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I'm trying to calculate how many stones I'll need for a walkway for a job and I need to know how much room I'll need to leave between the stones. The stones are 3' x 5' x 2" and will sit fully proud on the lawn. The photo was taken at another job, and the spacing seems to be fine. But I'm interested in whether there is a standard or a formula based on the size of the stones.

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That Idiot
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3 Answers3

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Is there another way to get to the door for people in wheelchairs, people who use canes or walkers, or people who have other ambulatory problems? If not, they need to be flush together, preferably turned so that you have the 5-foot width, although the 3-foot width would almost always be enough. The wheelchair I used to use had a 34" wheelbase, which was wider than average, but I had a chair with wheels that tilted out to make it easier to push myself rather than have someone else pushing me.

Even if there is another path for wheelchairs, it is best to dig the stones down into the ground so that the tops are flush with the ground. This helps prevent tripping. Tripping is a major concern for people who don't pick up their feet well and people who are shorter than average, as well as people with certain types of disabilities. Some people just lay the pavers on top of the ground, and they can cause tripping if people's strides don't match the spacing of the pavers. No matter how much research you do on the distance to put them apart, you will never be perfect for everyone because everyone has a different stride length unless you put the pavers flush against each other.

Making them flush with the ground also allows you to mow right over them, so it saves you a recurring cost of weeding around them as well as paying medical bills of those who trip on them and injure themselves.

If you do make them flush with the ground and put a special sand in between and keep the sand level with the tops of the pavers, then it would still be possible for those in wheelchairs and with canes and walkers to use the path with relative safety.

megaritzmom
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  • These are all good points and if it were a municipal or public space we'd certainly want to incorporate the suggestions. However this is a beach home in a rural/rugged area owned by a young couple with some kids. If their need for accessibility changes at some time in the future they would make appropriate changes then. – That Idiot Oct 31 '18 at 11:31
  • Why not just install the pavers correctly in the first place? Or is cost an issue? – Jurp Nov 04 '18 at 14:45
  • @Jurp On the contrary, cost is definitely not the issue. The owner wants a "stepping stones" feel. If they need a smooth surface in the future, they'd do it at that point. But the aesthetic is of primary importance. – That Idiot Dec 17 '18 at 13:15
  • @That Idiot - The stepping stones feel is what I got from the poster, too. It's just that installing them tall and proud is a major tripping hazard and having to redo them in the future is just wasting time and money. Setting them flush with 6-9" of grass between them will still given the poster the aesthetic they're looking got for without the hazard. – Jurp Dec 17 '18 at 23:56
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If you leave any space weeds and seeds will take hold. If you do not want to lay them flush against each other I highly recommend polymeric sand brushed in to at least a one inch depth, two inches if possible and topped up yearly. The gap should be enough to get a weeding tool in.

Alternately you could just whipper snip the weeds and leave the smallest gap possible.

Having seen some Liatris spicata seeds become attractive flowers and then push large flagstones apart do not underestimate how strong plants are.

kevinskio
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  • Weeds will not be a concern. The landscape service (us) will be hand removing weeds from turf weekly. So we're left with a 50/50 concern of aesthetic and function (walking ease). We want it to feel a bit like stepping stones rather than a patio, so there needs to be some space. We are leaning toward 4" spacing, but I wondered if there were some general guidelines. – That Idiot Oct 29 '18 at 16:50
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    For a long path an obvious guideline is a comfortable length of stride to keep on the stones. AFAIK the typical stride length of an adult is 2ft 6in to 3ft, so that would suggest gaps between zero and 1ft if you are walking along the "5ft" dimension of the slabs (i.e. two paces per slab), or zero (or at least "small enough to bridge with one foot") if you are walking along the "3ft" dimension. – alephzero Oct 29 '18 at 17:21
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    If you are running a business, weeds are still a concern - the less time you spend hand-weeding, the more customers you can deal with per day! – alephzero Oct 29 '18 at 17:25
  • @alephzero We typically have a maintenance crew on a site for either half or full day. Since we only do organic care, we plan on several man-hours of manual weeding in lawns each week. – That Idiot Oct 29 '18 at 17:40
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    You could set these stones far enough apart to grow grass between the stones. And simply mow. They would look as if they were part of the lawn. These, however, are very large and the best is set flush together. Keep the long direction perpendicular to the path. You don't want to see long lines leading away from you. Also, the proper way to lay bluestone or any paver is by digging down 5", leveling the undisturbed subsoil, install 4" of crushed gravel 5/8 minus, compact, install an inch of mason sand, compact and lay the pavers, the blue stone. This size is best as baby patio 'chain'? – stormy Oct 29 '18 at 20:25
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    Do what @Stormy said, and remember to set the grade properly. Bluestone always looks best when set flush. And another thing to consider: while you may have a crew available to hand-weed, the next person who buys your property may not. – Jurp Oct 29 '18 at 23:15
  • ...and if those maintenance dudes were doing their job correctly and knowledgeably there should never be any weeds to pull by hand out of your lawn. Are these the same that will be installing the blue stone? What do you mean by 'fully proud'? – stormy Oct 30 '18 at 07:47
  • @stormy - by 'fully proud' I mean that they will not be recessed at all. They will sit on top of the turf (essentially) with the full 2" thickness exposed. It has become relatively common in this area to sit large pavers "floating" in this manner. – That Idiot Oct 31 '18 at 11:38
  • Well, if that looks good to you...I see busted toes. Grins. I am one of these barefoot weirdos! Did you send a picture? – stormy Nov 01 '18 at 07:08
  • I'll try to send a few blue stone paver installations I've done; flush and separated. – stormy Nov 01 '18 at 07:14
  • Still trying to free up more pictures. Somehow I've got shortcuts attached to shortcuts or whatever. My IT guy is working on this, grins. – stormy Nov 02 '18 at 23:14
  • "fully proud" pavers and "young couple with some kids" equals "little kids tripping on the first paver as they try to run down the path". – Jurp Nov 04 '18 at 14:47
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stepping stone blue stone

I am having trouble getting other pictures transferred. But this is a reasonable size and spacing for people walking on large pavers. They are most certainly flush to the surface. I would never sit pavers on top of the ground.

flag stone path set in gravel with 2X4 edger

stormy
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