You can add some extra value and curb appeal to your house by making a stone pathway. It’s recommended to involve a masonry contractor in this porject, however, if you want to complete this task on your own, you’ll certainly need to have some experience in stone masonry and concrete work.

For DIY installation, a sandset path might work the best in your interests. Setting the stones on a bed of sand is very easy, as it lets you lay down and level the stones perfectly.

Here are the steps that you’ll need to follow if you want to make a stone path.

Lay It Out

To install a pathway in your backyard space, you should use a suitable thing to mark the actual path of your walkway. Mark the design as well, for example, choose between a straight and curved walkway. A general rule of thumb is to make the walkway wide enough for two people to walk by each other comfortably. This especially applies to the walkways with more traffic, like a walkway between your front door and the driveway. Rest of the garden walks with a little traffic can be sized down to fit your personal needs.

After marking the path, set up hoses or strings on both sides.

Excavate

Using a flat space, cut through the grass on the edges of the walkway. Remember to always follow the garden hoses or the strings that you’ve put in that place to guide you. After outlining the sides, dig the whole area up to 5 to 6 inch depth. Remove all the glass and other vegetation that comes your way in this process.

After this, walk over the excavated area, or firmly tap it with a hand tamp to push the soil into the ground. This will help make a flat surface for the stone walkway.

Install Edging (If Needed)

The edging material can easily be applied on both sides of the stone pathway by following the manufacturer’s directions. Use any desired type of edging material to install the edging, as every type seems to work well with stone.

If you don’t install the edging material, the grass around your walkway will help keep the stone in place.

Lay Down the Landscape Fabric

On the whole path, lay down a landscape fabric. Try to use a single piece of fabric for as long as possible. However, if you’re using more than one piece of fabric, try to overlap their edges by over 12 inches.

Use a knife to cut the extra fabric from the both sides, and use landscape fabric staples to keep it in place.

Lay Down A Layer of Sand

The sand layer that you spread over the landscape fabric should at least be 2 inches thick. Using a proper board, make the same level in all the places to help lay down an equal level of stone on top of it.

Mist water over the sand to help thicken it a bit. This will help keep the stones in place when you place them.

Lay Out the Stones

Spread all the stones on both sides of the walkway in order to have a better idea of their size. You can then select the exact stones that you want to use in the pathway to shape it according to your desire.

Stone Installation

Begin by laying down all the stones in the walkway, joining all of them together in order to make a great looking walkway. You can leave small gaps between the stones if you’ll fill the gaps with gravel, or leave bigger 2 inch gaps if you plan on planting between the stones.

For the planting walkway, you should fix the stones in place perfectly so that they won’t rock around. You should also level every stone as you keep fixing them in place. Also, the sand beneath the stones can be increased or decreased according to the leveling needs. Use attractive patterns and combinations of large and small stones to create an attractive stone pathway.

Fill the Gaps

The gaps between the stones can be filled by sand or gravel according to your preferences. If you’re using sand, then fill the gaps properly by using a broom, and spray water on it to help it settle down. Repeat the process until the stones are fixed firmly in place. Lastly, if you want the stone pathway to be lovely and long lasting, call in a patio builder. lagrass