MJ asked for a flagstone entry in front of the goat pen, primarily to avoid having to fight overgrown grass. An interesting project, because the ground slopes downward along the fence line, and the gate is hung perpendicular. The upper edge of the gate therefore digs into the ground in front of the pen. As I laid out the entry, the flagstones are level on the width dimension but follow the slope of the ground on the length. The entry extends from the water pipe on the left to the spigot on the left.
Laying flagstones is a jigsaw puzzle. Not only are they in irregular sizes and shapes, but they are also different thicknesses. I laid a layer of gravel and a thin layer of paving sand to allow give for differently thick flagstones, particularly where the upper edge of the gate needs to swing free. A little jiggering here and there and I am pleased with the result.
Forty pounds of paving sand should have covered forty-five square feet. One container did not completely cover the entry, possibly because I also used a good part of it for an under layer. The paving sand performed nicely and solidified properly when I applied water.
A Year at the Snake 