How to Build a Natural Stone Paveway

Collect natural stones from your property and that of neighbors and friends who give you permission to take the stones. Collect large, flat stones with at least one perfectly flat side to place as the upward facing sides of your pavement. Place all stones you collect in a wheelbarrow to easily transport to your work area.

Lay your stones out in the intended location and path of your pavement. Set the stone on top of the grass, leaving an inch or two between each stone. Set the all the rocks into place, making your pathway at least 2-feet wide.

Trace each stone to determine where you need to remove sod to place the stones into the ground. Extend the blade of a utility knife and cut a small groove into the grass and ground directly around the perimeter of each stone.

Remove the sod and dirt to place each stone into its own hole. To remove the sod, slide the small hand-held garden spade or shovel into the grooves you made with the utility knife and pry the sod up from the ground inside the tracing. Place the sod and dirt in a wheelbarrow to take to another location to dispose of the sod and soil or reuse in another landscaping project.

Remove only enough soil and sod in each whole to account for the thickness of the stones. You want the stones to be flush with the ground in the path site, so dig the holes to match the thickness of each stone.

Set the stones into place immediately after you dig each hole and proceed to dig and place all remaining stones in the pathway.