Question on my back porch

[Shibby]

The sellers had this cheap green turf like carpet covering the covered part of the porch. Underneath for some reason they had sand (like sand box sand) filled in between the slabs and sand spread over the top of the slabs. Now maybe they had the sand on top because of a little dog they had, to soak up it's piss. I want to remove the sand, but I'm not sure what to put in it's place. Should I use the same gravel that the toy lawn mower is sitting in? Can I fill it with cement? or something else.

[bigscott]

if you want to keep the same look grab sand and mix with portland cement .. fill in your grooves .. hardens right up or if you want the sand gone all together just get and fill with cement shibb

[Shibby]

I don't like the sand because that shit gets everywhere and tracked into the house. I was thinking the cement would be easy and clean. Just wasn't sure if there would be some other problem cementing it all together would cause.

[Gods Son]

ive looked at those pics twice and dont see any sand

[bigscott]

I don't like the sand because that shit gets everywhere and tracked into the house. I was thinking the cement would be easy and clean. Just wasn't sure if there would be some other problem cementing it all together would cause.

shibb are the stone dry layed ??? if so pick up stone dust and portland mix the 2 and relay your stones ... gives you time to take a rubber mallet to tap stones into place as you lay them so they are nice and even .. make sure you have a level with you ... sweep up mess let harden and your done ... will give you that nice grout look between stones ..

[Shibby]

Dry laid as in they just dig placing for the stones and set them down? That's what it appears to be. The sand goes deep and the same stones continue to the far side of the picture have gravel in between them.

[Shibby]

ive looked at those pics twice and dont see any sand

The pic not big enough for you? lol. All that tan color between the stones is sand.

[mofo]

i think the point of having the sand is to level it out so the stones have a even ground to sit on. and to funnel away and water that could push the stones up and crack them. is the house sitting in a flood warning area?

[Shibby]

We are in a "high flood risk" area, but no exaggeration it would have to flood like 10 feet to even reach the porch.

[mofo]

We are in a "high flood risk" area, but no exaggeration it would have to flood like 10 feet to even reach the porch.

maybe the backyard was done by a professional. if it was they were probably obligated by law to use something that would prevent the water from pooling/puddling to close to your house. is the patio in a slight downward angle away from the house?

[Shibby]

maybe the backyard was done by a professional. if it was they were probably obligated by law to use something that would prevent the water from pooling/puddling to close to your house. is the patio in a slight downward angle away from the house?

No, it's level with the house. It's hard to tell from the pic, but to scale, if you measure about an inch max from the top of the flowers, it's a significant slope down and the the back yard levels out.

[mofo]

ohh. okay. from what i've seen from patios like that, gravel won't really work because it's doesn't hold onto the stones well.

[bigscott]

Dry laid as in they just dig placing for the stones and set them down? That's what it appears to be. The sand goes deep and the same stones continue to the far side of the picture have gravel in between them.

if the sand goes deep then just mix the sand with portland and relay them .. the sand will not track in because its sealed in the portland cement . i prefer stone dust over sand but if you already have a ton of sand under the stones then just mix dry portland with it and relay the stone .. the moisture will harden it

[buell]

if the sand goes deep then just mix the sand with portland and relay them .. the sand will not track in because its sealed in the portland cement . i prefer stone dust over sand but if you already have a ton of sand under the stones then just mix dry portland with it and relay the stone .. the moisture will harden it

there u go:) good call scott.

[Shibby]

if the sand goes deep then just mix the sand with portland and relay them .. the sand will not track in because its sealed in the portland cement . i prefer stone dust over sand but if you already have a ton of sand under the stones then just mix dry portland with it and relay the stone .. the moisture will harden it

Damn, this is starting to sound like way more work than I was hoping. I was hoping I could just hose the sand out. Let it dry and fill in the cracks with something. This is what the non-covered part of the porch looks like.