Paving stones in the garden, on the terrace or around the house ensure more order in the outdoor area. Natural stones are one of the oldest forms of paving paths, which indicates their good properties and durability. You also have a wide variety of stone types and colors to choose from, which allows you to design your garden individually. How can you lay natural stone paving, what are the best laying patterns and other helpful information and tips can be found below.
What are the benefits?
A variety of natural stones can be used for paving, which have different colors and can be found as large or small paving stones. Natural stone paving is easy to clean, is considered a non-slip surface and is resistant to stains and impurities. Thanks to its robustness and abrasion resistance, the appearance is maintained for years, regardless of external influences. Unlike natural stone slabs, rainwater seeps through the joints and additional drainage should not be provided. Natural stones are more expensive than concrete stones, but their lasting color and longer lifespan ensure a worthwhile investment.
Laying natural stone paving – the substructure
Garden paths, terraces, patio areas andDriveways can be laid with natural stone paving. Depending on the load, a suitable substructure is required before installation. If you want to pave the garage entrance, a stable base layer of around 25 centimeters is necessary to be able to withstand motor vehicles. On the other hand, garden paths for pedestrians do not need more than 15 centimeters of substructure. A bed of fine chippings or crushed sand is placed over the finished base layer and distributed evenly horizontally using an aluminum plate.
After the substructure is finished, the laying begins. For a more stable surface, it would be advisable to create an edge at the edges that will hold the natural stone paving firmly. The paving stones are then placed individually, adjusted according to their height and pattern and pinned in place with a rubber mallet. If the desired area is to be laid with natural stone paving, the joints should be filled with fine chippings or joint mortar. Depending on the laying pattern, there is a different method for laying the individual natural stones.
Garden paths don't just have the function of leading from the gate to the door and keeping your feet clean. They have a visual impact and are therefore an inseparable element of garden design. Before laying a garden path with paving, you should always think carefully about what would best suit the house. Some processing details also play an important role and should also be taken into account. The different rocks are characterized by a variety of color tones. Such natural stones can be found in different sizes, with the cube-shaped ones being used most often. These usually have a height and width of 9 centimeters and you need around 110 stones per square meter, depending on the pattern. Interesting shapes and patterns can best be achieved with the so-called small plaster. They offer numerous design options to give the terrace or garden path a very individual touch. Black basalt and/or gray granite is usually used. The material is ideal for creating palisades, paving, steps, imaginative ornaments or decorative balls and troughs. The natural stone is very popular due to its hardness. It is durable, resilient and comes in many colors - from shades of gray to shades of red, blue and green.
The row arrangement of the paving is considered the simplest laying pattern - the stones are laid in staggered rows. For a perfect paving row, you can also use processed natural stones that have the same shape and are suitable for different mosaic patterns. The plasters can be laid with or without joints. Because of the straight edges, this is omitted, but 1 to 2 cm of room for corrections must always be allowed for in the calculation. By the way, the paving is always laid from the area that has already been covered. Otherwise the freshly removed sand bed will be destroyed. It's best to take a formwork board and place it on the stones. This means that the freshly laid stones are not destroyed by careless movements. The stones only gain their final strength after being grouted with fine sand.
A round natural stone paving in the garden or on the terrace is very popular because the classic shape has a calming effect and creates an optical illusion for larger areas. A paving circle provides variety and is also a nice way to emphasize a specific area in the garden. In order to get a good circular shape, special paving stones are required. They are already cast or ground into a cone shape and are arranged from the inside to the outside of the circle. This automatically creates a circle when you put them together. However, most manufacturers offer such pre-assembled paving circles. If you want to lay a circle of natural stone paving yourself, choosing the right paving is essential. For this purpose, a larger amount of stones is recommended so that you can choose the right ones. When laying, the joints should not be uneven or disproportionately wide. It's best to first mark a circle and install a paving compass in the middle. If you want to go even further with your design, you can try a natural stone spiral.
Since paving stones do not occur in nature in a perfect trapezoid shape, you should use processed natural stones for this laying pattern. This is how the perfect round shape is created. Do not leave large gaps between the paving stones to protect them from weeds. If the paving circle does not take up more than half of the area to be paved, you can simply purchase an unsorted stone mixture according to the square meter requirement. As a rule, there are enough stones of the right shape to pave a circle yourself.
The runner row is similar to the row structure, although small paving stones are particularly suitable here. They can be alternated with larger ones and thus create interesting laying patterns for terraces and patio areas. A stable border is required for this type of design. This secures the paving edges against slipping. However, this depends primarily on the local conditions, the load and the size of the covering. For areas with little or no heavy load, a concrete support, at least 10 cm thick, is sufficient and then lay the row of runners. Concrete curbstones are recommended for heavy loads.
You can combine large and small pavers to create a creative row of runners. However, first seek advice from experts as to which sizes and installation patterns are best suited to the area to be laid. You can lay small garden paths or patios yourself with natural stone paving, but if it's an entire garden, it's best to hire a few craftsmen to do the work. In addition, the load and stress on the area plays an important role in the selection of paving type, size and laying pattern. In principle, size 8 paving stones are suitable for safely laying areas that are constantly subject to traffic, such as driveways. Size 6 stones are ideal for patios, garden paths and house entrances.
Paving stones can be laid in many different stone formations. The wall bond and the shed arch are considered classic. the last was often placed in city squares and streets in the 19th and 20th centuries because of its beautiful design function. The arches run parallel and look like real jewelry. With this laying pattern, natural stones in different colors can be laid as natural stone paving. This creates beautiful patterns that are suitable for large, small, classic and even modern gardens.
In gardens without decoration, an attractive area laid with natural stone paving serves as such. Laying patterns can be combined with each other for larger areas and look playful but also very stylish. You can lay a large patio with natural stone paving, using a row of runners for the main area and designing the dining area with a circular laying pattern. With such a design, the different areas on the floor are noted. It doesn't always have to be processed stone. Large boulders or river stones can also be decoratively incorporated into the paving design.
Garage entrances can be laid with natural stone, which is a good and long-lasting decision for this area. If they are laid correctly, the paving stones ensure a stable surface that cannot be destroyed by a car. As already mentioned, these are available in different sizes. Mosaic paving has an edge length of between three and eight centimeters. Conventional natural stone paving measures between eight and eleven cm. These are considered large paving stones between 13 and 17 centimeters. Pavements of this size and above are referred to as stone slabs.
The material harmonizes perfectly with similar building materials used in the garden or in facade design. As an example, we present the combination of natural stone for the facade cladding of the house and porphyry paving as a surface for the driveway.
Natural stones in the garden create a pleasant atmosphere in the garden. Design your own backyard with an outdoor fire pit, beautiful water features with a stream and a natural stone paving with the same shape as the fireplace. Use natural stones in different shapes for this purpose and create your own natural oasis in the garden.
If you want to create a dark outdoor garden path, you should choose a suitable type of stone. Basalt stones for paving are a suitable choice in this case, as they occur naturally in black and do not need to be colored.
Another design idea is to design the round natural stones in two matching colors, for example with basalt and porphyry natural stones. Use the darker color for the edge and the lighter color for the inner part to avoid a dramatic effect.
If you prefer the white color for your garden design, we recommend laying granite paving stones. They are the type of stone most commonly found in white.
Gray granite cobblestones can be matched to any exterior. It has a beautiful look that, along with durability, creates the perfect natural stone paving for patios and driveways.
In many large cities, city squares have mosaic paving in interesting shapes. This sea wave association made of black and white natural stones and other paving stone images beautify some public areas in Lisbon - the capital of Portugal.
