How to Lay Crazy Paving: Tips and Tricks

Crazy Paving, also known as flagstone or random paving, is a haphazard way of laying natural stones commonly found in outdoor spaces, such as gardens, patios and pathways.

Knowing how to lay Crazy Paving entails utilising diverse kinds and random sizes of stones to create an appealing unique pattern. Crazy Paving came into the picture in Ancient Rome and the term is self-explanatory given the polished ‘crazed’ appearance.

If you want to do something characteristic with natural stone, Crazy Paving is an excellent option. This pavement style may be done in any size or form, allowing for unlimited creativity. This one-of-a-kind pavement is perfect for adding interest and texture.

When properly laid, Crazy Paving may survive for years with no further maintenance.

Here is your step-by-step guide on how to lay Crazy Paving:

Creating a guideline design layout: It’s critical to draw design layout first; this may seem unnecessary if you already know where you want your Crazy Paving to go. But this simple step will ensure that you don’t go outside your planned area and that all the stones are aligned correctly without going over budget. Because of the irregular stone forms, this stage is critical for Crazy Paving. The aim is to fit them together accurately, almost like a jigsaw. The last thing you want to do is waste your time and money on a pavement that will not look good when completed.

Designating the area: All you need to make your guidelines are a few wooden/metal spikes and a bit of string – how long is a piece of twine? The length of the series and the number of spikes needed will be determined by the size and form of your design; at least one spike for each corner is suggested. Take your spikes and drive one into the ground in each corner of the proposed area, then tie a thread to each one to form a “barrier” around your prospective pavement. Sorted? Now it’s time to start excavating.

Making space for your paving: You’ll want to lay your Crazy pavement at ground level, but you’ll need to dig a little deeper (typically approximately 15cm) to create room for the gravel and cement that will hold your Crazy Paving in place for years. It is the most challenging phase, yet skipping it might result in uneven paving, therefore, don’t skip it.

Securing the area: With your standards in place, you must now secure them to produce solid, long-lasting pavement. Place some wooden pegs at 1m intervals along the edge of your ‘barrier’ space. (Again, this may differ depending on your work area). Then, using a drill, fasten the lumber to the pegs.

Placing the hardcore: By now, you’re visualising your ideal pavement for next summer, but don’t get too enthusiastic! Once you have completed all the necessary preparations for your Crazy pavement, you can proceed to apply gravel to the prepared surface.

The stone will rise to a height of around 10cm and may then be scraped to produce an equal surface. When you’re satisfied with your gravel coverage, grab a sledgehammer and crush the gravel until you have a dense and firm foundation for your mortar.

Placing your Crazy Paving: You should test how your paving will look before putting in any mortar. You may accomplish this by laying the stones on the gravel in the proper locations. This is known as a ‘dry lay,’ and it eliminates the chance of running out of stones or laying them in an unsuitable manner for your allocated space; it also ensures that the oddly shaped stones will match your layout plan.

When you’re satisfied with your placement and everything fits together correctly, remove the stones, lay down your mortar and replace the stones firmly. You will next need to wait for the mortar to set, which should be indicated on the mortar bag. Remember that you’ll want to save some of this mortar for the final touches.

Finishing touches: Is your mortar ready? Is it starting to resemble your vision? All that remains is to fill in the gaps with some excess mortar and your paving will be finished and ready for the summer. You may now sit back and appreciate your work; you might even consider organising a BBQ to show off your beautiful garden.

The benefits of crazy Paving

The appearance and use of a Crazy Paving design in your garden or patio area are two of the most notable advantages. The unforced, natural aspect of Crazy Pavers, made by combining stones of various sizes, can offer an outdoor area’s true individuality.

Furthermore, because of its setting, this form of paving is long-lasting and capable of withstanding various weather conditions for an extended time. As previously said, intentionally leaving small spaces between each stone allows the garden owner to be creative and add something extra to the cracks, providing an even more stunning finish.

Final Takeaway

“Crazy Paving” is one alternative that is gaining favour. Crazy pavement is precisely what it sounds like, a style of paving that combines unevenly shaped stones to produce an eye-catching appearance.

We have a wide selection of unusual paving stones at Stone Depot. For further information on any of the above, or if we can assist you with a specific question, please get in touch with a member of our team immediately.

Also, see our instructions on how to avoid common mistakes while laying Crazy Paves.

Here are a few more blogs that will help you to learn more about Crazy Pavers:

*Disclaimer: All information and advice given above in the blog are to the best of our knowledge. Please reconfirm at your end before execution.