Stepping stones and landscape rocks

Hi, this is my first time here, and my first time trying to do this type of project.
I laid some stepping stones from our patio to the back gate.
I put landscape rocks between the stones.
I am trying to figure out how to make the rock stay put.
I have to "sweep" the stones back into place everyday when I get home. We do have two dogs, that is what's causing the rocks to get misplaced.
Can anyone give me an idea how to get the rickshaw to stay in place, short of getting rid of our girls, that's not going to happen.
They are not digging them, just running the yard.
I am adding a picture to give you an idea what I have
Thanks in advance for any help

Maybe mix some cement in there to solidify it more?

I think an edger would help, too. Line the sides with long boards or garden edging to keep the stones from migrating into the lawn. Then as Flowajen said, try adding a layer of cement and pushing the stones part way into it so it doesn't show but holds them down. That should work to keep them in place.

BTW, what you did looks nice! Good job!

You did a good job!!
Pack good dirt in between for moss.

Belle

I'm afraid when you have animals like energetic dogs OR energetic kids, then the stones, gravel, or any other loose footing in between the stones then any running around on this will dislodge it and send it fleeing all over the place not just onto the lawn.
Believe me, I have a very large area of small gravel on our driveway - footpaths and every time the grand-kid's are here, we have to sweep the lawn area closest to the gravel drive, even when we had dogs who were not re-known for fast movement of any kind (chow, chow's) the gravel was sent in all directions if a deer went past. I also found a lot of problems with the dogs pads on their feet from time to time and it was always caused by a piece of the gravel got wedged between the large pads and did cause a lot of pain.

I cant think of any way to prevent the stones being moved if the dogs run and jump about on it, perhaps lifting it up, removing some more soil and laying the stones just that bit deeper, not the idea you were looking for but maybe other ideas will come forth. Good luck
WeeNel.

Belle my thoughts exactly - that is what we did. Edged with the black plastic that gets staked down ( hidden) then swept sand between which really stabilized and now moss between the bricks. I think the large the fill size the more apt the pups are to dislodge.

I would remove the Block Stepping Stones, & raise the dirt underneath them. Make them higher then the surrounding ground. Then add your rocks. You should buy some smaller rocks called Pea Gravel. Fill that in around your stepping stones. The smaller rocks will settle down to the bottom, & stay there. Don't fill it up too much.

I agree with behillman, I have a wooden walkway in the back with the large stones but the walkway is a little higher to keep the stones from migrating onto the walkway. Also, pea gravel is an excellent idea, in fact, I just saw a show on HGTV where the homeowners bought the large square stepping stones and filled in with pea gravel. Lowe's has an excellent black landscape border, low profile and easy to install that would insure your rocks stay where they belong. By the way, you did a great job for your first project. Good luck.

There is product that is like a clear cement that can glue those stones in place. Makes them look glossy, like they are wet.

Using loose stones (river rock, pea gravel or any other material that is all one size) in a situation like that is very difficult. As you have found with the dogs, any movement scatters the stones everywhere. Pea gravel (rounded rock about 1/4" -3/8" diameter) will not stay in place unless you glue them down.

You could remove the stones and get the right kind. A material called quarter by dust.
This is fine stones and smaller particles down to dust in size. When you install it, dampen it and compact it. It will set up almost like concrete. Then the dogs may loosen a little now and then, but mostly it will stay in place.

Absolutely, use header material no matter what way you go. Header will keep most of the lawn where it belongs, and most of the stones where they belong, and allow you to properly compact the quarter minus.

Another way to do this is more like laying pavers. The stepping stones need to be closer together, and set on a base material so they will not move. Then sweep polymeric sand between them. There are several companies that make it. Look into pavers, then Polymeric Sand. Poly sand has a special glue in it that will anchor the stepping stones, and fill the spaces. Once it is set up it does not shift. (Got some stuck on my truck bed, and it took a long time to get it off). It is available around here in tan and grey.

I am reading that Btaylor is having issues keeping the stones between the pavers in place - not so much the stones side to side kicking up ( although I suspect it is a bit of both). We did similar to Diana's suggestion used the plastic material to keep the pavers 'directed' and to give barrier walls for the sand. We put what we call crush n run as the base (the fine stone pieces that won't shift) the pavers and then the sand. I never heard of the sand with the tacky material but my regular playground sand has done well. Will the polymeric sand allow moss growth or other vegetation if desired?

No, polymeric sand sets up just about like concrete. No growth between the pavers/stepping stones and the sand, unless the stepping stones shift and break contact with the poly sand. That is why proper set up and installation is important. So things do not shift.

The walkway would become a solid surface. Stepping stones, poly sand, header board all glued together.

Sounds great, Diana! My mom made a path of large white gravel which was dangerously shifty at first, now all of the rocks have settled and most are buried. Worthless for weed suppression, and collects leaves, which turns the rocks brown temporarily as there are a lot of oak leaves, tannin. Sure was cute the first couple years, like a dry streambed, but now regretful. Not a fan of large quantities of smaller rocks for anything.

Whatever you're going to do on top, I'd recommend excavating some first, tamping a layer of sand. When I've bothered to do that before, paths last much longer and are generally more pleasant throughout their life. Without a border, there's no way to keep grass out of the path, defeating the work you've done making it (and creating a whole 'nother maintenance nightmare - how to trim the area of all of the grass and weeds without mowing there!)

You have a lot of work to do if you wish the stones to stay in place. You can do a small area to be sure this will satisfy before getting too involved.

Remove stones from around a few pavers (maybe 4). Clean off the removed stone, but don't wash or wet them. Just get the dirt out of the stone.

Remove earth from around and between the pavers to an inch deeper than the pavers. You're trying to make a trench all around. This step will not be easy as you don't want to move the pavers. At this point tap in 6" long rebar rods on all sides of the pavers. Make sure the rebar does not extend above the walking surface.

"Dust" the trenches well with Quikrete Sidewalk Concrete Mix . Fill the trenches, with your dry stone up top to within 1/4" of top surface of the pavers. Do not have any stone above or even with the walking surface. Intermix the stones with Quikrete as you build up the stones in the trenches if you wish. Once you have the stone where you want it to stay, pour some of the Quikrete dust (gravel removed) carefully into the stone so that when you mist water onto it, it will disappear into your stone, leaving the surface of the stone wet, but clean.

Mist the Quikrete into the stone and not onto the paver surface. The idea is to wind up with pavers encased in cemented stone with your stones on top, but with the surface of the pathway having no sign of cement. Don't be afraid of making sure enough Quikrete is amoungst the stone to set it up as solid concrete once set.

You may wish to fence off the area to allow no traffic on the project for 24 hours minimum.

Take your time, do it carefully. If pleased with the result, do more later. Enjoy.

When working with cement products please wear goggles and plastic gloves. Keep the girls and dogs away from it.



This message was edited May 18, 2013 7:09 PM

Eko Flo is a clear, glue-like product that will attach the rocks to each other, yet allow the water to flow through. It will give the rocks some gloss, enhance the colors. Around here they use a golden colored pebble as the sample in the stores and it looks like a giant Rice Crispy Treat!

http://ekoflo.com/

Here is how I would approach this project:
1) Excavate 2" inches below the stepping stones. Compact the soil.
2) Install header board to confine the materials. This could be wood, plastic or metal. If you want a more natural look you could use rocks a minimum of 6" diameter, but larger is better. Sink them well into the ground. Do not use bricks, they are too small, too easy to turn over if they are not installed right.
3) Install some 1/4 minus, and compact that. Net result will be that finish grade on the 1/4 minus will be at the bottom of the stepping stones.
4) Lay the stepping stones where you want them. If I can suggest that parallel rows is not how we walk... Most people take a stride that is about 3' long, or a bit less. Pace it out yourself, and place the stepping stones at a natural spacing for the way you walk.
5) Add the pebbles and the binding material according to the label.

We live in the desert and use different types of rock for landscaping. I was tired of the rocks flying too so I purcased som Elmer's Glue All and mixed 1 cup of glue to 4 quarts of water. Used my 2 gallon spayer and spayed the areas that get the most rocks kicked around (walkways, around pool, etc.. To my amazement it works and rocks have stay intact for over four years. Elmer's glue is non-toxic and will not harm any plants. Rocks look great!