Flagstone repair.....
It's no secret, I love flagstone. I literally have TONS of it in my yard. Last year I shared my new flagstone "patio" in the front of the house. Still love it! I did add a HUGE stone under the roof valley so a heavy downpour of rain water didn't cause so much "settling" on the smaller rocks.
As beautiful and natural as flagstone is, it does require occasional "maintenance." There is always the occasional weed and sometimes a rock, or rocks, will settle a tad. The rocks on the backside of my pine tree row have shifted and settled over the years (roots and moles), but honestly I don't really care...kind of gives it a "natural" look.
But when the rocks in my walkway began to sink as a result of the stupid moles, something needed to be done.
First, I killed the mole. (Knowing full well another will take over his territory...whatever! Here I shared my "mole hunting" ritual!)
Second, I needed to remove the rocks and put in a new "base."
Before I moved the rocks that needed a little shoring up, I snapped a picture of them with my phone....
I know me well enough to know that I will never be able to remember how they were laid out...lesson learned the hard way!
After removing the rocks, I packed down some top soil, primarily to fill the mole runs.... (if I really wanted to mess with the moles I would have put down a gravel base...but I used what I had on hand! No doubt I will have to do this again!)
...and then about two-three inches of sand.
Then I let it sit. We were forecast to have several days of rain, and several good steady rains is the best way to make sure your base is packed down well!
If you don't get a good rain, you can water the area down with a hose and pack it. They have special "packers" but I figure my @%# pounds of person stomping around on it will suffice! At least in this small area...
After a good soaking (yippeee, it actually rained!) it may need a little leveling so just add a little more sand and then water and pack that well!
It was a good thing I took a picture of the "before"...otherwise I indeed would have had issues placing the rocks.
After laying the rocks and making sure they are level (if not, just lift and throw a little more sand under it), I top them with a sand/soil mixture, sweep it into the cracks and then water again. You may have to do that several times as the mixture settles between and under the rocks!
As you can see, I finished up just as the rain started again! That is actually good because it will allow the sand/soil mixture to settle naturally and I can fill it in as needed!
Ahhhh....one chore down, many more to go! Finally finished up Katie's headboard and got that set up....so I hope to share all the fun little projects we did for her condo! I'm working on a chair that has been sitting in the corner of my den for over a year and I have several other little projects to share in the next few weeks.
Including a big change in my kitchen! Materials are ordered!
