The Real Estate Browser Volume 9, Issue 9 | Page 22

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Volume 9 Number 9 – Say you saw it in The Real Estate Browser of Lynchburg — 33
• Dig a trench a couple of inches deep and wide
enough to accommodate the flagstones. a three-fer. It can work as extra seating when you have
your lawn party, too! 
• Fill with pea gravel and/or sand and tamp to make
level. All it takes is digging a circular trench, adding some
sand, and installing brick, cement blocks, or stone. Just
go for whatever look you like best. 
• Lay out the flagstones to see their shapes and sizes.
• Stack the smaller stones first.
• Save the largest, prettiest flagstones for the top layer.
• Backfill with gravel.
Choose a stone of consistent thickness. Flagstone
might be limestone, sandstone, shale — any rock that
splits into slabs. 
The cost? About $300 for stones and sand (a ton of
2-inch-thick stone is enough for a wall 10 feet long and
12 inches high).
#4 Install a Path with Flagstone or Gravel
The trickiest part is getting an even circle around the
tree. Here’s how: 
•. Tie a rope around the tree, making a loop big enough
so that when you pull it taut against the tree, the
outer edge of the loop is right where you want the
surround to be. 
•. Set your spade inside the loop with the handle plumb
— straight up and down. Now, as you move around
the tree, the loop of rope keeps the spade exactly the
same distance from the base of the tree, creating a
nice circle.
Then build the tree surround:
There’s something romantic, charming, and simply
welcoming about a meandering pathway to your front
door or back garden — which means it has super-huge
impact when it comes to your home’s curb appeal.  • Dig out a circular trench about 8 inches deep and 6
inches wide. 
You can use flagstone, pea gravel, decomposed or
crushed granite, even poured concrete (although that’s
not easy to DIY).  • Set bricks at an angle for a saw-tooth effect or lay
them end-to-end.
A few tips for building a pathway:
• Allow 3 feet of width for clearance.
• Create curves rather than straight lines for a pleasing
effect.
• Remove sod at least 3 to 4 inches deep to
keep grass from coming back.
• If you live in an area with heavy rains, opt
for large, heavy stones.
The cost? Anywhere from a couple of hun-
dred bucks to upwards of $500 depending on
the material you use, with decomposed granite
being the least expensive, and flagstone (also
the easiest of the bunch to install) the costliest. 
#5 Build a Tree Surround
Installing a masonry surround for a tree is
a two-fer project: It looks great, and it means
you’ve got less to mow. Come to think of it, it’s
• Add a layer of sand. 
• Fill the surround with 2 to 3 inches of mulch.
The cost? Super cheap. You can do it for less than $25
with commonly-available pavers and stones