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Gardening with Stone

Can/should we 'set' the stone in our existing patio?

16 years ago

We recently bought a new home that has a raised stone patio in the back. Unfortunately, we have minimal information about how the patio was built, except that the previous owner did it himself and it is supposedly "all rock" below. The top stones are set in loose gravel. With two big dogs, we are running into the problem of some of the stones shifting or coming loose, especially the smaller ones and stones along the edges. We need a way to secure the stones. What are our options? Neither my husband nor I have any experience with this! I should probably also add that the patio has "settled" in spots so it is not completely flat, but we aren't too bothered by that.

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Comments (2)

gottagarden
16 years ago
If it is settling in spots and stones are coming loose, I would NOT try to set them in mortar. They are settling and coming loose because it was not built properly. Setting it in mortar will only compound your problems as it continues to settle the mortar will crack. You do not give sizes, but if the stones are too small, they are not appropriate for a patio and will always come loose, only larger, heavier stones should be used for a patio.

You could remove a few stones and check what is underneath. How deep is the foundation, what size is the gravel, etc. Do you have drainage issues, is it sloped properly away from the house. There is no quick and easy fix for an improperly laid patio.
sarahb44
16 years ago
If the stones are manageable, you may want to think about pulling them up and laying a 2" thick layer of granite sand underneath, and then filling in the joints between the stones with more granite sand. This way you'll be able to level everything out, and once the granite sand packs down, it will actually do a great job of holding everything together.
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