How to Use Stepping Stones for a Floor Patio
- 1). Use spray paint to draw your patio on the grass or ground. Because the stones are usually round or irregular in shape, they are easy to use in free-form patios. Use the paint to outline the size and shape of the patio plus a couple of inches on all sides so that there is room to insert landscape edging, which keeps the stones from shifting over time.
- 2). Dig out the painted space with a shovel. Measure the thickness of the stepping stones, and subtract 1/2 inch. Add to this measurement 6 inches for gravel and sand. This is how deep you need to dig, starting at the edge of the house. As you work away from the house, you need to create a slope to help drain water away from the structure. Use a slope of 1/4 inch for every 4 feet. A 4-foot level helps gauge the slope as you go. Place the level on a flat surface, and then raise it up 1/4 inch. Mark on the bubble to indicate that this is where it should be for a 1/4-inch slope. Place the level on the ground as you dig to check the slope.
- 3). Cover the space with a polyurethane plastic sheet as a vapor barrier, and then fill in with 4 inches of gravel. Use a compactor to tamp it down and a level to check the slope as you go. The compactor has a wide flat surface that raises and lowers with force to pack down the soil. When you turn it on, you walk behind it similar to a lawn mower and slowly move it across the surface in rows. You can rent a compactor at an equipment rental store.
- 4). Fill the patio space with 2 inches of sand as the stone base. Check with a level to maintain the 1/4 inch slope, and compact it the same as you did the gravel.
- 5). Place the stepping stones on the sand. Fit them about 1/4 inch apart, trying to line up stones so that edges fit like a large puzzle. Don't press the stones in. If one is a little thicker or thinner than others, dig out or add sand to compensate. If stones are different diameters, mix them up so that you don't have all small stones in one area and large ones in another.
- 6). Dig out a trench 2 inches wide in the sand all around the patio stones. Insert a landscape edging in the trench. Use the stakes that come with it to anchor it to the ground. Place the stake tips into the anchor holes, and tap them into the ground at a slight angle with a hammer.
- 7). Pour sand on top of the stepping stones, and use a broom to sweep it into the gaps between the stones. Water it down afterward to settle the sand.
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