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littlebitca Aug. 24th, 2003 05:02 pm)
littlebitca Aug. 24th, 2003 05:02 pm)I saw this helpful little do-it-yourself home improvement tidbit on the AOL website and couldn't resist putting it to the test…
Create this path in just one day
[nice picture of flagstone pathway]
Step-by-step instructions for a beautiful flagstone walkway
Paths beckon. They invite you into a garden or through it. They give structure to the garden and direction to its visitors. And when tufts of moss or creeping thyme grow between their pavers, paths urge you to slow down for a look underfoot. Irregular slabs of stone artfully placed in a landscape or entry have an appealing, casual look that never goes out of style. Here's how to do it.
Feel inspired by this and decide you'd like a flagstone path. Go to local stone retailer and obtain flagstone for 3 foot wide 18 foot long meandering flagstone path. Arrange delivery for next weekend. Come home from work next day to find large pile of flagstone bundled and drop-shipped on your front lawn.
Step 1: Prepare the site
Stones and gravel can be set directly on stable soil. Dig out the soil to a depth of about 4 inches, and tamp it firm.
Get shovel from shed/garage. Start digging. Wonder what you're supposed to do with the sod you lift and the soil you remove since you aren't allowed to dispose of yard waste in the trash. Recall that you have to request a yard waste pickup. Stop digging and go inside to make a note to call for this. Continue digging then check depth. Find out 4 inches is a lot less than you thought. Put soil back in. Tamp down by jumping up and down on it.
Install benderboard edging, then put down landscape fabric (available at nurseries) to prevent weeds.
Benderboard? What? Make trip to Home&Garden Center to get 18 feet of benderboard and landscape fabric. While there pick up yard waste bags. Feel pleased with self for saving extra trip. Get back home and realize you need benderboard for both sides of the walk. Make 2nd trip to Home&Garden Center and get benderboard for the other side.
Keep the fabric down by stuffing its edges under the benderboards. You can create grade changes with steps or by simply sloping the path.
Recognize you can't stuff 18 inches of fabric under each bender board. Go inside and get scissors. Painstakingly trim 15 inches off one side and as you start on the other, realize that you could have trimmed 30 inches off the one side and you'd be through now. Grumble to self as you finish trimming. Jam fabric under benderboards. Wonder briefly if the path is supposed to be level. Look at it with discerning eye. Decide it looks good to you.
Step 2: Lay a bed of sand
Pour a 2-inch-thick layer of sand over the landscape fabric, raking it smooth.
Try to estimate how much sand you need…18 foot path, 36 inches wide, 2 inches deep… ignore S.O. who says you need sand to fill 9 cubic feet… decide the guys at the Home&Garden Center do this all the time and make 3rd trip to get sand. Guy at Home&Garden Center and you look intelligently at each other while he calculates that you need 9 cubic feet. Make mental note not to tell S.O. Load trunk of car with several hundred pounds of sand in bags. Return and unload them and carry 40 lb. bags one at a time to back yard. Begin spreading. S.O. remarks that you live in a rainy area.
In rainy areas, the sand can wash out from under pavers, making them settle unevenly. To prevent washout, layer the sand over a 2-inch gravel base.
Discover how difficult it is to get sand back into open bags, Make 4th trip to Home&Garden Center to get gravel. Load several hundreds of pounds of gravel into your car trunk. Unload and carry one by one to the back yard. Consider getting one of those dollies or yard carts. Spread gravel and then sand. Find that you don't need all the bags of sand now that there's gravel added. Make mental note to look for sandbox plans for brother's kids. Feel virtuous about your generosity.
Step 3: Water as you go
Taking care not to damage the landscaping fabric, spread the sand with a square shovel and a rake until it is slightly higher than it needs to be.
Look at pointy end on digging shovel. Make 5th trip to Home&Garden Center to get square shovel. Find out "square shovel" is called a spade. Consider how you'll sound smarter than your S.O. (You know. The one drinking the cold lemonade on the screened porch and watching you work.) Continue spreading sand and gravel and find out that a leaf rake just doesn't do anything useful here. Make 6th trip to Home&Garden Center to buy straight rake. Spread and rake, just like the instructions say.
The sand should be a little damp. If at any point it dries out, moisten it with a fine spray from the hose.
Sand dries out quickly, as it’s the middle of August and the path is in the center of the yard, not in the shade. Dampen frequently. Take surreptitious drinks from hose. You don't need no stinkin' lemonade.
Step 4: Firm the sand
Using a drum roller or a hand tamper, pass over the moist sand several times to pack it down. If you don't have a tamper, place a board on the sand and tamp it with your feet.
Use a what? Remember the rusty old iron thing in your grandfather's garage and make face. Check own garage for board. Realize that this being your very first simple one-day do-it-yourself home improvement you have nothing like spare boards lying around. Make 7th trip Home&Garden Center to get a tamper. Stop at fast food place and grab a bite to eat in the car.
Gently rake the top 1/2 inch of sand to create some wiggle room for your stones.
Recalling how much off you were in estimating 4 inches, get tape measure an check for ½ inch. Whoa. Not much. Rake real gently.
Step 5: Add your stones
Set your stones in the path and experiment with arrangements until you achieve joints that are more or less consistent. When you're happy with the look, wiggle in the stones one at a time until each is firmly embedded.
Now it's time to get those flagstones that have been sitting bundled in the front yard for the last 4 days. Try to pull tie off bundle. Go inside and get scissors to cut it. Rummage around for scissors. Where are the ^%#&* scissors?! S.O. reminds you that you left them in the back after trimming the landscape fabric. Go get scissors from back yard and unwrap flagstone. Put scissors back where they belong with virtuous look. Ignore snickering from S.O. Pick up flagstone. Oof. Put flagstone down. Glare at flagstone. Flagstone lies there placidly. Make 8th trip to Home&Garden Center and pick up cheap dolly. Bring home and load flagstone onto it. Start rolling to back yard as dolly tilts and flagstone falls off, because cheap dolly wasn't meant for use 'offroad'. Make 9th trip to Home&Garden Center and purchase expensive dolly with air tires. Justify need with all the other projects it will be used for. Return home and load dolly; cart flagstone to back yard. Repeat 40 times. Realize that you need to be able to see flagstones in order to make an aesthetically pleasing arrangement. Spend time laying them all out near the path. Place first flagstone. Admire for a few moments. Get second flagstone. Too big. Try third one. Too small. Keep trying flagstones until you find one that works just right. Repeat until all the flagstones are used, or the path is filled up, whichever comes first.
Use a carpenter's level placed on a long board to check that the path is level. Add or remove sand as needed to adjust the height of stones.
Knew that whole 'level' thing was going to come back to bite. Not to mention the lack of a board. Search for level. Find very small one that S.O. uses for hanging pictures. Make 10th trip to Home&Garden Center and purchase a Carpenter's Level and a board. One board, whatever kind. A board you can set the level on. Check to see if the path is level. Of course not, but that's its charm. No need for fancy 'steps' or slopes here. S.O. says to see if it's level from side to side. Check and note that it dips in the middle. S.O. say rain will puddle in the middle of the walk. Complain about the **&^$@^& instructions from AOL and start raising the middle of the path. Slowly. Painstakingly. All 18 feet of it.
Step 6: The finishing touch
Fill cracks between stones with gravel, or — to hold flagstones more firmly — use something smaller such as decomposed granite.
Make 11th trip to Home&Garden Center to get decomposed granite, reasoning that after all this work these flagstones are gonna be held firmly. No wandering for them. Try to guesstimate how much you'll need and then get more because you are not coming back one more time. Return home a neatly fill the cracks between the flagstones. Ponder briefly how moss or thyme is going to grow there. Decide that's the S.O.'s problem. Put away new tools and tidy up by stacking extra sand and flagstones and decomposed granite neatly at end of path.
Your classic flagstone path is ready to enjoy.
Take shower and go out on screened porch to enjoy looking at the path. Sit very carefully because every muscle you own is screaming at you. Wish you had a hot tub to soak in. Tell S.O. you're going to the pharmacy to get something to put on your sore knee. Get muscle creams and painkillers. Make 12th stop at the Home&Garden Center and pick up do-it-yourself book on installing hot tubs. Ignore S.O.
____________________________________
Oh! And today's quiz:
Pirate Name
Dread Pirate Bonney
Like the famous Dread Pirate Roberts, you have a keen head for how to make a profit. You can be a little bit unpredictable, but a pirate's life is far from full of certainties, so that fits in pretty well. Arr!
Create this path in just one day
[nice picture of flagstone pathway]
Step-by-step instructions for a beautiful flagstone walkway
Paths beckon. They invite you into a garden or through it. They give structure to the garden and direction to its visitors. And when tufts of moss or creeping thyme grow between their pavers, paths urge you to slow down for a look underfoot. Irregular slabs of stone artfully placed in a landscape or entry have an appealing, casual look that never goes out of style. Here's how to do it.
Feel inspired by this and decide you'd like a flagstone path. Go to local stone retailer and obtain flagstone for 3 foot wide 18 foot long meandering flagstone path. Arrange delivery for next weekend. Come home from work next day to find large pile of flagstone bundled and drop-shipped on your front lawn.
Step 1: Prepare the site
Stones and gravel can be set directly on stable soil. Dig out the soil to a depth of about 4 inches, and tamp it firm.
Get shovel from shed/garage. Start digging. Wonder what you're supposed to do with the sod you lift and the soil you remove since you aren't allowed to dispose of yard waste in the trash. Recall that you have to request a yard waste pickup. Stop digging and go inside to make a note to call for this. Continue digging then check depth. Find out 4 inches is a lot less than you thought. Put soil back in. Tamp down by jumping up and down on it.
Install benderboard edging, then put down landscape fabric (available at nurseries) to prevent weeds.
Benderboard? What? Make trip to Home&Garden Center to get 18 feet of benderboard and landscape fabric. While there pick up yard waste bags. Feel pleased with self for saving extra trip. Get back home and realize you need benderboard for both sides of the walk. Make 2nd trip to Home&Garden Center and get benderboard for the other side.
Keep the fabric down by stuffing its edges under the benderboards. You can create grade changes with steps or by simply sloping the path.
Recognize you can't stuff 18 inches of fabric under each bender board. Go inside and get scissors. Painstakingly trim 15 inches off one side and as you start on the other, realize that you could have trimmed 30 inches off the one side and you'd be through now. Grumble to self as you finish trimming. Jam fabric under benderboards. Wonder briefly if the path is supposed to be level. Look at it with discerning eye. Decide it looks good to you.
Step 2: Lay a bed of sand
Pour a 2-inch-thick layer of sand over the landscape fabric, raking it smooth.
Try to estimate how much sand you need…18 foot path, 36 inches wide, 2 inches deep… ignore S.O. who says you need sand to fill 9 cubic feet… decide the guys at the Home&Garden Center do this all the time and make 3rd trip to get sand. Guy at Home&Garden Center and you look intelligently at each other while he calculates that you need 9 cubic feet. Make mental note not to tell S.O. Load trunk of car with several hundred pounds of sand in bags. Return and unload them and carry 40 lb. bags one at a time to back yard. Begin spreading. S.O. remarks that you live in a rainy area.
In rainy areas, the sand can wash out from under pavers, making them settle unevenly. To prevent washout, layer the sand over a 2-inch gravel base.
Discover how difficult it is to get sand back into open bags, Make 4th trip to Home&Garden Center to get gravel. Load several hundreds of pounds of gravel into your car trunk. Unload and carry one by one to the back yard. Consider getting one of those dollies or yard carts. Spread gravel and then sand. Find that you don't need all the bags of sand now that there's gravel added. Make mental note to look for sandbox plans for brother's kids. Feel virtuous about your generosity.
Step 3: Water as you go
Taking care not to damage the landscaping fabric, spread the sand with a square shovel and a rake until it is slightly higher than it needs to be.
Look at pointy end on digging shovel. Make 5th trip to Home&Garden Center to get square shovel. Find out "square shovel" is called a spade. Consider how you'll sound smarter than your S.O. (You know. The one drinking the cold lemonade on the screened porch and watching you work.) Continue spreading sand and gravel and find out that a leaf rake just doesn't do anything useful here. Make 6th trip to Home&Garden Center to buy straight rake. Spread and rake, just like the instructions say.
The sand should be a little damp. If at any point it dries out, moisten it with a fine spray from the hose.
Sand dries out quickly, as it’s the middle of August and the path is in the center of the yard, not in the shade. Dampen frequently. Take surreptitious drinks from hose. You don't need no stinkin' lemonade.
Step 4: Firm the sand
Using a drum roller or a hand tamper, pass over the moist sand several times to pack it down. If you don't have a tamper, place a board on the sand and tamp it with your feet.
Use a what? Remember the rusty old iron thing in your grandfather's garage and make face. Check own garage for board. Realize that this being your very first simple one-day do-it-yourself home improvement you have nothing like spare boards lying around. Make 7th trip Home&Garden Center to get a tamper. Stop at fast food place and grab a bite to eat in the car.
Gently rake the top 1/2 inch of sand to create some wiggle room for your stones.
Recalling how much off you were in estimating 4 inches, get tape measure an check for ½ inch. Whoa. Not much. Rake real gently.
Step 5: Add your stones
Set your stones in the path and experiment with arrangements until you achieve joints that are more or less consistent. When you're happy with the look, wiggle in the stones one at a time until each is firmly embedded.
Now it's time to get those flagstones that have been sitting bundled in the front yard for the last 4 days. Try to pull tie off bundle. Go inside and get scissors to cut it. Rummage around for scissors. Where are the ^%#&* scissors?! S.O. reminds you that you left them in the back after trimming the landscape fabric. Go get scissors from back yard and unwrap flagstone. Put scissors back where they belong with virtuous look. Ignore snickering from S.O. Pick up flagstone. Oof. Put flagstone down. Glare at flagstone. Flagstone lies there placidly. Make 8th trip to Home&Garden Center and pick up cheap dolly. Bring home and load flagstone onto it. Start rolling to back yard as dolly tilts and flagstone falls off, because cheap dolly wasn't meant for use 'offroad'. Make 9th trip to Home&Garden Center and purchase expensive dolly with air tires. Justify need with all the other projects it will be used for. Return home and load dolly; cart flagstone to back yard. Repeat 40 times. Realize that you need to be able to see flagstones in order to make an aesthetically pleasing arrangement. Spend time laying them all out near the path. Place first flagstone. Admire for a few moments. Get second flagstone. Too big. Try third one. Too small. Keep trying flagstones until you find one that works just right. Repeat until all the flagstones are used, or the path is filled up, whichever comes first.
Use a carpenter's level placed on a long board to check that the path is level. Add or remove sand as needed to adjust the height of stones.
Knew that whole 'level' thing was going to come back to bite. Not to mention the lack of a board. Search for level. Find very small one that S.O. uses for hanging pictures. Make 10th trip to Home&Garden Center and purchase a Carpenter's Level and a board. One board, whatever kind. A board you can set the level on. Check to see if the path is level. Of course not, but that's its charm. No need for fancy 'steps' or slopes here. S.O. says to see if it's level from side to side. Check and note that it dips in the middle. S.O. say rain will puddle in the middle of the walk. Complain about the **&^$@^& instructions from AOL and start raising the middle of the path. Slowly. Painstakingly. All 18 feet of it.
Step 6: The finishing touch
Fill cracks between stones with gravel, or — to hold flagstones more firmly — use something smaller such as decomposed granite.
Make 11th trip to Home&Garden Center to get decomposed granite, reasoning that after all this work these flagstones are gonna be held firmly. No wandering for them. Try to guesstimate how much you'll need and then get more because you are not coming back one more time. Return home a neatly fill the cracks between the flagstones. Ponder briefly how moss or thyme is going to grow there. Decide that's the S.O.'s problem. Put away new tools and tidy up by stacking extra sand and flagstones and decomposed granite neatly at end of path.
Your classic flagstone path is ready to enjoy.
Take shower and go out on screened porch to enjoy looking at the path. Sit very carefully because every muscle you own is screaming at you. Wish you had a hot tub to soak in. Tell S.O. you're going to the pharmacy to get something to put on your sore knee. Get muscle creams and painkillers. Make 12th stop at the Home&Garden Center and pick up do-it-yourself book on installing hot tubs. Ignore S.O.
____________________________________
Oh! And today's quiz:
Pirate Name
Dread Pirate Bonney
Like the famous Dread Pirate Roberts, you have a keen head for how to make a profit. You can be a little bit unpredictable, but a pirate's life is far from full of certainties, so that fits in pretty well. Arr!
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