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Gardening with Stone

I think we messed up-big!

16 years ago

We installed a flagstone walkway this weekend. We cut out the existing sod and then backfilled it with dirt. I suggested we use paver sand, but as we wanted the bermuda grass to fill in the spaces, we used soil from our yard. We just finished it last night, and this morning it stormed worse than I have seen it do in a long time. Needless to say, all the soil the stones are set in is like mush that will sink 3 inches if stepped upon. As the grass grows in and the root system establishes, will it not stabilize the stones? Or do we need to take them all up and redo it using a different base??? Thank you for any help you can offer!

Jennifer />

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Comments (4)

gottagarden
16 years ago
Search the web, there are lots of sites that talk about how to lay a stone walkway. backfilling with regular soil and not tamping it is a mistake. If you want it to last, you need to do it right. If you want it done quick and dirty, it will not look good in a few years.
Molly Brown
16 years ago
I don't know about the dirt underneath at your house, but we put in our stones in on regular dirt as well, and they don't sink down, even in the worst of storms. But the thing I want to tell you about is the grass. If you plant grass between the stones, the grass will eventually take over the stone. It happens a little at a time and after 2-3 years you will notice that you can actually lift up a mat of dried up grass that is turning into something like peat all along the edges of the stones.
Over the course of several years the stones will get smaller and smaller and eventually get covered over, EVEN if you cut the grass everytime you mow. It looks nice at first, but too much work. (Been there, done that, 2 different times!)
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luna_llena_feliz
16 years ago
Probably what happened is you didn't "tamp" the soil down hard enough. The trick is to pack the soil so it is really solid. Using sand as a base will also help with drainage. Probably one of the easier instructions I have found is at About.com at http://landscaping.about.com/od/hardscapefences1/ht/flagstone_patio.htm. I also know what elenkao is talking about. My grandparents had a flagstone patio with grass growing up between the stones. The same thing happened to theirs - the stones got smaller and smaller and broke apart. If you want to avoid plants growing up between the stones, put down landscape fabric on top of the soil but under sand. The sand also makes it easier to make adjustments and repairs to the patio in the future. Good luck!
eden72
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you for all the responses! We managed to fix the sinking problem, but I have one more question, we plan on weed eating between the stones, will that help them not be overtaken? The other two ideas I had were to back-fill with either mulch, matching the bed immediately attached, or bordering it and filling it with decorative pebble stone. My husband is dead set on the grass though, and really would like to keep it that way. Any input is appreciated and your suggestions so far have been MOST helpful.
Jen

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