Can i lay flags on soil

As the organic material in the soil are consumed there will be some subsidence and the stones will sink a bit. No organic material in sand. Beat to death compacted soil is likely to have very little organic material and might work just fine. Still it's easier to move a sand bed around than compacted soil. I started this post over a year ago so figured I'd give you an update since it became active again.

I did lay the flagstones directly in the soil. I spent ALL of last summer doing this. I used the largest, heaviest stones I could handle. I was bruised and scratched up for months as I did this entire thing alone. My husband didn't have any interest at all and I think he thought I was nuts. The only problem I had was getting the stones close together, so I have pretty large spaces between each of them.

Anyway, since I wanted to plant ground cover in the cracks I actually left the stones about a half inch higher than the ground so the plants wouldn't grow over or higher than the stone. I spent the whole winter worrying that they were going to be all heaved up since it was a very cold one.

It looked great this spring. If I could figure out how to post pictures, I would. I am considering just setting some creek rocks into the ground. I have to say, this thread really captured my interest.

Were you able to post pictures? I would love to see your results. Do you have any words of wisdom on how to move the stones from frontyard to backyard? I plan on doing the whole project myself but am concerned about how to get them from here-to-there. Maybe I should just go and heft a few to see what's managable. Moving rocks. Amazing how I remembered simple physics from high school, many years ago.

Think leverage and rollers. I move mine by rolling them over and over. If they are really heavy, I lay in my back with my knees to my chest and push with my feet. This is very amusing to see and results in lots of grass stains. I gathered up a bunch of old broom and mop handles that I had saved to use as tomato stakes and rolled the rock on them.

A spud bar is a wonderful tool, that and another smaller rock and you can leverage the rock along. Sometimes I up-end them on the tall end and "walk" them from corner to corner to where I want them. I have an old Little Red Wagon. I would block the wheels, put a plank against the side and roll the rock into the wagon and then pull it around.

If they are small enough to lift, I put them in a wheel barrow. If all else fails, I call the dh to come move the thing.

I find this very strenuous, sweaty, swearing and dirty work and love every minute of it. One time I had really good sized rocks that it was just not feasible for me to move, I rented a baby bobcat and let the dh have fun with it. He was more than glad to help me when he had something fun to work with. We're about to lay about sq feet of flagstone and are debating the base requirements and what to use to fill in the spaces between stones. We're going for a natural look, no mortar between stones.

We're in the Phoenix area and receive only a couple of light freezes per year. The ground is extremely hard. We'd like an largish joints between the flagstones. What is the proper base preparation in this situation? I have put in a small 10 x 10 patio. I used gravel ,then sand. After a week of settling and wet weather the stones are tilting up and causing a tripping hazard.

The work was done last weekend. The sand I swept had portland cement in it which was supposed to lock the stones but did not. All it does it keep the sand in place in the gaps. Indem Sie weiterhin auf der Website surfen bzw. Mehr erfahren. Ultimate Lighting Sale. Bathroom Vanity Sale. Bestselling Chandeliers and Pendants. Sign In. Join as a Pro. Houzz TV. Houzz Research. Shop Featured Holiday Categories.

Home Decor. Holiday Decor. The pointing has to be troweled in so that it is tight. If you just lay the slabs on a sand bed and dry sweep the joints it will not last at all. Just look at all the websites on path and patio laying and the will say the same. Just type in laying a shed base and i think there is a site from Mcormick paving suppliers that is good. You say that kosher but my next door neighbour is in the same trade. He's laid his new forecourt on sand with brushed mortar and has now got cars on it.

He also did the rear of mine 15years ago. It was covered in earth for 5 of those before I moved in and exposed it. It's as flat as the day it was laid. It has concrete haunching ti the edges to keep it all mice and tight. If the sand isn't compacted enough then it won't last but all my site especially where pedestrianised are on a sand blinding.

Yes but i expect the forcourt is block paving, and not slabs which is a different ball game altogether. Paving Expert is your friend. I'd just dig out to the depth of the slabs plus a bit and level it out, compact the soil, level with sand and lay the slabs over the top butted up really tight.

Once done the and playhouse on top what is going to go wrong? This has worked fine for me in the past and for small sheds and the like its perfectly adequate IMHO. Before you decide what method your going to use think about what you will do with the area once the kids have grown out of the playhouse. Will you want something easy to get up or will you use it as a patio or put a shed on it? This hasn't really sorted much out really, has it?

If I have ignored your advice then I apologise! I'm sure your method would be just fine…and if it goes tits up I'll let you all know. Did my patio last year. Should I pour sand on top of the earth to help with levelling?

Someone suggested this, but I think this would hinder the slabs getting a grip into the bare soil rather than help it? You will need a sub base. Paving onto earth is a bodge job and won't last one season. What happens is when it rains the soil underneath turns to mud and comes up through the joints when you walk on the slabs. This then leaves a hollow under the slab which means it wobbles more and squirts more mud up through the joint.

When it dries the slab will be loose and will not be level. Bad idea! StephenW , 15 Mar Arthur2shedsJackson , 15 Mar As a bodge you can lay them on some ballast in the corners, they may not last too long ie 5 years say without subsiding here or there but will not be as bad as the doom and gloom merchants on here.

That said I have a timber deck on bricks on ballst on made up ground that's not moved in 12 years! Placing direct on the earth is a bodge too far though. The garden I have now is all sand and pebbles nothing grows I have put slabs straight down, leveling them was easy because of the sand content.