A few question- bond bridge/sharp sand etc - Natural stone paving

[Tony McC]

Ian is working on it whenever he can but it shouldn't be too long now.....

[mattg]

@wario I paid for Tony for my laying pattern & it worked out perfectly mate, worth every penny !!

[Tony McC]

Thanks, Matt!

[wario]

Thanks gents. Very difficult area to measure accurately I’m afraid. Not just the 45 degree sleepers I’ve put in but I have a row of about 7 concrete gravel boards that make up a slight curve. I personally feel I’m better off laying as I go.

I’ve made a scale template out of a porcelain tile to see how the stone fits together based on a starting point of a 10mm joint. It’s a 1:5 scale. Obviously I’ll have to adjust the joint where necessary but actually the stone template sizes fit together very well based on a 2mm tile spacer.

[wario]

Yes I’ve been incredibly bored waiting for my stone to arrive

https://photos.app.goo.gl/tgo5EnVCZNKg5Fdu6

[wario]

Quick question gents- just looking at the joint size between slabs, is it still ok to use a sand/cement with a 10 to 15mm joint?

.......the 10mm seems a little on the small side. I have my heart set on sand/cement because the 2 part jointing systems are out of my budget. I spoke to a German relative of mine and he told me to use a certain German made product but the budget doesn’t stretch that far

[Tony McC]

10mm is fine, 15mm is the upper limit of what you should be aiming for.

4:1 sand/cement mortar is fine for pointing

[wario]

Many thanks Tony. I’ve laid several slabs out and to be fair 10mm is what I’m achieving with every possible orientation of slabs alongside each other. I’m hoping I can maintain that throughout.

Thanks again. Top man.

[lutonlagerlout]

the key thing with sand and cement pointing is getting the sump right, you should be able to hold a ball of mortar in your gloved hand (PPE) and when released it does not move,so like a ball of plasticene
if it is too dry it will crack,if it is too wet it will stain.
the correct slump will seem too dry but when you run a jointing iron over it it will polish up nicely without staining and leaves some crumbs at the edges
top tip leave these for an hour or so then brush off with a soft brush
I use 1.5plastering/1.5soft/1 cement and SBR for pointing, this was upon advice from a structural engineer for roofing muckwork
especially as in the south our soft sand is a bit too soft , in the north the sand is a bit coarser and likely to be stronger
cheers LLL

[wario]

great tips thanks, I do have plenty of SBR so will have a little think about the sand. I had planned on using building sand so thanks.

Funny you should say that about the sand in the south. I had some sharp sand delivered that didn’t seem all that gritty. The small (25kg) bags you get seem more course than the loose gear I have.

[wario]

Made a start today. I’m so glad this isn’t my full time job. Could’ve done with a labourer mixing up.

https://photos.google.com/u....WdXNDZB

[Tony McC]

Looking *very* good!

[wario]

Thanks Tony

[lutonlagerlout]

tasty , nice stone, layout, and install,
LLL

[wario]

Cheers LLL. I’m nearly done now. It’s been fun/physically Draining.

Pointing next. If I can get some sand(s)

The likes of Wickes etc is my only hope but I kind of want to look at the sand first to see which colour I have.

........it’s click and collect only at wickes