Flagstones are a popular choice for patio materials due to their natural rustic appearance. Flagstone patios are easy to maintain and require minimal effort to keep them looking really good. However, building a flagstone patio is not as easy as everyone thinks. But with a little guidance, great results can be achieved! Here are 5 mistakes to avoid when building your flagstone patio.
1. Narrow width
Flagstone patios, as well as flagstone walkways, tend to appear larger than they are supposed to be. This is because the unevenly sized tile pieces create an illusion of space. This means that the more you work on building your patio, the more you’ll be tricked into thinking your patio is wide enough, when it really isn’t. What’s even worse about this mistake is that it only becomes apparent once the project is finished and the patio is ready to be tested. When you realize it’s not big enough, there’s nothing you can do about it anymore, unless you’re willing to spend more time and money to renovate it.
2. Not inspecting the slab
While it’s obviously easier to order your slabs and have them delivered to your doorstep, purchasing without inspection can sometimes be more expensive and time consuming. Since the tiles have a unique pattern or design, no two tiles have exactly identical markings. No matter how extensive online stone supplier catalogs are, there is still a good chance that what you are delivered may not be exactly what you had in mind for your patio design. If this happens, returning the materials and waiting again for the correct ones can be very problematic. That is why it is advisable to personally inspect the slabs before buying them. This will ensure that you have the correct materials to use for your slab structures.
3. Low level foundation
When laying the slab base, it is generally expected that the final level of the base will be higher than the level of the surrounding area. This is because you don’t want the slab base to retain water when it rains. Despite the natural tendency of slabs to resist being slippery, frequent puddling can ruin its natural texture and eventually make it unstable.
4. Weak or loose slab foundation
One of the hard things to do when building a flagstone patio is leveling the base. To address this problem, some people use weaker or less compact base materials to allow for easier slab adjustments. This is a big mistake because it will eventually cause the base to become unstable in the long run. If that happens, your yard will look like one huge, dangerous obstacle course, complete with puddles and wobbly steps.
5. Lack of knowledge in the installation
Although it looks and sounds quite simple to do, building your own patio is really difficult. Getting all the necessary materials is one thing, but having the skills to install one is another. There are many guides on the internet that provide the basic steps of the process, but only a few actually provide the full procedures involved in building a strong, beautiful, and durable flagstone patio.