As for preparing a dry bedding mix, we would typically mix enough to get us through a 'session', ie, a morning or an afternoon, rather than bulk mix enough material to cover the entire job. We use a portable mixer that churns out approximately 0.2 m³ per batch, sufficient to cover 4m² at a time. Depending on the paving type being laid, we would expect to use 3-10 mixes per session.

With regard to laying the flagstones, I'd suggest individual bedding, rather than screeding, using a taut string line to guide final level. Screeding in advance is fine for paving units of regular thickness but is wasted on units such as natural stone flags, unless they've been cut to a standard thickness, as osme of the modern pavings are.

And the circular driveway, yes, I think our cars tend to be a bit smaller than what you are used to. The absolute minimum we would use for an arc is a 3 metre radius, but it all depends on the space available. Ideally, we prefer 4.5m or 6m radius.

The Millstones are a lovely flag, but they are not strong enough for a driveay, unless laid on a full concrete bed at least 100mm thick. Make sure there are no voids in the bedding and point with a decent mortar, a 3:1 should be fine, but use a silver sand and try adding a black dye; it looks much better with Millstone.

We laid Millstone to a private driveway near Northwich about 5 years ago and have had a problem with wear. The drive is quite narrow, so there is little room for manoeuvre and consequently, two 'stripes' of wear have appeared, where the light-coloured agg has been exposed on the run-in to the garage. Might be best to advise your clients before they commit themselves.

Hand mixing that quantity is a lot of work. 5m³ is around 12 tonnes dry weight - assuming you use a C7.5 equivalent, that's around 1.25-1.5 tonnes of OPC, 3.5-4 Tonnes of grit sand and 7-8 tonnes of gravel, which would cost almost as much as bringoing in ready-mix, plus you have to pay for a donkey to keep the mixer loaded while the tradesman is laying.

use a cementitious bed for the slabs. 1:10 cement:grit sand is usually strong enough, as you're not looking to create an incredibly tough bed, just to bind the sand sufficiently to prevent it from being washed out. No need to make a wet mix; a semi-dry mix is ideal, as it is less likely to stain your paving, gives you longer working time and is much, much easier to work with than a sloppy wet mix. There is (usually) enough natural moisture within the sands to initiate setting, but, if you have an exceptionally dry sand, you may need to add a little water, just enough to make it damo, not wet.

The best sized gap between the slabs is really a matter of taste, but you will find that 100-150mm is usually the most pleasing to the eye.

1.5" = 35mm or so, which should be a deep enough channel for a 10mm or smaller gravel, but if you're using, say, an 18mm or bigger size, you may need to create a deeper channel, say 50mm. The size of the gravel does affect what size gap between slabs looks best, but it is still likely to be in the 100-150mm range; a bigger gravel suits a wider gap and vice-versa.

Good luck!

1-Do I lay when the concrete is setting and I can walk on it

2-Do I lay out a bay and walk over raised planks setting the paving as I go?

3-Do I place the slabs directly on the wet mix?

However, if it's slabs, then you can lay them on a 10:1 sand/cement semi-dry mix on top of the existing concrete. A 35-50mm thick bed plus the 40mm or so thick slab will give you an additional 75-90mm on top of the concrete which should keep you below the recommended 150mm clearance from paving to dpc.

Don't use a wet mortar for bedding - it will make a mess and is much harder to lay on than a semi-dry bedding mix.

From what you tell me about the clay sub-grade, I'd definitely use a sub-base, even if it were only 75mm thick. A good covering of DTp 1 will help speread the load of the patio paving and make sure it doesn't sink or settle during the even wetter weather of winter.

What sort of paving have you chosen? Flags/slabs?

Also, it seems that the geo-membrane is slightly cheaper over here. There are two common 'grades'; a so-called "Landscape Membrane" sold at Garden Centres and DIY stores that is basically a weed blanket and sells for 50-80p or so per square metre (about $0.70-$1.10 in US-ian funny money).

The higher grade product is sold via Builders' Merchants as a true geo-membrane, and is much, much tougher than the landscape fabric, which makes it a better bet beneath driveways or wherever membrane puncture is a possibility. This sells for around 1 quid per m² ($1.40 or so)

Seventy 450 squares - that's a bonny greenhouse! What do you grow?

When it comes to fastening down the greenhouse, I'd suggest you get a few lengths of pre-treated timber, such as 75x47 or 100x47mm. Lay out the timbers so that the GH will sit on top of them once they are fixed. Drill the timbers and the flags at approximately 1 metre centres and then fix the timber to the flags by using anchor bolts or frame fixings. Once the timbers are secured to the flags, the GH can be screwed onto the timbers with standard woodscrews.

That's how I did mine, and it's still standing (and bursting with fuchsias)!

However,on a pavement experiencing vehicle overrun, such as a driveway, a rigid cement-bound bed is fraught with difficulties - you'd need movement joints; any slight movement in the flags would result in permanent rocking; there's more risk of breakage unless the flag is perfectly and evenly bedded. This appiles to whatever size of flags you use, whether they are 450mm squares, 900x600's or any other size.

More and more, we are now using the small element vehicle overrun paving, such as Trafica by Marshalls, for residential driveways, as well as for civic schemes. These units are butt-jointed, and laid in more or less the same manner as flexible block paving, but are specially designed to take the weight of cars etc.

Given that the price diff between Trafica and standard flags is minimal, it's well worth considering.

As for rigid bedding, it is essential beneath products such as Millstone or any other wet cast flag, as they are simply not strong enough to withstand trafficking without a concrete bed. For that reason, we always tried to persuade clients to use some other form of paving - for the price of Millstone on a concrete bed, they could have, say, Tegula, or even 100mm thick reclaimed York stone.

Trafica comes in a range of different sizes, from G60 (300x300x60) right up to E100 (450x450x100), and is available in most of the usual Marshalls finishes, such as Saxon, Perfecta, Toscana etc, plus the standard pimple face in 5 basic different colours. As small element paving, it is laid with sand joints.

Send me some pictures when you're done.

What are you going to use to seal the sett joints? The mortar you've used on the semi-circular planter edges doesn't do justice for that lovely granite.

How much did you pay for the Indian flagstones?

The flags were kindly donated by my brother when he decided to emigrate to Namibia. I got 130 flags and 5 tons of granite (and a wet blade saw) for niche! I bet you cant beat that up north! I enquired at local builders merchants here in Surrey and the prices are around £30-£35 per m². I think I will need to buy a few more to finish the job, so if you know of any good sources I'd be keen to hear of them.

The Indian flags are selling for 28-35 quid per m² around here, too, but some of the quality is debatable. Still, when you consider that a top quality riven copy, such as Old Town by Bradstone or Chancery by Marshalls is selling for 25 quid per m², you can't say they're not value for money!

1) - where can I get really super feature flooring in Surrey?

Paving? One of the best places is Silverlands at Chertsey. They have a good range of natural paving stones, and a reasonable selection of concrete products.

2) - Drainage - how?

This can make or break the patio. It is essential, but, if you have a well-drained spot, and will have some open ground, then it might be possible to drain onto that. When you say 8 metres squared, do you mean 8m x 8m or 8 square metres (eg, 4m x 2m)? Draining 8m² onto open ground shouldn't be too much of a problem, but 64m² is another thing altogether, and would definitely be better if drained adequately.

3) - How to blend brickwork?

I think you have to accept that they are unlikely ever to match, unless you painted them. There are some strange 'recipes' that can be applied to walling and paving to make it look much older, but none of these can make brand new walling/paving look indistinguishable from existing weathered paving/walling. Could you not get some climbers scrambling up the wall to help mask the difference?

Don't the Irish have all the best ideas? Uisce ... Guinness ... Daniel O'Donnell - well, maybe not!  

did you clean up the flags in the kitchen before sealing them? The actual type of stone, and there are/were hundreds of different potential quarries for york stone, will determine how well they show up when sealed. Some of the browny yorkstone that has a high iron content, does not improve when sealed, while some of the lighter buff colours and the greeny types often come up much darker.

When it comes to sealing yorkstone in a situation such as this, it's almost impossible to state that such-and-such a sealant will definitely bring about the desired results. I have found that different sealants have different effects with different stone and so it's very much a game of trial and error. One of the best sealants I've used is one developed for block paving - Resiblock 22, but, as I say, it's impossible to guarantee it will be the right sealant for your stone.

As for the flags outside, I would never seal yorkstone laid outdoors. It just looks totally wrong. Clean them up with a power washer and leave them as nature intended.

Anyway, all I can suggest about the glossy look you want is to try a different sealant, such as the Resiblock. Have a look at their website or contact their sales dept and tell them you were sent by me, and they'll be able to advise you.

As for the Indian flagstones, you're not the first to comment on their flakiness - see the thread below.

And nuisance? Nuisance? Don't be daft! The whole point of this forum if for people such as yourself!

Now, you could use the traditional method of pointing, as described on the Pointing page, or you could use a Wet Grout, which is also described therein, but this isn't really the best time of year for a wet grout job. If we get a dry spell, and the surface of the paving is dry, you could even try a dry grout, and then water it in, but this method doesn't normally give a firm joint, unless it is properly tooled after wetting.

Of the three, I'd go for the Pointing - if it was late spring or summer, I'd use the Wet grout, but February isn't really a 'drying' month, so you copuld ennd up spending more time cleaning the wet grout off the paving than it would take to point each joint individually.
Besides, pointing isn't too much slower than wet grouting, once you get the knack of it. From my estimating rates, I have figures for pointing 600x600x65mm buttered flags at 42m² per hour and wet-grouting the same at 55m² per hour *in summer* or 45m² per hr in winter. Dry grouting is 86m² per hr regardless of season, but that doesn't include tooling time.

I wouldn't mix the building sand with the grit sand unless you have exceptionally wide joints, say 20mm or more. Adding grit sand can make tooling more difficult, especially with tight joints (6mm or less).

If you're using a coloured mortar, silver sand is better, as you're not fighting against the natural sand colour with the dye.

you should be able to get a pavior's mall at a good builder's merchant, a contractor's merchant, or a specialist tool supplier such as Greenham Trading or AG Strachan, depending on where you live. Most of the mall's now on sale are composite rubber, rather than iron-bound wood, but the i-b wooden ones are still popular in the SE for some reason. Personally, I'd have a fibre/rubber composite anyday!!

Thanks for the comments on not being sure about the terminology - there is now a 'Tools of the Trade' page which illustrates the most commonly used tools.

Have a read of the section about Small Element Paving, which are much better suited to driveways.

With regard to sealing your flags, I've asked the world's leading paving sealant company to advise on this matter and contribute something to the website. Mr Craig Amor, CEO of Resiblock has written the following, which has also been added to the Sealants page....

We have two products that are particularly suitable for this purpose, the first is RESIBLOCK '22' ULTRA (low sheen finish) and the second is RESIBLOCK SUPERIOR ULTRA (wet-look finish). Both of these products are based on aliphatic TDI technology and provide outstanding resistance to a wide range of household chemicals whilst remaining totally light stable (critical where part of the flooring is exposed to daylight and part is in shadow). Unlike the standard '22'/SUPERIOR products these have a high degree of adhesion and do not rely solely on the porosity of the substrate for mechanical bonding, as a consequence they are both particularly suitable for both wet-cast and hydraulically pressed paving.

The only caveat being is that if the floors have been pre-treated with another sealer particularly one which is silicone based (i.e. Thomsons Water Seal) then our material may not properly adhere to this surface.

Both provide very attractive aesthetics and can withstand regular cleaning with household and janitorial chemicals. As with all our products, 0.25 litre samples are available FOC to potential users to ensure compatibility.

Hope that helps, Ivor.

Bloody useless shite is another popular term for them!

14 x 3.5 = 49m², so, assuming you're using plain concrete BS flags, rather than decorative patio flags, that would cost around  1750-2000 quids all in.

If you let me see your design before implementation, I'll advise on any potential pitfalls.

I suppose you've heard the apocryphal tale of the 'workmen' turning up one morning to lift all the yorkstone flags onto a lorry, only for the local residents to find out later, when they rang up the council to ask what had happened to the workmen, that they were actually nicking the stone!

Yorkstone theft is a serious problem, especially with it being so relatively valuable. The best way to deter would-be thieves is to make sure the joints are well pointed, as this makes it harder to lift, and to fit whatever external security devices you can - PIR lamps are useful.

One of our old clients had his yorkstone driveway nicked three times in less than 6 months, and he lived on a main road! In the end, the Insurance Co refused to cover him for Yorkstone, so they paid for him to have his driveway block-paved. It may be worth contacting your insurance co to see if you're covered.

A 'trick' we have used in the past is to paint our initials 'ajmc' onto the underside of the yorkstone we lay. Then, if it does get nicked, all the local dealers will know it's been laid by us, recently, and therefore is likely to be stolen. On two occasions, we've received a 'phone call telling us just who is trying to flog the contraband and where they were last sighted.

Also, notify the Police. If a 'spate' of robberies are reported in your area, they'll start pulling over suspiciously overweight Tranny vans travelling late at night.

The drive bandits are bad enough, but somewhere, there's a bent dealer, willing to pay beer vouchers for what they know is stolen paving. Until the Bobbies identify and close down these rogues, the bandits will continue to rob vulnerable paving.