How To Install A Flagstone Patio (Step-by-Step)

In this video, you'll learn how to install a flagstone patio and a flagstone path like a professional.
If you're looking to design your landscape and are searching for ideas where you can integrate natural stone into your yard, then you'll want to watch this video.

You'll see how I built a patio using landscaping stones, boulders, and retaining wall blocks to create a beautiful area that can be used as a fire pit or just used for some nice patio furniture.

You'll be bursting with patio ideas for your backyard once you see this.

You'll learn:

How to design your patio.
How to grade your yard to prepare for the patio.
How to make sure your patio stays flat.
How to pick the best stones for your patio.
What type of sand and gravel to use as a foundation for your patio.
How thick your patio needs to be.
How to integrate boulders in your yard.
An easy diy process for building a patio.
How thick your flagstone needs to be.
How to level your patio.
And a whole lot more.

Enjoy the video and be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel.

[frednorris]

I wish I watched this video first! After struggling with the first few stones I now have a much clearer idea of what it takes to prep and place the stones. I agree with Glassman a step by step that makes sense!

[dianebaker]

Two years ago I got an estimate for a patio at my home and realized I couldn't afford it. This is the only video I watched before doing it myself. I was 46 year old female with limited budget and my only help would be my 17 year old son. We watched this video and followed his advice to a tee. Today that patio is still flat as a board and used every day, it's beautiful and people often ask who did it for us. :)

[domwells]

This is the best DIY flagstone patio video on the internet. I built a 12x14 flagstone patio in only 3 days all because of this awesome step by step guide. First two days was spent digging/leveling on my own and on the last day had one person help me out with moving the flagstones. We got 2 tons of large 2" - 2.5" thick pieces which covered our 168 sqft area (with only 3 pieces to spare). Using the largest pieces around the outside first and working your way in with the smaller pieces was a huge piece of advice taken from this video. I also chose to do a square patio to limit the amount of cuts we had to make, and my cheap Ryobi angle grinder (with diamond blade) was enough to score the flagstones. We then put the scored flagstone on a 4x4 and used a sledge hammer to break it at the score line - not perfect but works 95% of the time. Taking your time with leveling the road base (type 2 gravel) and sand as best as possible definitely made it a lot easier in the end when you're laying the flagstones. It got most of our pieces pretty level without having the need to add/remove sand as much. Lastly, we used an additional layer (100lbs) of poly sand and worked it in between the stones to help seal the stones together (similar to how he was doing it @14:04) and it produced a super nice gray finish in between the cracks. Thank you Handyman Startup for saving me thousands of dollars on labor alone and for giving me the confidence to do it!

[tomosterholt]

Stan- you're a breath of fresh air as a speaker, easy to understand, NOT saying um every sentence. Great useful content, thank you!

[ljhoule]

Not a novice DIY guy but, no experience with Flagstone patios. Outstanding instructions with excellent comments from other viewers. Thanks!

[StevenStillman-kk]

We're trying to figure out what type of patio to use coming off our new wooden landing. This gave me a much better appreciation of what it takes for me, or anybody I hire, to do the right type of work for a quality result. Great video, and I echo another reviewer's comments about the excellence of the audio. Thanks.

[chrisjarvis]

This is the best tutorial explained for The Diy'er first timer or those who need the real answers period of materials measures amounts in installing flagstone & hands down shares skills techniques tools for the materials un selfishly you will appreciate the length as well.
This guy covers it.
The wall in this video
Same thing has a video on it.
This is how you can spend / $ave money on your home & enjoy the parties to come
You can do this.
It does take time so dont rush it and dont skimp on materials ever & the labor of love will be more than bragging rights family n friends will be amazed at your skills.
Its an Art....

[sporadiccadence]

Great video. The only thing I would recommend is sweeping in a polymeric sand in between the joints. Alliance Gator makes a polymeric stone dust that is specifically made for flagging just like this. Tighter bond in between joints, won't wash away, will prevent weed growth and deter ant hills.

[SwankyBates]

Extremely useful video! I used this as a baseline to build a flagstone patio of my own. I used irregular flagstone by the pallet, so it required a hand held concrete saw to cut/fit each piece (he's not lying when he says it takes a long time). Also went with mortar sand over DG (preference) and Gator Maxx polymeric sand to fill the joints. Took a while but I wouldn't have had the confidence to do it if not for this video. Thanks Dan!

[jamesgoodrich]

I’ve watched many videos on flagstone installation and this is the best most complete instructional one out there. Nice job dude. I would suggest using a polymeric sand to fill in the gaps. Super easy to use and locks it in well. They usually offer a sand color or a grey color to suit your need. Thanks again for the vid.

[jessicaterzakis]

This was a great tutorial! We used this last weekend for a DIY project. Thank you for a quality video and explanation... as someone with NO experience doing this, I felt like this gave us exactly what we needed to do this (and actually make it look good!)

[lfarm]

This is so helpful. I have several family members that have mobility impairments. I think the close together stones are better for people that use wheelchairs.

[mikecurry]

very complete video. Simple, Short, direct and most of all CLEAR. I'm in New England so a little deeper prep is necessary. We are doing a 650 +sq. ft. patio and the scope is a little daunting. 36K lbs of dense grade for the sub base, over 27K lbs (10 yards ) of stone dust (thus far) but it is proving to be a
great bonding experience for our family. THANKS!

I would say one thing about polymeric sand - for large projects it can be very expensive. No doubt a great product but expensive.

can't wait to watch. your other videos.

[michelleduncan]

You are one smart, skilled, & very talented fellow!! Your project came out fantastic & your step by step directions were awesome. This video will help many DIY'ers. I've always done our flag areas in a more free form way with landscape fabric over leveled dirt, then brieze for the mortar. The one flagged area in the backyard has held up fairly well. But the one in our front yard got so weedy, that the weeds could only be removed by taking the flagstone out. Now we have several pallets of that flagstone & are thinking about how & where to use it. We need a diagonal path through the lawn from the patio out to our shed in a far corner of the backyard. We are hesitating though - since were older now & that project is labor intensive. Plus - were pretty sure we would have to revise the sprinkler system a lot, so the path wouldn't be saturated with sprinkler water from May through Oct. It sure would be beautiful though & so great to have when going out to the shed.

[dandeangeli]

Thanks Dan. Best video I gave seen on this subject. I appreciate your candor on the parts of the job that are hard such as fitting and cutting and giving ideas for shortcuts.

[PRL]

I searched for months for a video to help me with my flagstone project. This is the first one to take me step by step through the entire process from concept to fruition. Excellent work and thank you so so so much!

[jamesc]

I’ve watched a lot of flagstone patio videos on YouTube and yours looks the best

[SilverTreeSpirit]

This was such a great detailed explanation! Thank you!

[joegenova]

What to say thank you for doing it write look really good .I been doing flagstone for 25 years so I think I know when something is good nice

[saranolen]

This is a wonderful video! Your initial explanation with the white board was was really helpful in planning for the patio. Thanks you for taking the time to explain the planning process.