction project. I believe it to be close to twice what I need based on your video. So my question is, since the DG already paid for. Can I use a thinner gravel layer and a thicker DG layer? Or one step further, could I use ONLY DG if I have at least 3-4" thickness? TIA.
Great video! We needed this to feel confident in our own abilities.
Thanks!
that’s the processes we did except we used poly metric sand for the grout joints
Absolutely beautiful. I was looking at the portfolios of local landscapers (Co Springs,) and their patios all have a few spots where you think 🤔 . You patio looks amazing and you put a lot of time and effort into it and it shows. I don’t think I could realistically pay a company to do this kind of work but thank you for the explanation.
Not shown in video - the tedious and heavy lifting process of lifting larger pieces out for leveling. Large pieces that have jagged bottoms and take multiple attempts even by professionals to get correctly set. If it's a larger patio area, it's worth paying professionals to do (and definitely make sure they have experience because flagstone can be incredibly tedious.
Excellent presentation in every way
Great video. We r looking to install flagstone patio this summer. I did already done digging the ground . Will let u kno how it went. Thanks. Btw love your retaining wall video too
Could you please elablrate more on the "adding an irrigation" part of your process? Is it necasary? Do i run it it from high point to low point? Donibattach it to anything? What purpose does it serve? Thank you
I'm gonna try this myself and have never done anything like it - thanks so much this is so helpful
Do im will b doing a flagstone padio and want to know if i can use morter between my flagstones using the process you explained. Or do i need to base differently for morter joints in the end???
Gorgeous patio and great explanation! I am inspired!
Great job! Instead of using the gravel for the base, can you use Brock Paver Base instead?
I don’t know what that is, but it sounds like the right stuff based on the name.
I want to do a fire pit and the walk way to it with flagstones. How would you delimited the sides of the walk way.?
Very nice video!! You did a great job with the patio and the video!
Would it make an even greater and better foundation if you molded a thin layer of concrete that makes a nice and flat surface under the fine ground gravel? say 1-2" instead of the 4" of packed gravel layer?
If you’re going to poor concrete then you might as well set the flagstone in it while it’s wet. That is a method used by some pros and certainly has advantages. It’s just much more challenging to install.
Can I do the same steps if I’m just using flagstone as stepping stones (so not connected in a puzzle shape)
Thats beautiful work bro
Thank you! Cheers!
Thanks for sharing, I’m about to tackle a walkway with this same concept. I am pumped, confident and ready to go.
Excellent video sir...! Short and to the point.
Thank you very much.
Looks really amazing! Thanks for showing me a glimpse of how much work this was. I don't think I will be using natural flagstones
This is an excellent information, please let us know, how you secure the borders which does not have retaining wall .
I place the large stones around the outer edge because they won’t move like small stones would.
I have a question, even though the string may be level couldnt the dirt still be not level since the string is suspended above the dirt?
Need advice! I have this awful santa fe decorative gravel up to my porch. Im trying to do a flagstone pathway. Can you give me advice. Should i try to dig up and move the gravel before i start or can it be my gravel 2 base and build from there. Trying to save time and still do it right. Thanks.
Hi brother.. can I use flagstones for a road in my farm.. and I used to drive a truck over it.. is that good
FYI while making the seams tighter takes a lot more time, it’s really worth it because you can really feel it when you walk on it. Cheers.
Excellent video I definitely know what to do after watching this!!! Super Thank you
You’re welcome and thanks for commenting!
Great video very informative I learned a few things I didn't know I needed to know
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for a solid video on doing flagstone patio. Would there be any benefit to using polymeric sand over the DG to fill gaps and to help lock stone into place?
Do I have to dig if there is no existing grass on my yard ? Could I just the base gravel on top of the dirt ?
Best how to flagstone video I have found! Thank you and great job!!!
The combo of eraser board detail and actual real work timeline was exactly what I needed!
Watching the VIDEO knoticed around 7:36 in about irrigation. That needs to go in before base right !
Thank you for this video - I am about to lay a flagstone walkway bound on one side with a short brick wall and the other side to the lawn area. Should/could I use low pro edging to lock in the flagstones on the lawn side? Also, could I mix in a little cement in the DG When I fill the gaps between the stones? Lastly, when I dig down and lay the conduit for both the irrigation and future electrical, how far down should I dig? Thank you.
You can use edging, but I prefer to instead just place the larger stones on the outside so they are less likely to move. Movement isn't a big deal since there are already gaps between the stones. I wouldn't mix cement with the DG, but you could try some polymeric sand. It will crack over time, but will stay in place better than loose DG. I'm not sure on the codes for conduit.
@@StayHandy Thank you. Your video and advice are excellent!
I had a general sense of how I wanted to design a small patio area (need space for a new fire pit), but this really laid out the specifics very well. Thanks for posting this; it's hugely helpful. Granted, a little more work than I expected, but I really like how you went through it step by step from start to finish. Well done, Dan.
What about some kind of liner under it for weed control?
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My wife and I are finally building our dream space and your videos are the best I've seen!
This guy is the greatest.
Could you use retaing wall block as patio blocks instead of flagstone?
I really appreciate your video, it has helped tremendously. Those other videos I explored ....well some were fine but if not industrial they were commercial or just not as thorough enough...as yours. This is my first...EVER...planning a flagstone patio and your instructions helped me first class!.