DIY Paver Stone Steps and Garden Hose area
After a little conversation, we came to the conclusion that a DIY Paver Stone project at home was just the thing we needed for our garden hose area.
Paver Stones are one of the most beautiful additions to your landscape and are so easy to install (or at least we thought). From Paver Stone Driveways to Paver Stone Walkways and Paver Stone Patios, there are so many applications for paver stones so we thought we would give it a try. After all, whats life without a couple DIY home improvement projects here and there.
We decided to head down to our local home improvement building materials store (http://silveradobldg.com/) and pick up about 20 sq ft of paver stones. This was not a huge project but a very fun one for the family to do together.
Why did we get this project started?
We wanted to get a small Paver Stone Steps and Garden Hose area started because our daughter was walking through the mulch and the bark. She was constantly playing with the hose, helping us with the compost and harvesting basil but the problem was splinters. From time to time our daughter was getting splinters in her little feet from walking through the mulch. So, we decided that a little DIY Paver Stone Steps and Garden Hose area was the best option. And, it looks very cool. Well, at least we hope so!
What Materials and Tools will you need?
- Paver Stones – Do your math on Square Footage (Calculator Here)
- Play Sand (quickcrete) Sand/ Topping Mix (3 Bags for every 20 sq ft)
- Shovel (Square/ Round) Both will come in handy
- Leaf Rakes
- Bow Rake
- 6′ Level
- Fill dirt/ Fill rock or Fill Mulch
How much did this project cost (materials only)?
- Paver Stones (20 Sq Ft): $45
- Playsand: $10
- Mulch: $2
- TOTAL: +/- $60
Step by Step (FLAT) Paver Stone Steps Installation
- Getting Started
- Breaking Ground
- Getting Your Pattern Down
- Removing the Rocks
- Leveling Out
- Play Sand (Quickcrete)
- Landscape Mesh
- Laying Paver Stones
- Laying Bark/ Mulch Down
- Spreading the Bark/ Mulch
- Cleaning the Paver Stones
- The Final Product
Step #1 – Getting Started
Getting started with this paver stone project is pretty simple, just find the area that you want to lay your paver stones. Once you have found the area you want to lay your paver stones, start stacking your building materials.
Step #2 – Breaking Ground
Once you have stacked your building materials around the area you intent on laying your paving stones, begin making things perfect! Whatever you are working with, you will need to start breaking ground. If you are working with an area that is already level, then you are lucky! If not, start digging!
Step #3 – Getting Your Pattern Down
Once you have started to dig up your area, start getting your pattern down. The biggest problem with a DIY Paver Stone project at home is that we don’t do this for a living. DIY Paver Stone projects at home end up not being perfect (like this one) and its probably a better idea to hire a professional but if you want to save money, this is the way to do it! If you want to hire a local company just search Google for terms like “Paver Stones and your area” or “Paver Stone Contractor in your area”.
Step #4 – Removing the Rocks
To make sure your paver stones are sitting level, you want to make sure there are no rocks on the surface. Dig up everything you can until there are no rocks in sight.
Step #5 – Leveling Out
Start leveling out your area. Get a 6′ level and start leveling off your paver stone area until everything is as close as possible to even and level.
Step #6 – Play Sand (Quickcrete)
After your bottom layer is as leveled off as possible, you want to lay down your quickcrete or play sand, its basically the same thing. Just get some sand for paver stones at home depot or lowes and you should be set.
Step #7 – Landscape Mesh ( Non-Woven 4.5oz Drainage and Filtration Fabric)
This may or may not be a step in your DIY Paver Stone project but if it is, make sure you level out your sand before laying any paver stones down. If you layout your landscape mesh or Drainage and Filtration Fabric before you have leveled your play sand, you are going to have a hard time getting your paver stones to line up correctly.
Step #8 – Laying Your Paver Stones
Once you have your area leveled, your landscape mesh or Drainage and Filtration Fabric is down, start organizing your paver stones. When you are doing this, you want to take a 6′ level again and make sure your paver stones are as level as possible. Again folks, this is really where you want to hire a professional if the job is big. But in this case, the job is pretty small so the paver stones don’t need to be perfectly level.
Step #9 – Laying Bark/ Mulch Down
After all these hard parts are finished and done, then comes the fun part of adding your fill material. Our only choice for this was black mulch since this entire area was already filled with black mulch. If it was my choice, I probably would have gone with 3/8 drainage rock.
If I really wanted to do this my favorite way, I would have gone with artificial grass or turf in between the paver stones. The DIY paver stone project still came out really cool so I am not upset, I just think it could have been a little different.
Step #10 – Spreading the Bark/ Mulch
The very easy and fun part. Start spreading your drainage material around your stones, very lightly. As you are spreading your drainage material, be sure to not catch a paver stone on the corner and lift one up. This would be a big problem if you have to lift up multiple stones and restart this process.
Step #11 – Cleaning the Paver Stones
After you have most of your paver stones and mulch on the ground. Clean, rinse, clean and repeat! Make sure you clean the stones and the area around the stones to ensure your job-site is as clean and pretty as possible.
Step #12 – The Final Product
Well, we were lucky to get a really pretty sunset in our backyard. At the end of the day, we are pretty happy with our little DIY paver stone steps and garden hose area.
Questions?
If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below as we would love to hear your feedback. : )
