How To Flagstone Patio - Articles

Below you will find Flagstone related articles link to author at the bottom of each article.

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Natural Flagstone Decks
By Jason Gluckman

A deck is an external flat extension area outside the house. There may be a number of options to design the surface of the deck. The natural flagstone design gives the deck a good look. Natural flagstones offer these decks a natural look. This type of flooring to the deck gives a beautiful look. The stunning look makes the deck look more natural. A flagstone deck may contain a number of pieces of stones fit together.

The natural flagstone comes in a variety of shapes and shades. The natural flagstones with rough surfaces laid with pebbles give the deck an exclusive look. These stones can be laid with large curvy designs and other natural designs. Scattering of large stones and then fixing of the smaller stones around them will be very impressive.

The first process of laying natural flagstones is cutting them into different shapes. It is necessary to cut the stones to the desired designs using saws and chisels. The next part is the fixing of these designs according to the pattern. Using mortars, the stones can be fixed up to their specific elevation, by the usual procedure. A soft finish will be easier in keeping the deck clean. This process is an easy one if done properly.

It is not necessary to dig up of all the concrete surfaces of the deck which has worn out over the years. Instead of digging, natural flagstones can be laid over the old surface which will give you a very good appearance at lesser costs.

Resurfacing the patio with the help of a professional will be very expensive. But resurfacing and redesigning of the surface of the deck with natural flagstones will cost you only half of the cost the professionals charge. These natural flagstones will last longer than any other type of flooring.

Decks provides detailed information on Deck Plans, Deck Builders, Pool Decks, Building A Deck and more. Decks is affiliated with Invisible Fences.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jason_Gluckman
http://EzineArticles.com/?Natural-Flagstone-Decks&id=409802

 

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Patterned Flagstone
By Robert R Smith

Patterned Flagstone looks exceptional in floors, patios, walkways, and foyers. Patterned Flagstone has a formal, yet rustic appearance, which is great for creating beautiful patios and walkways it will also add that special touch as flooring. The use of this material will add a special charm to you project, weather it is a walkway, driveway, flower bed border, or even a fenced wall. Having a stone walk way drive way and patio adds not only charm but value to your home and give you the chance to do something unique with a common aspect of every home.

Flagstone is a random shaped flat rock and has been used for flooring or paving for centuries. It can also be stacked up to build seat walls, retaining walls, flowerbed borders, veneer walls on houses and more.

Patterned Flagstone is sorted by thickness into various groups. It is sawn or chopped into squares or rectangles. It can be used in any flooring or paving application and will give a cleaner, formal look. Available in several color variations such as light buff, tan to medium brown to provide a natural color choices for your design.

This is a building material that is becoming very popular as a patio choice along with walkway and driveways. While laying a concrete sidewalk maybe easier and faster it does not add much to the atmosphere of your home. And should you ever need to repair the side walk it becomes quite and expense where as with flag stone you simple remove the damaged section and many times use the same stones to make the repair.

If you are designing a new home or maybe you are think of making some improvement to your home, incorporating flagstone into your design will not only provide that unique look it will add value as the end result.

You can find more information on Tile, Tile installation and Tile product. You will also find where you can purchase Tiles that are Reasonably priced on the Internet.

RR Smith

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_R_Smith
http://EzineArticles.com/?Patterned-Flagstone&id=1270180

 

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The Timeless Beauty of Caithness Flagstone
By David A Robinson

Caithness is a county in the extreme northeast corner of the Scottish mainland. It is here that Caithness flagstone can be found, though the stone can also be found to the north of Caithness too in the island groups of Orkney and Shetland.

The stone comes from the Old Red Sandstone, which is of Devonian age. It has the characteristic of being very finely grained. It is dark grey in colour and it will weather to a lighter fawn shade. It is a very durable stone, though its resistance to air pollution and acidic moisture is not particularly good.

As a form of sandstone it has a surprisingly high resistance to flexing. This makes it suitable for areas that are heavily trafficked where there is a lot of wear and tear. It can resist salty environments well and has been used effectively in harbour walls and as the building material in houses situated close to the stormy northeast Scottish coast where salt spray is often in the air.

Devonian House in Halkirk, a few miles south of Thurso in the northeast of Scotland, is a very good example of how the timeless beauty of Caithness flagstone can be put to use. The stone has been used to build the house walls and thin sections of flagstone have been used as slate for the roof.

The garden wall is also made from this versatile stone. The wall contains no mortar, being built in a traditionally patterned manner. Inside the house the true aesthetic qualities of this amazing stone come to life. It is used in a highly polished form as a kitchen worktop, and as tiles on the bathroom floor.

Perhaps the most impressive use of the stone in Devonian House is in the entrance hall floor where the flagstones are interspersed with oak beams. The effect is extremely impressive.

As early as 1793 this stone that has taken some 400 million years for nature to perfect was being exported from the northeast of Scotland to all over the world. The city of Boston in the USA, for example, had its streets paved with the timeless beauty of Caithness flagstone.

One of the great benefits to be gained from this remarkable stone is the fact that it is virtually maintenance free. It has been described as indestructible, and that is indeed close to the truth. It stands up extremely well to the extremes of temperature and humidity, making it suitable for use just about anywhere in the world.

When Scotland built its parliament building in Edinburgh they wanted the best materials. The northeast corner of Scotland supplied both of the two main types of stone used: Kemnay Granite from Aberdeenshire and the famous flagstone from Caithness.

In fact, wherever you find important prestigious buildings you are also likely to find beautiful, timeless Caithness flagstone. For example, it can be found in the British Memorial Garden in New York and the in the Belfast Concert Hall, as well as in dozens of other well known places.

David A Robinson
Help and information about using natural stone for your stone flooring project.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_A_Robinson
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Timeless-Beauty-of-Caithness-Flagstone&id=2090885

 

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Flagstone Patio - Design and Installation
By Kristy Snow

Flagstone Patio Installation

If you have ever looked into high end landscape installations, you will find that the products are of a natural quality. Man made products are an antithesis to landscaping. The purpose of landscaping is to be in nature. This is why high end landscapes typically use flagstone for the patio and walkways. High end landscapes most often use select flagstone. Select pieces are much larger than average. Then, moss or thyme is planted in flagstone cracks. Moss and Thyme keep out weeds, hold the stones in place, and flower tiny beautiful flowers. Elfin Thyme is preferred because it grows very dense and low to the ground.

To complete this project you will need, a strong back, shovel, pick, boots, gloves, level, two by four, large mason chisel, mini sledge hammer, helper, and a skill saw with diamond blade. You may also need metal landscape edging, bender board, and stakes.

Stone Beauty

Select stones are quite striking. There are shades of glittery gray, brilliant white, deep red, feathery blue, and tortoise green. They somehow shimmer back at you in a friendly way. You can create quite a masterpiece by using multiple stone colors, shapes, and hand picking unique stones. Irish Moss and Elfin Thyme soften the hard stone, cool it, and bring in natural beauty.

Pricing

You can expect to pay around $5.00 per square foot installing yourself. Contractors charge $10.00 to $15.00 per square foot (including material).

How To Install

Dig Out Dirt

First, if necessary, dig out the dirt. Stake out the patio edges and decide how high the patio can be. In most cases, you will need to dig down six inches. The stone will be 2 inches, the gravel base will be 2 inches, and the sand will be two inches.

Install Edging (Optional)

Use metal landscape edging or bender board to hold the edges in place. This step is purely optional. The larger select stones will stay in place well without the edging. Edging is more necessary if you use smaller patio stones.

Compaction

After you dig out the dirt make sure the base is compacted well. You can rent a plate compacter from a construction rental store or you can use a hand tamper. Once the base is compact, add two inches of gravel or road base and compact again.

Gravel And Road Base

For larger jobs road base is the best way to go. State spec road base is a combination or gravel and dirt. It compacts really well to make roads and will work well for your patio. In any case, you can also use fine gravel. The finer gravel will compact tighter and be easier to work with. You should use coarse gravel because it will compact better. Coarse pea gravel is a good choice.

Sand

The stones are not uniform. You need sand to adjust for stone height. Add 2-3 inches of sand on top of the compacted base. Make sure the sand is coarse. Like gravel, coarse sand compacts better.

Install Flagstone

You will need at least two people to lift and place the stone. Use a mini sledge hammer and blue mason chisel with a yellow hand guard to break the stone. This will give you natural breaks. You can also use a skill saw with a diamond blade, but the cuts will not look as natural. Wet saws will be too small to do anything for you. If you ordered correctly, you will have mostly large stones with some smaller stones. This will reduce the cutting time.

To see if the stone is level, it is helpful to have a straight two by four. Lay it on the stone and look for depressions. You can also put a level on the two by four.

The stone should not be perfectly flat. A small slope is needed to help water run off the patio. Every foot of patio should have a ¼ inch slope (at least).

Ordering Stone

One ton of flagstone will cover approximately 80-125 square feet. There are many variables. Stone weight and thickness vary. Check with your stone yard for the exact kind of stone you wish to purchase. Most flagstones will cover 125 square feet with one ton. One variable is the gap between stones. For best results, order select stones. A lot of people throw in some smaller patio stone to fill in smaller gaps. It's a little less expensive and you don't have to break up the larger stone.

Ordering Gravel

One ton will cover approximately 80 square feet in a two inch depth.

Ordering Sand

One ton will cover approximately 124 square feet in a two inch depth.

Calculating Tonnage

Length * Width * Height / 27 = Yards Then, each product will weigh a different amount. You should use a different multiplier for each product. A rule of thumb is to use 1.5. So take the yards and multiply by 1.5 to get the tons that you need. There will be more tons than yards. Sand has a multiplier of 1.2 and gravel has a multiplier of 1.4. Flagstone will be around 1.5.

Final Tips

You can also choose a polmeric sand to put between the stone cracks. It looks like sand, but with three light water applications it will dry as hard as concrete. If you have an unstable area, you can install the flagstone on dry cement. Then, water the cement down so that it will harden and cure properly.

For further information, please visit Outdoor Shower and Plant Life

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kristy_Snow
http://EzineArticles.com/?Flagstone-Patio---Design-and-Installation&id=1040920

 

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