New patio 17sqm - Newbie advice

[TC76]

Hi,

I'm looking to lay my 1st patio and am seeking some advice if possible. This website is excellent for help and I have spent quite a lot of time reading however keen on some experts thoughts as worried and don't want to mess this up

The sub-base is already prepared with MOT Type 1 - depth 100mm.

The flags I'm looking to purchase are StoneFlair by Bradstone, Smooth Natural Sandstone Paving Dune 600x600mm, I've worked out I need around 45 flags.

The questions I have are.

1) Do I need to seal the flags before I lay them ? or should I wait 3 week post laying them ? Any recommendations of the type of seal to use ?

2) I'm looking to lay the flags individually on a semi wet Bound mix, Assume 4 parts sharp sand x 1 cement ? is this correct ? I have seen some articles state 8-1 ?

3) Should I use a plasticiser ?

4) Is there any risk of the cement mix soaking through the flag and showing on top of the flag ?

5) Assume I can have a minimum joint in-between the flags of 2-3mm ? - what material should I use in-between these joins, concerned the flag might get stained.

Any advice is very appreciated.

Thanks you in advance.

Tc

[lutonlagerlout]

1 they need to be bone dry if you seal them before, its too late in the year to seal after now

2 6:1 is what most on here use

3 I use sbr rather than a plasticiser

4 not really,it can happen but depends on the stone,how porous it is, if you spill any bedding on to flags wash off immediately with clean water

5 for me personally 10mm is the minimum joint some here do 7mm but that is too small
2-3 mm wont work

cheers LLL

[TC76]

Many thanks LLL, really appreciate the comments.

Anyone have any thoughts on what to use within the joints if using 7/10mm gaps? - want to limit staining to the slabs if possible to assume somekind of dry mix ?

[lutonlagerlout]

marshalls weatherpoint 365 and other polymerics are easy to install and stain free

a step up in price and quality is 2 part resin gftk vdw 850
good stuff but overkill on domestic patios

LLL

[TC76]

Many thanks LLL.

[GGG]

Yep I am with LLL on the 10 mm joints - and I always Gapfast spacers for the purpose, they give a fast, accurate and neat joint and only add about £1/m2 to the job - but make sure you leave them in (they get covered by the pointing) and don't use them like tile spacers. Highly recommended
www.gapfast.com
GGG

[PavingSuperstore]

You could use Pavetuf invisible sealer straight after laying the paving - two coats wet on wet. You don't need to wait for the paving/ mortar to completely dry out first, it just needs to be dry on the surface. We have some more information here if it helps: http://www.pavingsuperstore.co.uk/pavetuf....0-p.asp