The base for the patio and walkway will be approximately 2-3” of ¾” crushed gravel, and then 1 to 1 ½ inches of fill sand. My flagstone is approx. 2” thick Arizona Rosa sandstone and comes in huge slabs. Are my base materials ok? Should I use a different kind of sand or gravel? I live a little north of Sacramento, California, and we have occasional freezes in the winter, but generally I would say the weather is mild.

The only edging available at the stone yard was a 1x4 vinyl or plastic edging. I need the edging because I will generally not be digging down to set my patio, but rather the base and stone will be set on top of the ground at the level it is at now. So, between the base and the stone, I have about six inches. Should I look somewhere else for some sort of 1x6 edging? Should the top of the stone sit above the top of the edging, or flush with it?

Lastly, I read one site that recommended putting down landscape fabric between the gravel and the sand, which would allow water through but prevent the sand from washing down into the gravel over time. This makes sense to me, but most instructional sites don’t mention it. Anybody with a recommendation here? I’m not concerned with weeds.

Thanks.
Colby

Additional recommendations , : compact the soil below your sub base.
Especially if it is highly organic. Loamy soil to clay like soil is made up of decomposing matter that continues to decompose as it ages.
This is one example of why dry lay patios eventually become uneven and sink , it is one of the reasons why the topsoil layer is commonly removed when laying a patio.

I support the filter fabric method between the compacted gravel base and the sand layer, especially if you use straight gravel which even when it is compacted still has minimal air gaps for the sand to filtrate downwards.

1x6 plastic border will warp out of shape very quickly once a downward and sideward load is pushed against it.
You will need to either augment the 1x6 with additional shear or additional equal loading pressure or use a more appropriate size thickness to support the pressure.

Some methods may include digging a perimeter concrete footing - sort of like a curb that is located below and under the edge of the flagstone.
Or beefing up the edging to a 2x material or countering the side pressing load by edging the edging with rock or cobbles or some other stable + grounded methods.

I will take your advice and use the filter fabric. Tamping the soil was not a step I had planned on, but I will go that route as well. I will also call the stone yard and inquire about substituting Class II base rock. Thank you for these good tips.

I am still unsure what to do about the edging. I am toying with a concrete edging like they now put around lawns, but that may be a bit too expensive. But perhaps they can do a thinner edge than what they put around lawns that will bring down the per foot cost.

What is your opinion on using 2x4 plastic edging? the place I ordered my stuff from does not have 2x6 edging. My thinking was I could set the 2x4 edging and then excavate two inches below the bottom of the edging, thus giving me the six inches I need for my base materials and stone. I do remember the stone yard saying the 2x4 edging was difficult to bend, so maybe this will be a problem, as the outline for our patio and walkway has lots of curves.

Colby

I will check on the steel edging, but from an aethetic point of view, I’m not sure that would be any better.

Using stone or brick sounds the most appealing, I’m just not sure where to even start. Keep in mind, I am a very inexperienced landscaper and no matter how many google searches I do on flagstone patios, it seems hardly anyone mentions what the different edging options might be.

Appreciate all the comments so far… and I am still researching.
Colby

I think I like the look in the first picture where the edging stone rises above the flagstone. I'm wondering if a concrete footer is used in that first picture.

I hope not, because my initial idea is to get some sort of edging boulder, perhaps around 12". I will trench into the ground 6" or so, and lay about an inch of sand. Then my boulder will sit on top of the layer of sand, protruding about 7" out of the ground. This will leave the top of my flagstone about 1" below the edging boulders (assuming 3" gravel, 1" sand, and 2" flagstone). This seems like it would work, and I would like to avoid a concrete footer, if possible.

I have also found some stone edging on the internet that looks like flat bricks. I'm wondering if that might also work if I trenched down a few inches, laid a bed of sand, and dry-stacked them to an appropriate height.

Am I on the right track here?

And does anyone have suggestions on particular types of edging boulders that they would recommend?

Thanks.
Colby

On another note, I had to cancel my entire order at the stone yard because the three pallets of flag they had for me was about 25% 1 ¼ in ch or 1 inch, and I specifically ordereded two inch. There was also a bunch of 1 ½ inch, but I probably would have taken that. But I thought it was a bit ridiculous to have to accept all that thin stuff. I was paying $250 per ton. And they didn’t seem to want to handpick me the correct pieces, so I just walked away.

I found another stone yard that was willing to special order the flag and promised to get stuff that was all at least 1 ¾ inch or greater. So I will be ordering from them this weekend. The price was only slightly more at $265 per ton. They also had the class II base gravel that Michelle recommended.

So a big thank you to Michelle and everyone else who chimed in. Once I get going I will start posting pictures. :)

Michelle