How do I lay stepping stones in a lawn?

A stepping stone path fails in two ways: the stones are spaced to look right rather than to walk on, so people step between them and wear a muddy line anyway; or they are set flush or proud, so they catch the mower and become a trip. Both are decided in the first hour and neither is easy to correct afterwards.

Safety

What you'll need

• Stepping stones or paving slabs
• Sharp sand or grit for bedding
• Spade and a half-moon edging iron
• Rubber mallet and a spirit level
• Hand tamper or a length of timber
• Canes or pegs for setting out

Step by step

1. Walk the route first and mark where your feet land.Walk it at a normal pace several times, in both directions, and drop a cane or a handful of sand at each footfall. This is the whole design. A path spaced by tape measure rather than by walking is uncomfortable and people will step off it.
2. Average the spacing.Look at your marks and settle on a consistent centre-to-centre spacing — around 600mm is typical for an adult stride, less if children or older people will use it, and shorter still on a slope. Consistency matters more than the exact figure.
3. Lay the stones out on the grass and look at them.Adjust for the curve of the route, stand back, and walk it again on the loose stones before cutting anything. This is the last easy moment to change your mind.
4. Cut round each stone with an edging iron.With the stone in place, cut the turf around it, then lift the stone and remove the turf inside the cut. A clean cut edge makes the finished path look deliberate rather than dropped.
5. Excavate to slab thickness plus about 50mm.Deep enough for a bedding layer and to set the stone low. Keep the hole flat-bottomed and firm — do not leave loose spoil in the base.
6. Compact a bedding layer.50mm of sharp sand or grit, tamped down firmly with a length of timber. On soft or clay ground, a layer of compacted MOT type 1 under the sand is worth the extra effort.
7. Bed each stone slightly low.Set the stone down, tap it level with a rubber mallet, and check that its surface sits 10 to 15mm below the surrounding grass. This is the single most important dimension in the job — it lets the mower run straight over the path.
8. Check for rock before moving on.Stand on each corner. Any movement means a void underneath. Lift, add or remove bedding and re-set. A rocking stepping stone in a lawn is dangerous because nobody expects it to move.
9. Firm the turf back around the edges.Push the cut turf edge back against the stone and tread it in. Grass will knit to the edge in a few weeks and the cut disappears.

Tips

• Larger stones are safer than small ones. A 450mm stone gives a whole foot somewhere to land; a 300mm one gives half a foot and people compensate by looking down.
• Stagger the stones slightly left and right of the centre line rather than in a straight file. It matches how people actually walk and looks better.
• On a slope, shorten the spacing going up and make the stones larger. Stride length shortens on an incline.
• If the route crosses a mowing line you use often, keep the stones well clear of the lawn edge so the mower can still turn.

Common mistakes

• Spacing by eye or by tape — It produces a path that looks even and walks badly. The stride test takes ten minutes and it is the difference between a path people use and a path people step around.
• Setting the stones level with the grass — Grass grows and the stone does not, so a flush stone becomes a proud stone in a fortnight, and then the mower finds it.
• Bedding on soil — Soil compresses and holds water. The stone sinks on one side, rocks, and fills with water underneath.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask