How hard is it to lay crazy paving?

Question

i have just had some crazy paving for free, i have leveled my garden ready to lay it, but i dont want to mess it up and i havent got money to pay some-one to do it for me. I have put up my own fencing before but never layed slabs or crazy paving.Please can anyone help.

Answer 1

The most important thing is to have a flat firm surface to lay the paving on . Once you have your area defined lay a border to keep it contained using wood, or rubber edging. Bricks or granite blocks are great for a more formal look The best thing to do would be to lay a 3-4" layer of stone dust on top of your cleared area and rent a compacter to tap it down, If you can't afford a compactor you can use an old fashioned seed roller filled with water or a hand tamper.
If it's near your foundation be sure to slope it slightly so water will run off and away from your foundation. Once it's tamped down you can lay your paving. If you are doing a large patio lay the the largest pieces first where you might want to place furniture of a BBQ, then fill in with the smaller ones. try to keep an even gap around all the pavers 1 to 1 1/2" to fill with more stone dust to lock them in place.
For walkways just try to keep the largest pieces evenly dispersed through out the whole walkway for the best effect. when you have you paving set, fill gaps with more stone dust and use a small trowel or piece of wood to tamp the seams down lightly wetting it also helps just keep tamping and filling until you have a relatively even surface.

Answer 2

How To Lay Crazy Paving

Answer 3

When I laid mine. First I got the 3/4” or 1/2” gravel (including particle sizes down to fine dust) down. I used a long board to spread it originally.

I ran grade stakes around the edge. I ran a cord from stake to stake, very taut. Then I hung a small level on the cord at the cords mid-point. I could measure down from the cord to the surface of the gravel to check the slope. I had a slight 1/4 inch per foot slope away from the doorway to run water off the area.
My slabs of stone where not uniform in depth so a perfect surface was not needed. I had to dig and shape some to get each pieces edge lined up with the previous slab. I had both a 2 foot and a 4 foot level I could lay on the surface to check my work.
First I laid out the stones in general to look at them then I fitted them like a puzzle in an area next to my site. I could move them in one at a time keeping the general fit I had worked out. I did this gradually over several weeks. I had no way to cut pieces so I had to just look until I found one to fit.

I tested each piece for rocking, I'd lift and add or remove sand to settle the slab to fit the others by the 2 foot level and also the whole slope every few stones with the 4 foot level.

I originaly filled joints with builders sand and then layers of mulch. Use a stiff bristle brush and squeegee it it. In the first area I did Irish moss, Sagina Subulata, grows between the pavers and in the area under the trees I get self seeding violets. They tolerate foot traffic and are all blooming right now. The violets are both V. odorata and V. labradorica so I have two colors blooming.