bluestone walkway design and installation

by Karen
(CT)

Hi,

I love your website. I hope I'm posting these questions in the correct place.

I have a small ranch in ct.
I'm redoing my front walkway-s shape about 52 feet long 4 ft wide with a flair to 6 feet at the porch. Three steps up from the driveway.
Back way straight about 50 feet 3 feet wide. 2 steps up from the driveway.

Would you use blue stone on both walkways? Or is it overkill?

Also would you use wire mesh or fiberglass in the cement for the base?

Thanks so much for all your help

ANSWER

Hi Karen,
Sure, you could use bluestone on both walkways...it will unify the design. I like your concept of making the more prominent one 4 feet wide and the other one 3 feet wide. They will be the same in materials, yet different in design.

Are you using irregular or regular bluestone?

I am assuming you are referring to a wet laid application where you set the stone in concrete. I am not familiar with fiberglass as a reinforcement, only the wire mesh.

Take a look at my page building a patio There are diagrams there as to installation techniques. See the second section down Patio Stones Set in Concrete. Even though this is about patios, it is applicable for walkways too.

I see you are in Connecticut. You have some sever winters there (or at least used too!) and lots of freeze thaw conditions. These cause cracking in mortared joints.

Therefore...

1. Make sure you get an absolutely professional installation.

2. Consider using a dry laid application, where any chance of cracking is completely avoided. The walkway in the above photo is dry laid.

If you use regular shaped bluestone (such as a mixture of geometric sizes), and you dry lay them, it makes for a very nice structured walkway. You can also dry lay the irregular shapes. I like to use large slabs. In between you can use small stones, such as pea gravel, use plants, mulch or a mixture of any of these. This of course is a more casual, rustic looking walkway. See my page on stone walkways