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Front Stone walkway - Mortared or dry laid?
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Posted by ZachandEthan 6b NJ (My Page) on Fri, May 6, 05 at 22:19
| I'm planning to have a contractor dig up the ugly concrete walkway leading to my front door and replace it with stone (I haven't decided whether I'm going with the rectangular or irregular stone yet). Although I like the look of a dry laid walk better, I'm concerned that it will be more difficult to shovel the snow from and that the stones might become uneven (posing a tripping hazard). It also might look a bit informal (not that my house is "formal" - it's a split-level ranch). What are your experiences with either version? Problems? Benefits to one over the other? I'd appreciate your advice. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Front Stone walkway - Mortared or dry laid?
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| We run into the same problems with our used brick steps and patio. It's hard to remove snow from the brick steps. The brick patio was set the correct way with the soil dug out (don't remember the depth but it was deep) and drainage stones put in then smaller stones on top of that followed by sand and brick on top. It was all machine compacted. It was beautiful for the first couple of years but the Winters have heaved the brick and some of the brick settled lower. Starting every Spring and continueing through till Winter we have to spray the patio with a weed killer due to weeds and grass growing up between the bricks. I have a small stone apron in front of one shed that heaves every Winter. |
RE: Front Stone walkway - Mortared or dry laid?
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| Although we don't have as much of an issue with winter heaving here in the south, we still have some. Before you remove that concrete, you might look into the stamped concrete that can basically "refinish" the existing walkway, making it look like stone, large tiles, brick, etc. We recently had our patio enlarged (it was formerly stamped concrete and we liked it), but decided to go with mortared fieldstone. They laid the stones right on top of the existing concrete. This might not work for everyone as it adds about 1.5-2 inches to the existing base. I can understand why you might also be concerned with being able to shovel the snow from a less smooth surface, which is why I recommend looking into the stamped concrete. Best of luck with the project. |
RE: Front Stone walkway - Mortared or dry laid?
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| At least with dry laid pavers you can reset them and level it back out. If the concrete cracks, it will always look patched. |
RE: Front Stone walkway - Mortared or dry laid?
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| A dark mortar struck about 3/4" deep looks very nice with stone. Would the grade allow for setting your stone on top of the existing concrete? |
RE: Front Stone walkway - Mortared or dry laid?
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| I laid our front walks on a sand bed when we built the house. About twenty years later, I set it in concrete. |
RE: Front Stone walkway - Mortared or dry laid?
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| I'm back near square one since the contractor never provided an estimate and hasn't taken my calls, so now I have to find someone new, which will be difficult this time of year. I've also decided I'd like to change the location of the walkway from parallel to the house to more of a loop out into the front yard before connecting with the driveway. However, my desires raise another issue: the existing walk is mostly under an overhang and is level. If I loop it out into the yard, which slopes very slightly towards the house, any rain will follow the path to my front door. I know there are solutions (drains, regrading, etc.) but that also equates to more money. I appreciate your comments and will keep you posted on developments. |
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