How to lay crazy paving

Inspired by a helpful YouTube guide. We based this walk-through on the popular UK video "How to lay crazy paving by Kevin Williams", a practical demonstration from 2015 that remains one of the clearest guides to the technique available online. The section on sorting stone into a working palette before you start bedding is particularly useful.

1. Plan the area and source your stone

Measure the area and add 10–15% for wastage and cutting at the edges. Crazy paving can use reclaimed York stone, broken natural slate, old paving slabs that have been broken up, or purpose-broken flagstone from a builder's merchant.

Thickness matters: you want pieces that are broadly similar in depth so the finished surface sits level. If you are mixing very thick and very thin pieces, use more bedding mortar under the thin ones to compensate. Most crazy paving works best at 25–50mm thick.

2. Mark out and excavate

Mark the area with pegs and string lines. Excavate to a depth of 150mm for a path or 200mm for a patio that might take light vehicle traffic — this allows for a 100mm compacted sub-base and a 50mm mortar bed, with the top of the stone sitting flush or just above the surrounding ground level.

If the area is near the house, check that the finished surface will sit at least 150mm below the damp-proof course. Slope the finished surface away from any walls at a fall of roughly 1:60 — about 1.5cm per metre — to direct rain away from the building.

3. Compact a Type 1 sub-base

Spread a 100mm layer of Type 1 MOT stone (crushed limestone or granite hardcore) over the excavated area. Rake it level and compact it thoroughly with a plate compactor — hired from most tool-hire shops for a day. Do not skip this step or try to compact it by foot. An uncompacted sub-base will shift over winter and your paving will sink unevenly.

If the existing ground is very soft or prone to waterlogging, a layer of weed-suppressing membrane between the soil and the sub-base will reduce future weed problems through the joints.

4. Sort your stone into a working palette

Before you bed anything, spend time sorting the pieces. Separate large flat pieces for the centre of the area, medium pieces for filling gaps, and smaller offcuts for tight corners. Lay them out dry on the sub-base first, shuffling them around until you have a pattern you are happy with — aim for varied joint widths of roughly 20–40mm and avoid long straight lines running in the same direction.

Keep larger pieces to the edges wherever possible. The perimeter of the paved area takes the most foot traffic and needs the most stable pieces. Very small fragments in the centre are fine; very small fragments at the edge tend to work loose over time.

5. Bed the stones in mortar

Mix a semi-dry bedding mortar of one part cement to four or five parts sharp sand. It should hold its shape if you squeeze a handful but not be wet enough to slump. Lay it to about 50mm depth across a manageable section — enough to bed four or five pieces at a time before the mortar starts to skin over.

Press each stone firmly into the mortar bed, tapping it down with a rubber mallet and checking it is sitting level with its neighbours using a long spirit level or a piece of straight timber. The surface should follow the fall you planned, not sit flat. Check regularly that you are maintaining the fall across the whole area.

6. Point the joints

Leave the bedded stones for at least 24 hours — 48 hours in cool weather — before pointing the joints. A stronger mortar mix of three parts sand to one part cement works well for pointing; some people add a little PVA to help adhesion. Push the pointing mix firmly into the joints with a pointing trowel or a gloved finger, making sure there are no air pockets.

Finish the joints with a slightly recessed or flush finish — do not let them dome above the surface of the stone, as they will collect water and crack. Brush off any excess with a stiff brush before it fully sets, and protect the finished area from rain and frost for at least 48 hours while the mortar cures.

When to call a handyman

Crazy paving is manageable as a DIY project for a reasonably fit person with time and patience. That said, larger areas — a full garden patio rather than a small path — involve significant quantities of mortar, heavy stone, and careful levelling over an extended area. For anything beyond about 10 square metres, or for an area close to the house where the fall and damp-proof course need careful attention, it is worth getting help to make sure it is done correctly the first time.