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oakridge79 · Jul 1, 2009, 09:10 PM

Hey all,

I have been doing a lot of research on creating a flagstone patio on a dry bed. My problem right now is that my yard is completely enclosed, and I cannot remove the fence. With this in mind, what would be the best way to move the 1.5 ton of crushed rock and 0.5 ton of coarse sand from my garage to the site. The site is about 80 feet from my garage. My garage backs up to the rear of my yard and provides access only through a regular size (32" wide?) door. Someone suggested using 5 gallon buckets, but that seems like a lot of back and forth. If all else fails, could I simply lay the flagstone on 1" of sand and call it a day? :confused:

Thanks

dawgsnkats · Jul 1, 2009, 09:49 PM

As you are aware, flagstone is a bit brittle. If the traffic on the patio is light, then use sand. Down side is weeds will grow more apt to grow using sand. As for the moving of the rock. Is there a way for someone to stand on one side of the fence and hand over multiple buckets to you on the other side? Sounds like work any way you go.

oakridge79 · Jul 2, 2009, 06:26 AM

dawgsnkats,

I have a small yard in the city, and anticipate very light traffic (e.g. two people sitting on it for the occasional backyard outing, letting the dog in/out, a few friends over). I don't plan on putting anything more than a small table on it. I suppose I could live with the weeds (put some geotextile down to slow them down), but I was more concerned about drainage and upheaval from the ground freezing. As far as moving buckets over the fence, that will be impossible. I don't know how many buckets the job would take, but the fence is at least 6 foot tall and solid wood. :(

It also turns out the entry to the yard is about 29.5". I don't think there is a wheelbarrow out there that narrow.

I appreciate any other advice you could give me.

21boat · Jul 3, 2009, 02:24 AM

Don't know how the line of site here is but if you made a 24" plus skid with a hook at the end and set this skid on a couple of PVC Pipes and a rope and pulley at the other end you could pull it up the yard depending on the slope.

I move 500+ pound boilers in this fashion. Except I use plank and steel pipe as rollers and an electric AC winch

creahands · Jul 3, 2009, 09:26 AM

Home depot has a garden wheel barrel. It is made of plastic and about 20'' wide.

Chuck

ballengerb1 · Jul 3, 2009, 03:09 PM

I don't know if you bought everything or not but if you need to skip the crushed rock I would suggest pulverized limestone. It packs tighter than sand, sand can move if it does not stay moist. How do you plan to get several tons of flagstone back there?

oakridge79 · Jul 4, 2009, 06:03 AM

All,

Thanks for your help and comments. I actually started the project yesterday with a wheel barrow I got at home depot. Their website is confusing as none of the wheel barrows mention a width of less than 32". For me, I understand width to be that of the bucket and handles from left to right. Apparently I am wrong on this or misread the spec. Regardless, everything is going well. I got the site excavated, moved the gravel and sand from where it was dumped into my garage, the geotextile down, the first 2" of crush rock down, and awaiting the plate compactor.

Thanks!

creahands · Jul 4, 2009, 06:34 AM

I have had every little success with home depot site. Try not to use it or their stores. That is getting harder everyday as they put more independents out of business.

Chuck