How to Build a Bluestone Walkway | Ask This Old House

Ask This Old House landscaping contractor Roger Cook helps a homeowner remove a flagstone walkway and replace it with bluestone.
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Time: 7-8 hours
Cost: Varies
Skill Level: Difficult
Tools:
Gas powered plate compacter []
Rubber hammer []
Wheelbarrow []
Electric jack hammer []
Spade shovels []
Shopping List:
Bluestone
¾-inch stone []
Stone dust []
Portland cement []
Mason’s line []
Stakes []
Steps:
1. Start the process by removing the existing walkway with an electric powered jackhammer. Be sure to wear eye and ear protection.
2. Determine the width of the walkway (in this instance, referencing the the width of the front stairs). Spray paint marks six inches wider than the finished walkway to allow working space.
3. Excavate the area between the sprayed lines about 6 to 8 inches below grade.
4. Before backfilling, place a PVC pipe horizontally across the walkway using your height as a reference. This pipe can serve as a future chase for electrical or irrigation lines without disturbing the walkway.
5. Rake the surface smooth and then use a gas powered plate compacter to compact the subsoil.
6. Next, add a mix of stone dust and _-inch stone to a depth of 2-3” and run the plate compactor over that layer. Continually add the mix 2-3” at a time, compacting between layers, to ensure a solid base, until you are 3” from finished grade.
7. Set a mason’s line of 3 inches to match the height of the walkway and place it at a 90-degree angle to the front steps. To ensure the line is perpendicular, use the 3-4-5 method. Measure three feet horizontally and four feet vertically and the diagonal measurement in between the two points should be five feet if the lines are truly perpendicular.
8. To fill the uneven underside of the bluestone, use a 12:1 mix of stone dust and Portland cement and hammer the bluestone down on top of it, filling any voids. If the stone still rocks, you may need to add more mix and hammer again.
9. Once the stones are set and the stone surface is completely dry, spread polymeric sand into the joints, then carefully sweep or blow it off the stone surface. Wet the sand in the joints to lock the bluestone into place and minimize weeds and insects.
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Homeowners have a virtual truckload of questions for us on smaller projects, and we're ready to answer. Ask This Old House solves the steady stream of home improvement problems faced by our viewers—and we make house calls! Ask This Old House features some familiar faces from This Old House, including Kevin O'Connor, general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, and landscape contractor Roger Cook.
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How to Build a Bluestone Walkway | Ask This Old House
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