Flagstone Patio Installation from Start to Finish 

thanks so much for you and your dad sharing with us sooooo many years of experience and knowledge ... I will at some point attempt to construct a flagstone patio ...hope he is enjoying his retirement !!! Stella

Happy to say that, this has been the most informative and helpful video uploaded on youtube so far. Great job Claussens and thank you

You not only taught me how to do this, you gave me the courage to try it on my own. I just followed your advice and my patio looks great. I particularly liked how the father and son team talked me through it with the "old expert" doing the work and his son highlighting the many aspects of Dad's technique.

Hello David and Hans, Excellent video, a pleasure to watch. In Bussum, the Netherlands I started laying a terrace with Red Weser Flagstones. Around the loungeset I will put these in mortar, the terrace (20 m2...) is in sand, which has been there for hunderds of years. The jigsaw is almost complete, made natural cuts with the chissel (... chipping chissel, as your dad mentioned :-) and integrated 2 water-drainage points leading to a influx water reservoir of 1 m3. Keep the rain in the ground. Greetings and thanks for your efforts in putting this video together! Albert Beijlevelt

Well done. I especially like that you spend some time going over the proper tools and materials that one needs.

I usually want a brief description, hitting those main points with high quality video but man this just hits different. GOLDEN footage right here!!!

Always a good idea to wet the underside of the flagstone as well . Makes the flags and the mortar bond together better.

Thanks so much. A true artist. Its hard to find videos that are straightforward and make perfect sense. I've seen way too many that make you say, "what....", as you realize something seems a little off. Not here. Watch this and you can tell its the right way to do it.

what a great video from a great father and son team. the information found in your video is exactly what I was looking for. thank you two so much for the time spent creating the video. much appreciated.

Great video guys I learned a lot not only about flagstone installation but a relationship between father and son..which my son will be helping me on my flagstone patio👍🏽

Wow excellent video, ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING. I felt like I was getting a private lesson from the MASTER!

Absolutely great video! Really a gift to share the years of experience of a true craftsman with us. He seems like a fascinating guy. Thanks so much. You both do a beautiful job explaining things. Very enjoyable and informative.

Great job! Just perfectly done instructional video. Loved the father/son aspect. What a team!

Awesome video, very impressive work. Your Dad gives me inspiration that I can keep on working into my 60's and later, he appears to be very fit .

Great video,and to see father and son very special. Thank you.

that is a real craftsman at work . what a honor to see this . great information thank you from old carpenter

Thank you so much. Excellent tutorial. Very thorough. Loved the emphasis on quality and father,son team.

Thank you David! This is the instruction I was searching for....my wife and I will do our Flagstone patio this spring, and I wanted to mortar or cement in my flagstone as opposed to just tucking in with sand and wetting as other videos show.

Thanks for the video -- was extremely helpful in laying my stone patio. You guys anticipated all the questions I had.

great question and answer between son and dad! Love the German accent and precision!!

Very nice work , my only question why don't you use a mud board to avoid getting the cement all over the stone while jointing?

Thank you David. That was an incredibly thorough video, well done. I just started a landscaping job and wanted a headstart on patios, I think this will give me more of an edge.

I am so happy for you. You have really good luck. When you set a stone and checked it with a line it was nearly perfect the very first time. With my luck , the stone would be to low, then what?? I am a little nauseous from the camera jitters. I feel bad for the person who attempts this and finds the stones being to low.

Fantastic easy instructions from this great team.

this is an EXCELLENT video! thanks so much for sharing your dad's great knowledge. i wish you all the best!

Very well documented. Great to see Pops and Son work together. Thank you

Great video. You and your father really know what you're doing. I don't know that I will try this myself, but now I probably know just enough to be a pain to the guy I hire. Hopefully not, lol. I do have a question for you. I'm thinking about doing this over the concrete surrounding my swimming pool. Here is the question though. I have a concrete block apron that makes the rounded edge of my pool. This block then meets the rest of the concrete and they are of course level. So if I put flagstone done how would I treat the joint of the concrete block. The block will then be lower (the depth of the flagstone) than the block is. I don't know if I explained it exactly right. But it's not unusual. The block simply surrounds the pool and has a rounded edge going down into the pool. So my only question is how to treat the different heights once the flagstone is down.

Fantastic video. What a badass your dad is. I hope I'm as strong as him when I'm his age. Thanks for posting.

David- I have done a couple of flagstone jobs. I am getting ready tomorrow to cut some stone. I watched your video as a "refresher" to make sure I don't forget something. Your video is very thorough and very much appreciated. Thank you!!

Bob Koci... I couldn't agree more! wonderfully informative instructional video! Lessons from a master! This is what RU-vid is all about! Thank you Mr. Claussen (& sons) for your experience and instruction!

Thanks for such for this informative video. I was able to relay and extend flagstone paving around my pool. The job looks and and saved me a few thousand dollars.

I agree after searching through multiple videos about laying flagstone this video is the best I found! I've got a question, I'm going to lay flagstone over a 15x15 slab, do I use Portland cement or can I use quickcrete? if Portland cement how many 94lb bags?

very good and informative presentations but I was taught that if you have to cut it then you not a good stone mason but I think that's was my boss saving on labor cost but the old man knows his stuff ive learn a lot and I love all phrases of masonry brick block stone everything keep up the good work

That was an outstanding video! I enjoyed the Father, Son and Grandson aspect! You obviously put a lot of effort into this video - thanks!

I like how it turns out when your done with it. awesome job

Thanks so much. Extremely helpful. Great job. Love seeing a family working together too.

Awesome video, I found it to be very informative, I think your dad is very cool, not to mention very hard working as well, I bet he's also quite the lady's man.

Thanks. Very informative video. You took me through all the stages that I wanted to learn about. Thanks again.

David, Thanks for the video. I am replacing mortar in an old flagstone patio. I have quite a number of bags of regular mortar mix, I’ve looked online and most people show mixing your own mortar with PC, Sand, etc. Can I use the regular mortar mix? Should I add to it, additional Portland Cement or lime?

Great video guys, I got some good tips for doing my patio. I am in the UK but I guess i can get the equivelent chemicals over here

Awesome video, the best on you tube on a subject . I want to lay granite patio using 2 by 3 feet slabs. What minimum size joints should I make in your opinion . Thank you.

excellent how to video, beautiful work guys, and a great family team. I loved it..

Muy bonito trabajo y bien explicado grasias por compartir sus experiencias thanks You.

This was super helpful, thanks! Also, dad's accent makes me happy. :)

Hi David. Great tutorial. I have just begun taking small interlock jobs myself. I have a quick question. I am currently working a project where there is a concrete base that is 5 or 6 inches below where I want my flagstone to be. Can I fill in the gap with limestone screening and then mortar my flagstone on top of the screening? Thanks a lot and again, great tutorial. Steve

thanks for your video, I found it really helpful and informative. hi from the UK!

Thanks for the informative video, super helpful. I’m also in Colorado and need to know if I can lay stones in sand and still do cement joints? Thx

I have a question. We had a large concrete slab with big expansion joints (rotted out) and we are going to lay flagstone on top. Is there a way to stop the flagstones from cracking off across the joints. There must be some give somewhere. I really like your movie on the laying and cutting process; many thanks John Kelly

Nice detailed video; enjoyed seeing the family work together at a trade craft.

Thank you! Great questions and answers! Looking forwards to my next patio job. Stay strong, J

Thank you for your video. I am planning to put flagstone for 1500 Sq with my husband. We have few big cracks on our concrete patio. Some of them separated and it is one inch higher. Can I still use wire screen and nail for these cracks before I put flagstones? Thank you

I absolutely love your video's! They are very informative for this DIYer!

Fantastic Video! Excellent details and tips! Now those "concrete demo" saws are Very expensive, would a 7 to 9 inch "angle grinder" or " 5 inch masonry saw" work on natural flagstone 1.5 inches thick? (supposing that I only cut partial depth and then hammer tapped)

What a terrific tutorial. Thanks a lot!

David, great video! One question. I have a 400sqft patio i'm creating. I'm ready for cement mixture. I was told 5 bags of Portland and 1/2 ton of sand would get the job done. It seems light compared to your 5 bags Portland per 100sqft and 2 yards(1.35tons) of sand per 100sqft. Seems I would need 8yds of sand and 20 bags of Portland using your calculations. Can you help?

Thank you for your video. We had our flagstone sealed and it left a milky white/cloudy coating over the stones. As well as it being extremely slippery. Any suggestions for removing the sealant. Any idea why it did that?

This is an amazing instructional video. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

Thank you Davie , very instructive step by step video.

David, I'm using your video as a guide for my 500 sq ft. patio project but I'm concerned about the amount of cement and sand required. By my calculations, 1 cubic yard of sand = 27 sq feet which would cover 100 sq feet of patio to a depth of 3.24 inches (not even counting the cement and water). This seems like an excessive amount and I don't want to be left with a ton of sand and a bunch of cement bags in the back yard. Can you confirm that it really takes 5 bags of cement and 1 yard of sand for 100 sq ft of mortar? Please explain. Jim Laurent

Excellent video, thank you so much....great workmanship Sir

NIOSH-approved Respirator masks or wet methods are necessary when saw cutting stone to reduce risks of exposure to toxic silica dusts.

great vid, well filmed and documented. Thank you for sharing this info. will check out more of your vids.

Hi guys, I have a huge problem that I hope you could help me with. Watched the video and learned lots, but still a question that I need answered. I'm laying a flagstone walkway in front and a flagstone patio in back on the soil. There is not already a foundation to lay on except for the soil. We dug down approx. 4-6 in to lay down the base. When we bought the flagstone, the guys sold us some base that looks like large pebbles. What we were thinking is using that as our base still and mortaring around the stone edges to finish it. Would that work or not? If not, should we use the base and sand in the joints? We like the "finished" look that you did with the cement, so were thinking about going that way instead. Cement on bottom and In the joints. Also, do you have a phone number that you could give out, just in case there are any more issues? First project and I think I bit off more than I can chew... Thanks for everything!

Great video - like the pop and son skills

Masterfully Done Work!

Thanks so much for this, what a great duo!

Awesome video and very detailed!! Thanks for sharing!

one of the best how to videos... :)

ahh i wish i saw this a few weeks ago. I was originally going to use my mix with the consistency you guys recommend but other peoples input directed me different and the mix was very hard to work with. Now it turns out that i have 5 flags that have rocked on me. Any suggestions as to how I can rectify this problem with out causing any other flags to lift. I tried to remove the cement below the flag to redo it but ended up lifting the one next to it.

Great job! Lots of excellent tips. Thanks Guys!

thank you i just about to start one If is soil Do i need to pour concrete first to have a nice hard surface

i feel more confident laying my flag now THANKS

I do have a question about applying this to a sand installation, without cementing the stone. Do you still try to leave a gap between pieces? How is this filled?

I think its great you are teaching people how to do masonry projects on their own. I have been a mason for many years and I too have a few videos myself. I also have a product that helps normal every day people accomplish the building of a masonry mailbox. Hope you have the time to look at the videos and the product called the Mailbox Maximizer. I would love to talk with you or your father and get your comments about my product. I have been selling this product all over the US and people love them.hope to hear from you soon

So would you use the same process for a flagstone driveway?

I learned a lot on this DVD

29:04 "dad is going to cut th-" *VROOM*- look out son, got work to do 😂

Do you ever use a gravel base with sand?

Thank you so much. You guys are Wonderfull

Excellent job!

Great video - Thanks a bunch!

I stay love to learn English, very nice movie, Thanks for the share your workt.

Felicidades muy pero muy bonito

great info/Video, thank you for sharing!

You’re the best!

At 36:00, the cuts have been done, why are the stones so grey? Is that from the dust from cutting?

Thank you meastro

dang what a great job

please wear a dust mask when dealing with concrete mixing and especially when using a power cutter on the stone.

I am re-laying a stone walkway that was made with 3 or 4 inch thick stone about 12"x12" or sometimes 12x18. The stone seems to have been laid directly on clay soil and then the joints were pointed with cement or mortar. I'm relaying it because the clay has settled around the house causing the walk to fall a couple inches across its width. My question is whether I can point this with mortar even though it will be set on an inch of sand. The sand will be on tamped clay. What is amazing is that, even though this walk settled a few inches over a couple feet side to side across the walk, *none* of the tucked joints were cracked, maybe because the stone is so thick. Do you think I can tuck this? I need water to flow over the walk for drainage of a side yard rather than sinking down between the stone, as would happen if I filled the joints with sand.

do you guys work here in denver?

Great video, lots of information and good pointers, gotta go now my patio's calling me, (- ;

or dutch?

hello Arni Swartz

The idea to use the plastic is not correct. Weed seeds aren't going to sprout up through the sand between the flagstone, as is. The plastic is a wasteful use. If anything, weed seeds will 'migrate in' from the environment and sprout near the surface.

Holy kneepads!

老爷子这么大岁数挺不容易的

He said alittle more semen!! Not cement lol 😂

Why is the "older" guy doing all the work?? Shouldn't the young guy do the work while the old guy comments? Just say'en....

What a fucking mess