Do-It-Yourself Slate Pavers

Installing slate paving stones yourself is an effective way to improve the appearance of your outdoor living space. The natural beauty of slate can enhance a walkway, patio or garden path. It is important to prepare the area where you plan to lay out the slate pavers so that the installation will be attractive and lasting. You can use uniformly cut slate or pieces of slate that are random in size and shape. It may be helpful to lay out the slate prior to installing it so that you can create the most desirable layout with the slate that you have on hand.

2 lengths of garden hose or rope
Tape measure
Shovel
Landscaper's fabric
Utility knife
Pea gravel
Slate pavers
Mallet

Instructions

- 1
  Lay out the edges of the slate paver path using 2 lengths of garden hose or rope along each edge of the path. Keep the distance even by measuring the space and adjusting it to the desired width using a tape measure. The hose or rope will act as a guideline for the path layout.
- 2
  Dig out the sod inside the hose or rope with a shovel. Remove 3 inches of soil from the pathway.
- 3
  Roll out landscaper's fabric onto the dug out pathway. Trim off the excess fabric with an utility knife.
- 4
  Fill the dug out pathway with pea gravel leaving approximately half the thickness of the stone pavers left unfilled.
- 5
  Position the pavers along the pathway in the desired configuration. You can place them in rows in a pattern or randomly so that the pathway appears to be natural. Tap the pavers into place with a mallet if they do not sit level.
- 6
  Fill in around the pavers with pea gravel until it is level with the sod on either side. Remove the hose or rope.

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