How to Build a Slate Patio
without Mortar

28 May 2010- A slate patio make home exteriors a beautiful place to relax and enjoy. There are many other advantages of slate patios like durability, slip resistance etc. Slate being a little expensive stone, one might have to worry about money to be spent on slate patio construction. However, there are many cost-effective ways to build a slate patio such as by using square slate and with no mortar. This article exactly tells about how to build a slate patio without mortar?

Materials Needed to Build a Slate Patio

For patio constructions, one needs the following materials and tools

• Square slate ( with 2-inch thickness)
• Sand
• Stamper
• Shovel
• Spade
• Level
• Measuring tape
• String
• Stakes
• Wood ( with 8-feet length and 2-inches thickness)
• Landscaper's fabric
• Garden hose
• Lumber (4 2-by-4-by-8 feet pieces)
• Saw
• Hammer
• Nails
• Rubber mallet
• Brick set
• Crushed decorative stone or slate chippings
• Broom

Step-by-Step Instructions for Slate Patio Construction

You won't need to follow too many steps to install patio with slate and with no use of mortar.

Prepare Space to Build Slate Patio

• You must have a flat area in the front or in your backyard to install slate patio.
• Clean off the proposed area for building patio. Clear away debris, weeds, and rocks if any.
• Measure the area and mark it off with the stakes. Connect the strings to the stakes so that an easy barrier is made.
• With the help of a spade, cut along the perimeter at a 4-inch depth so as to loosen up the soil.
• Clean up all the dirt to a 4-inch depth with the help of the level and make the area flat.

Frame the Area to Build Slate Patio

The excavated area (that you have dug up at 4 inch depth) has to be moistened after which tamp it down.

• Place the landscaper's fabric on top of the soil.
• Nail together 4-2-inch X 4-inch X 8-foot pieces of lumber and place the form in the excavated space. Ensure that the form fits snugly.
• Remove another 1-1/2-inch of soil around the form.

Prepare Slate Patio Base

Shovel sufficient sand into the form to fill it. Now drag the plank of wood over the form to smooth out the sand and tamp the sand down until it is 2 inches below the edge of the form.

Lay Slate for Patio

After making sure that the area for patio is perfectly leveled, begin laying the slate.

• Choose a corner to lay the first piece of slate.
• Keep on laying pieces of slate with minimum gaps between the slate pieces until you are finished.
• With the help of rubber mallet, tamp each slate to seat it and check the level of the slate.
• If you see that it is not properly leveled then remove the slate. Add sand and replace the slate. Tamp it again. Again check the level and continue the process until you get a leveled surface.

Trim Slate to Fit in Patio

If you find that not all of the slate pieces have fit perfectly, you will have to trim slate.

• With the help of pencil and scale, draw a line where the slate requires to be trimmed.
• Score the area with the help of brick set.
• Place the slate on a piece of wood and using rubber mallet, break off the piece. If it doesn't break, score the slate piece again and hit it once more with the rubber mallet.

Finish off Building Slate Patio

When you see that all the slate pieces fit well and the area is all leveled, you have to give finishing touch to your new constructed slate patio.

• Put sand over the slate.
• With broom, push the sand across the patio so as to fill the gaps between slate pieces.
• Clean off the excess sand.
• If you see any further gaps, repeat the process until all the gaps are filled in.
• Now remove the slate form and fill the remaining area with decorative stone or slate chippings.

Your slate patio construction is now complete. Enjoy the newly built slate patio!

If you need some inspiration to build a slate patio, see Unique Slate Patio Design Ideas