Yes. You absolutely need the sand base. Even better, in my opinion, is
gravel dust, or stone dust, or crushed gravel, or whatever they call it in
your neck of the woods. I feel the rough edges of the gravel lock together
under compaction and don't shift around as much as sand. But you need a
porous base with good drainage so you don't get frost heaving. Even if you
live in a frost free area, it's very difficult to get the stones to lay flat
and even without a bed under them.

Sue

Zone 6, Southcentral PA


Mike wrote:

I'm putting in a 100 sq. ft. dry laid patio of flagstones. I've priced
the
sand I'll need (2 inch foundation, 1 inch fine sand bed) at c. $220
incl.
$50 to have it delivered by truck. My question is, do I absolutely need
the
foundation and bedding sand? Can't I just dig a shallow bed c. 1 in
deep,
level it, lay the stones, and then fill in the cracks with a single 50
lb
bag of sand? I don't care if weeds and grass grow in the cracks.