KrisHur wrote in message
...
My pool deck is flagstone set on sand w/cement between the stones (I don't
know what you call it). It's only 3 years old and about 3/4 of the area
repaired needs to be repaired. The masons who fixed up some stone decking
for me last year said this type breaks down very quickly. I really wish I
paid the extra cash to have the stone set in cement.

--
Kristen
Zone 6, SE NY



"kellysheroes" wrote in message
m...
We're planning on having a 1000 ft2 flagstone patio installed. We
have received estimates for both a dry install with rock/stone(?) dust
and a mortored install. What are the pros and cons of each. We live
in Northern Virginia by Washington DC. We do have a large, mature
sugar maple that will be approximately 6 feet from one corner of the
patio. Our concerns are these roots and heave. We want a very flat
surface which leads us to mortored, but are afraid of cracking in the
cement due to the roots. We believe that we can repair any root
movement in a dry install, but worry about the overall flatness over a
period of time. Thoughts?


I can confirm Kristen's observation stones set in sand w/ mortared
joints. I built a patio this way myself, and there were cracks in the
mortar after less than a year. Having said that, the stones have remained
in place. Were I to do it again, I would use mortar reinforced with fibers.
I would bet the only way to absolutely prevent heave would be to either hack
out any underlying roots (the horror), or perhaps have a reinforced slab
poured and then set the stones in mortar on top of that. You mention "cut"
flagstone, which to me means cut into relatively small tile shapes. If that
is the case, I would strongly recommend mortared joints. Small tiles in
stone dust will probably start to rock when stepped on after a few years.
Good luck.

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"Each day is future history. So don't step lightly."
--Clive Cussler
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