Flagstone Deck and Retaining Wall

by John
(Southwest)

After a couple of years debating what to with my back yard ans finding this site, I bought the DVD. Which inspired me to do it my self. My project had some concrete foundation under the porch and a larger section with only dirt. For the porch, I used about 1" thick flagstone and for the rest it varied from 2.5 to 3 inches. I didn't pour a concrete pad for the uncovered section. I figured if I used a thicker flagstone and laid only a few inches of concrete under the stone it should hold. I leveled the area to be covered with stone with sand and then just layed the stone on top while working the stone in the sand to get everything level. I then mixed concrete in my wheel barrel while laying and leveling the stone again after pouring a few inches of concrete. This proved to be pretty tough with out help because the batches of concrete would dry before I could make another if more concrete was needed. After it was all laid, I filled in between the stone pieces while a friend cleaned up the grout lines with water and sponges. The project took about a month with myself doing most of the work on the weekends and a few days in between. Its been a few years since I did the project and have only one crack from settling.