laying patio stones. help please?

Question

I have a small backyard and I live in a townhouse. I want to remove the grass from half of my backyard and lay patio stones. I am debating whether to do this myself or hire someone. My main worry is drainage - flooding my basement if I do it wrong.
Do I just remove the grass and lay the stones down? What are the steps? Not too difficult please.

Answer 1

This is real easy to do. I did the same thing and it turned out real nice. Remove the grass. You can use sand to Level it out. put down stones use sand to fill in cracks, this will prevent grass from growing up in between stones. Two or three months later fill sand back into crack were it has settled.

Answer 2

Both of the above answers are good information. Just be sure when you remove the grass and do any digging to maintain a slight slope away from the house. When you put in the sand and stones, try to maintain that slight slope. Nothing dramatic, maybe an inch for every six feet or so.

Answer 3

You may want to make a layer of sand or small pebbles under the stones to keep from washing dirt away, also to make it "pretty." Before you lay the stones you could make small drainage lines under the stone, like v grooves in the dirt, and fill with pebbles. the water could still move through it. I really don't think you it will flood your basement either way.

Answer 4

The sand on my own isn't your answer could I advise which you hire a vibrating hammer (whacker) this could compact the dirt you may p.c.. up some intensity to boot as do away with any pest. via compacting the dirt no longer something will advance there if the dirt is tight, all you will could desire to do is spray it with a weed and grass killer wait awhile till you notice the precise plant life die and then lay your pavers. you would be required to spray greater frequently however the fee low value expenditures is nicely worth it.