How to Repair a Slate Walk Path

Natural stone walkways are a common way of decorating gardens as well as front yards and other exterior areas. All types of natural stone are used, with slate being one of the more durable choices. Regardless of how well you install a slate walk path, you will eventually need to make repairs due to the wear and tear of Mother Nature as well as foot traffic from people over the years.

Shovel
Gravel
Sand
Rubber mallet
Dirt tamping machine
Scrap of wood

Instructions

- 1
  Sink the edge of the shovel underneath the outer edge of a piece of offending slate where it meets the yard. If you attempt to pry a piece up against another piece, you could scratch or damage the slate. Pry the piece upward until you can securely grasp it with your hands and remove the stone from the walkway.
- 2
  Remove all of the old gravel and sand that is underneath the old stone. Use the shovel to dig it out and go all the way down to the bare earth that is underneath all the padding, as it needs to be replaced with fresh.
- 3
  Layer the bottom of the area with at least 6 inches of gravel and tamp it down with the tamping machine. If you are dealing with a smaller stone and the machine won’t fit, use an appropriately sized scrap of wood and rubber mallet to tamp the gravel in place. Add at least 2 inches of sand on top of the gravel and tamp it down.
- 4
  Lay your new piece of stone in place of the old one. Tamp it down with the rubber mallet or machine tamper (depending on the size of the stone) and also fill the joints around the piece of slate with more sand to fill in the joints to match the others in the walkway.

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