Laying Paving Slabs

http://www.pavingexpert.com/

Shedmen

 

Sand/cement mixture as normal mate

 

Ask Deacon, I'm sure he knows of some super fantango new way of doing it, not the way thats been used for the last 50 years

I would use sand and cement (dont mentionn the mix) sod it 5 to 1 will do, dont lay a solid bed tho, just five good blobs, one on each corner and one in the middle, these will spread and make it easier to lay.

 

youre absolutly right , no other way to do not , some might lay a screed mix which will be suggested but the 5 blob method in good , pointing

 

Thank you Deacon.

 

youre welcome , if we were to agree with everything that was suggested not much point in a forum , these are opinions and nothing more

 

5 blobs and use a rubber mallett to sink them to the level you want.

 

A good idea is to lay the slabs by the wall, level across to the edge of the patio giving a slight fall, lay level across front of the patio so you have the back and front of the patio laid, them lay slabs between leveling across (front and back) with a long straight edge.

Oh and get a back support belt

 

Only agree with '5 blobs' if you ensure you put the correct size blobs, so that it fills out and doesn't leave voids underneath(you will imagine the 5 blobs and them not meeting in 4 places - ALL voids will be at the middle edges, the next weakest point after the corners).

Otherwise, treat as other tiling, full bed and (large) notched trowel.



Mr. HandyAndy - really

 

Thought I'd checkout my '5 blob' statement, so I took a look on pavingexpert and found this:


Spot Bedding
Note: The '5 dollops of mortar' method, known as spot bedding is not recommended. On public and commercial works, it is rarely, if ever, allowed. If your contractor is using this method, ask would they like a bucket of oats for their horses.
Regardless of what you may have seen on TV DIY and Gardening programs, spot bedding is not an acceptable bedding method because...

Spot bedding - not recommended it leaves voids beneath the flags, making them more likely to fracture when loaded.
the voids can allow surface water to accumulate, leading to subsidence or instability.
the voids provide a ready-made home for invertebrates, particularly ants, which love to mine an unbound bedding and/or sub-grade.
the solidified mortar spots settle differently causing the flag to 'rock' when trafficked.
correcting any rocking flags requires the old mortar to be broken out and disposed.
it is more expensive than solid bedding.
it does not comply with the relevant Code of Practice (BS7533art4) which requires bedding to provide "uniform support".
When asked to inspect a flagged pavement which is troubled by a large percentage of rocking and/or broken/spalled flags, in over 70% of cases, we have found that spot-bedding is the prime cause of the problems. The two most common faults we encounter are lost bedding, because the voids left between the mortar spots provide a channel into which surface/ground water can wash-out the bedding or subgrade material, and excessive breakages because the flags are not evenly supported across their entire base.
Whilst we can accept that these problems are less likely to occur on a small residential patio, we cannot and will not endorse spot-bedding as a suitable method for laying flags, regardless of the location. Some publications may depict spot-bedding as an acceptable methodology for diy projects, because it makes flag-laying appear simple, but, for a professional contractor, it should never, ever be considered.
Don't expect any sympathy from this website if you use spot-bedding and it turns out wrong!




Mr. HandyAndy - really

 

As usual andy, point us in the right direction, but for minimal traffic ie back garden, 5 blob is good enough. i think.
Although having said that, i do have 2 slightly rocking flags in my garden. out of 240, i think aint bad really, gonna squirt expanding foam in between the cracks when the weather is better to firm it up.


































NOT

 

When asked to inspect a flagged pavement which is troubled by a large percentage of rocking and/or broken/spalled flags, in over 70% of cases, we have found that spot-bedding is the prime cause of the problems. The two most common faults we encounter are lost bedding, because the voids left between the mortar spots provide a channel into which surface/ground water can wash-out the bedding or subgrade material

I can agree with this IF the substrate is a compacted hardcore, water will wash it away, but as the fella has already said its a concrete base I see no problems arising.

Just a point, I wouldn't lay slabs on anything less than a concrete base it costs more but, hardcore, type one, dry screed mix will all get washed out in the long run.

 

Only agree with '5 blobs' if you ensure you put the correct size blobs, so that it fills out and doesn't leave voids underneath(you will imagine the 5 blobs and them not meeting in 4 places - ALL voids will be at the middle edges, the next weakest point after the corners).

Otherwise, treat as other tiling, full bed and (large) notched trowel.

Had a look at some of your previous answers andy , yeah right ,treat as tiling, a 2cwt council slab laid on with a large notched trowel , have you ever laid one of these buggers , no

 

Only agree with '5 blobs' if you ensure you put the
correct size blobs, so that it fills out and doesn't
leave voids underneath(you will imagine the 5 blobs
and them not meeting in 4 places - ALL voids will be
at the middle edges, the next weakest point after the
corners).

Otherwise, treat as other tiling, full bed and
(large) notched trowel.

Had a look at some of your previous answers andy ,
yeah right ,treat as tiling, a 2cwt council slab laid
on with a large notched trowel , have you ever laid
one of these buggers , no



What the hell drugs are you on ?


Patio slabs, deacon. patio slabs.

You know, those 18" or 24" square shaped thingies wiv 4 corners. ****!.



Mr. HandyAndy - really

[Edited by: forum admin]

 

Ha Ha HandyAndy

Wot Deacon meant was some people DO use the big grey slabs the council uses for their own patios believe me I ve had to lay a few in my time for family and friends! Even have relayed some patios at these bungalows where OAPs live and their patios are these grey council slabs bloody heavy to handle!

By the way not one professional would use a notched trowel to lay paving slabs outside because notched trowels are for laying floor tiles!!

If you have any information about using notched trowels to lay patio slabs then pls do post them on here for us to read!! Would make amusing reading!

 

bravo plasterer boy , common sense , those slabs are the heaviest slabs you probably ever lay ,laying with the blob method or screed method they are nightmare , fingers will be laid into the blobs or screed pull them out and level the dreaded thing ,touch low got to lift the thing out , a job for strong men indeed , this is unobtainable using a notched trowel and treat then as tiles , laughable to suggest this , never seen it and never will with type of slab or indeed any other

 

Only agree with '5 blobs' if you ensure you put the
correct size blobs, so that it fills out and doesn't
leave voids underneath(you will imagine the 5 blobs
and them not meeting in 4 places - ALL voids will be
at the middle edges, the next weakest point after the
corners).

Otherwise, treat as other tiling, full bed and
(large) notched trowel.

Had a look at some of your previous answers andy ,
yeah right ,treat as tiling, a 2cwt council slab laid
on with a large notched trowel , have you ever laid
one of these buggers , no




The man was laying paving slabs in his garden. The advice I gave was for paving slabs in the garden.

I dissed the '5 blobs' method. It was ignored.

I even posted a copied part from a well-known website which backed up my dissing of the '5 blob' method.

It was ignored.


Now, you can jump up and down on slabs layed on a solid bed ALL DAY, EVERY DAY, if you want, and break none and move none.

With the voids, sorry, you will break some or move some.


If you won't take the advice from a well known website, you suck. And suffer.

The only thing you gain from 5 blobs, is using about half the cement. But it isn't a better job.

Mr. HandyAndy - really

 

Fair Enuf Handy Andy regarding the 5 blob method,, solid bed is best.. but what about the comment u made about 'otherwise treat it as tiling.. solid bed and large notched trowel' ? solid bed yes but notched trowel a definite NO-NO! My last post was focusing on this as your advice could have had some poor bugger trying to lay paving slabs using a large notched trowel! Normally the mortar would be trowelled down and levelled out with ridges made by the trowel prior to laying the slab and setting it to level with a rubber mallet..
Absolutely nothing like trowelling out tile adhesive over a area and then picking up a tile and laying it down pressing it down with your hands!