How to lay stepping stones on sand?

SamCat

Hi there,

I’m a total novice so my apologies for the basic questions. We have built in Perth and our outside is all sand. We want to lay stepping stone paths down each side, with the stones surrounded by ground cover. From what I can gather, we need to compact the sand, put a layer of crushed rock where we want the pavers, then put mortar on this to stick the pavers down - is that correct? Can we then fill the space around the pavers with native soil and plant ground cover? We want something native rather than grass but it needs to be cat safe as one side will be a catio.

Also, we have a fence on the retaining wall down one side (not the catio side) - how do we manage this as the paving and ground cover would presumably be higher than the wall. Or should we make lower, in which case the drainage pipes will be sticking way up.

Photos of that side attached.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 Thanks! 

EricL

Hello @SamCat 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about installing stepping sand stones.  

First, for preparing the base, compacting the sand is essential. On sandy soils in Perth, the usual method is to first level the area and run a plate compactor over it to make it firm. On top of this, a layer of crushed rock (often called road base or cracker dust) is laid and compacted again. This provides stability. If you want stepping stones rather than a rigid paved path, you don’t necessarily need mortar; you can bed each stone into the compacted base with a little sand or mortar “dabs” to fix them, depending on how permanent you want them. Mortar is usually used for formal paved areas, while dry-laying on a prepared base is common for stepping stones.

Second, for the planting zones around the pavers, you can indeed fill in the spaces with a good quality soil mix rather than straight sand. Perth sand is very poor in nutrients and drains too quickly, so you should bring in a native soil or soil improver designed for WA natives, ideally something that’s low in phosphorus. This will give your ground cover the best chance to establish. 

After you’ve added this planting soil, you can plant native ground covers that are safe for cats. Some good options in regards to ground cover are Dichondra repens (Kidney Weed), Viola hederacea (Native Violet), Carpobrotus virescens (WA Pigface), or Myoporum parvifolium (Creeping Boobialla). All of these are non-toxic to cats and hardy once established.

Third, regarding the retaining wall and fence side, you are right to think about height. You don’t want to build the paving and soil level above the top of the retaining wall, because that can put pressure on the fence and cause drainage issues. The standard approach is to keep the ground level slightly below the top of the wall, then slope or grade the soil so water runs away from the house and drains properly. Another option is to place a brick border near the fence and stick it down using Selleys liquid nails. It will act like a garden edging stopping the soil and it also prevents it from touching the fence.

Since you want a catio on one side, I would recommend a combination of Dichondra repens and Native Violet there, as they are softer and more lawn-like for paws, and use Pigface or Creeping Boobialla on the hotter, sunnier side where the retaining wall is, because they will cope better with Perth’s summer heat and sandy soils.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric