How to use Stone Tiles Effectively Outside

[how hard can this be?]

My daughter wants to get rid of about 25 various foot square, and larger, home stone tiles that she had acquired when trying to decide which to decorate with. They are lovely tiles in earth tones, and I thought I might incoorporate them into my yard/garden, as stepping stones, or if not, maybe make a table and design them into the top.

Has anyone used stone tiles for outside projects and how well do they hold up?

[HeadOfMax]

I have some in my yard that have been there since the early 60's. depending on the stone they should hold up pretty well. you want to dig at least 3 inches more than the thickness of the slates. tamp the soil fill with sand and tamp the sand down really well. a 8*8 tamper sells at most hardware stores for about $30 or so. you can rent drums that you fill with water from most rental places. if you are planning on raising a section I would bury sections of PVC pipe in the sand in the raised area. 4 inch PVC would be ideal. after you have set the stones if you are doing a patio type of thing fill the gaps with sand.