How To Lay Limestone Patio

Depth Guide To Installing Natural Stone

First Thing Is To Get Rid Of The old Patio & Soil

When it comes to patios and choice of materials, there is nothing that looks quite as good as natural stone. In this post I will guide you through the process of how to lay. Thickness of sub base, mix ratio and everything else that you need to know when laying natural stone, in this case Ebony Black Limestone.

Before we can start even thinking about laying natural stone, we need to prep the area. This will consist of removing the soil or old patio that is in the area we want to install the new patio. In this case, there was old concrete stone patio and part of soil to remove. The reason that we were asked to replace this patio, is that it had failed. The reason behind the failure was that it had been laid on the old dot and dab method, which is not the way to go for the strongest bonding. I will explain in more detail later in this post, when we get to lay the stone.

 patio area
What We Had To Start With

This Was The Old Patio & Turf We Had To Start With

Tip: Always order a larger skip than you expect, as you can almost always bet your bottom dollar, there will be more to be excavated than you first thought. This is if you are just starting in the business of laying stone. Others wait till they have excavated all the soil before ordering the skip; this way you will know the exact size you need.

Installing Sub Base

Make sure you are installing a sub base of at least 75mm or more, this all depends on what type of traffic the patio will endure. In this case the customer was only going to be using the patio for barbecues and those sunny days, with the family. Not heavy traffic and when combined with a sand and cement full bed of mortar, it will be more than adequate to stand unto the task. When you have spread the stone as evenly as possible, use a long spirit level to test the gradient and real levelness of the base. Then give it a good tamper down with a whacker plate. These can be hired from any good tool hire or builders merchants for around £40 per day you will only need it for one day.

patio
Laying Down Sub Base
installing natural stone patio
Give Sub Base A Good Tamper Down With Whacker Plate

Tip: Make sure the finish which will include the sub base, mortar & thickness of stone itself does not exceed 150 below DPC which is damp proof course, Lets say the there is 75mm of sub base, then 20mm mortar bed and 20mm stone. This means you will need a depth of 115mm below the DPC to make sure not to cause undue issues ink the future.  Also make sure the water will run away from the property, if laying against the home like in this image.

Lay Out The Stone In The Pattern You Desire.

Do not just start laying willy nilly, without experience. I guarantee if you do, you will mess up in no time, unless you are really skilled in laying stone and have done it many, many times. I still do this to make sure I don’t end up with small slither cuts; it only takes about 30 mins and is well worth the extra time, to make a lovely looking patio.

Once you have your pattern and there are many patterns to choose from. Use Google and type patio patterns and you will see many images and styles, but also make sure you have the right size stone in you patio pack to make the pattern you choose. You might want to take a picture for future reference, just incase you forget were the different size pieces go. Once you have your pattern, stack the stone in small areas as and when you will need it, when you start laying. Both stages shown in images below.

Laying natural stone
Lay Out The Stone To Your Desired Pattern.

Tip: See how I lay the stone from the wall to the edge and over the edge, making sure that I will not end up having to cut small slithers of stone, which is a waste and is also very tricky cut and not to break with stone saw. 

Always get advice or training when using stone saws or Sthil Cutting Saws

Stack The Stone For Easy Access When Needed

Down To The Best Part Laying The Stone Itself

When you have your pattern and are ready to lay the stone, we need to think about the mortar bed we will use. I always use a full motor bed and a mix ratio of 2 sharp sand, 2 builders sand and 1 cement and this has never given me any problems or have I ever had to go back because it has failed. You can use different mix ratios, it all depends what yourself prefer. Now one more thing before we start to say the stone itself. If you have it or want to use it, which I always do, is use a SBR bonding or water proof PVA to the underside of the stone before laying. It takes seconds to apply and it will give you longer time to work with the stone, as natural stone is like a sponge and will dry your mix out in no time. It also prevents stains from coming through the lighter stones which can happen from time to time. Check image below.

laying patio
Apply SBR or PVA waterproofer

Tip: Apply SBR or PVA waterproofer, which is used as mix ratio in renders and has lots of other applications. So it’s a good product to have around if you’re into doing your own work projects.

Once you have covered a few slabs of stone with SBR, now its time to lay. You will need a rounded trowel, small spirit level, rubber mallet, string line, old paint brush, sponge (old bathing sponge will do) and Stone cutting Saw.

When you start to lay your first stones, use a good bed of mortar, if you are looking for a bed of about 20mm make sure to add enough to reach this height and run your trowel through the mortar as in image below. This will give small hills in the mortar bed, so when you come to level the stone, the mortar will spread and you will not break the stone by hitting so hard trying to get required level. Use your level from each diagonal corner and check all is, as you want it to be, which is level. And Repeat this process, remembering the pattern you are trying to make and the size stone you will need to use to get there.

Laying patio
Put Down Good Bed Of Mortar
laying patio
Carry On Laying Your Stone Till You Fill Desired Area

Tip: Use your sponge to clean away excess mortar as you go. This will make your job a lot easier when it comes to cleaning it all at the end. Instead of trying to remove dried mortar with acid

One you have all the stone laid you should have nice level stones slabs, with slight fall away from your property so that water does not run towards house, but runs away. Make sure when you need to cut the stone slabs you always do it in the safe and proper way using all PPE recommended for the use of stone cutting tools. And makes sure to measure twice and cut once. It’s always easier to go back and measure again before you cut, than it is to do it after and will safe on any mistakes. Then you should have something that resembles the image below.

Natural stone patio
All Stone Laid With Mortar cleaned Ready To Have Jointing Filled

Tip: Before you use jointing filler, which you can just sweep over and it fills the joint areas. If they are really thick stone slabs. Use a mix of sharp sand and cement one to one ratio to build up to about 10mm below the finish height. This will save you a lot of money, as the ready mix-jointing compound is not cheap at around £40 per bucket. But it does safe time and time is money.

Check this image of us doing just that using sharp sand and cement to fill half way and it works like a charm. The other reason we use all in one jointing is speed and the fact that it’s so much easier than the old sand and cement wet mix for jointing. You only need to brush it into the joint areas and let it set. When using all in one jointing compound make sure to wet the patio, the more water the better results and remove any left over compound from the stone or it will stain and stick. Leave over night and its sets like concrete.

Limestone Patio
Now That The All In One Compound Has Set You Should Have Something That Resembles A Finished Patio

Tip: To make your patio really stand out from the ground always treat with sealer in this instance, we had to use water based as it was limestone and acrylic based some times gives you the wrong results. In this patio the customer chose not to have the square steel manhole covering, which you can use to cover manholes and they can have to stone inlaid into the steel lids.

Black Limestone Patio
All Finish Sealed And Garden Refreshed, I’m Sure You’ll Agree It Looks A Million Dollars.

When choosing a material for your patio always choose one that you are comfortable with, if you are going to try to lay it yourself then make sure you do your research and don’t jump in head first. Read all the manufactures instructions on all the products you will be using, or it could end up a very costly mistake indeed. And if in doubt get the professional out and you will enjoy your patio for years to come.

Good Look If you will be tackling your patio yourself and choose wisely if you will be paying a company or tradesmen not all are what they seem. Advice read reviews, check out their website, do they have land line, sign written vans, logo on shirts all these are sign of tradesmen who are proud of what they do. If you choose a man in plain van with no insurance because he is couple hounded cheaper than there’s only one person to blame. So motto is doing your research and good luck.

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