To wet bed or not - Laying slabs

[benski525]

I am going to lay my first patio about 64msq of Indian Sandstone.

After reading the site, it suggests laying on a dry sharp sand and cement mix.

however in all the brochures it states to be laid on a full bed of motar.

1) which is best and easiest for a diyer for the size i am laying cost is not that critical as long as its not hundreds

2) if laying on a full bed what mix should the motar be

hope some one can help as i am worried about choosing the wrong option

Cheers
Craig

[seanandruby]

dry m8. especially if its your first time as you would waste a lot of wet.

[lutonlagerlout]

i am a wet person myself ,water is cheap to add to the mix
we use 5 flooring sand /1 soft sand /1 cement /a dash of pva
and then get the mix to the same consitency as bwk mortar
if its your first go try a m2 each way and see which you prefer
with my wet method you can walk on it 1 hour later(assuming you lay onto MOT stone,
main thing is get your levels and falls sorted out 100% in your mind before you start and take your time,nothing looks worse than a patio with too much fall ,for the sake of 10 minutes working out
cheers tony

[benski525]

thanks for that Tony
by flooring sand do you mean sharp sand?
sorry to be stupid but what is bwk mortar and how wet should it be
cheers
Craig

[lutonlagerlout]

flooring sand=river wash sand=grit sand=hartican sand
theres lots of different names for it,what i call sharp sand is used for plastering ,i see you live in kempston,if you go to gibbs and dandys in bedford they will call it flooring sand,other places vary
if you say its for screeding a floor that will be the right one
as for consistency of wet mix,when its in the mixer it needsto slide through the agitators rather than be rolled over by them,thats when its wet enough
hope this helps
tony (lutonlagerlout)

[benski525]

Thanks Tony thats grt
one last question
i can work out the amount of sand needed from this site but only for one type
how do u work out the ratio amounts needed so u dont end up with too much or not enough of one type or the other
Cheers
Craig