Patio first timer

[global-i]

Hi

I am about to attempt my first patio, but am a little confused on a couple of issues.

I am using what seems to be called Riven Slabs in various sizes from 600 x 600 to the smallest 300 x 300 to cover in total 24 square meters. At present I have dug out about 150mm, put down plantex weed control, and 50mm of 40mm scalpings which have been compacted down by a plate compactor.

The edges of the patio and path will butt against the lawn hopefully to make mowing easier and must be securely fixed.

Now from this point I was intending on putting down 30mm compacted grit sand and then a 50 mm wet mix of 4 parts sharp sand, 2 parts soft sand, 1 part cement and some plasticizer. To lay the slabs on. (as per the Tommy Walsh book of outdoor DIY). However after reading your site I am leaning towards the dry mix method as I am intending to work a small area at a time and will probably be very slow at getting them down.

1: Which method do you recommend I use?
2: If it turns out to be the dry mix method how do I finishing preparing the sub base, should I add more scalpings or have a thicker layer of sand?
3: I also need to add a step to the patio doors. I was thinking of concrete with a brick edge in a semi circle shape. Should I do the step first and try to cut the slabs around it or put the step on top of the slabs?

[lutonlagerlout]

the extra 30mm should be type 1 ,not grit sand
i prefer wet mix and i think its is more forgiving,the mix you mentioned sounds ok
if the step is small in height just lay 1 course of bricks on your slabs let them go off then fill with concrete,then bed slabs on
good luck tony LLL

[remus]

Tony
I have seen you say on a few answers that you perfer using wet mix for laying.
Can you give me some more details?.
I have been using a semi dry mix as per main site.Compacting it than screeding it off to a flat bed.
Do you still lay a flat bed with the wet method. Or do you just lay one slab at a time.
How wet should the mix be .
The dry method has worked over about 100sqm but with a few rocking slabs.

ta kevin

[global-i]

Hi Tony

The type 1 sand you mention should I compact that down hard with a wacker plate or just by walking on a plank on top of it?
Also the step should be about 2 courses of bricks height, is the method you mentioned still ok for this?

Cheers
Martin

[lutonlagerlout]

i have done patios both ways and there are no comebacks with a wet mix,and by wet i mean very wet,like treacle
2 courses on a slab should be ok if the slab is bedded down on concete

its a personal thing but wet works for me
cheers LLL

[lutonlagerlout]

wacker is always best mate
LLL

[global-i]

How many square meters of riven type slabs can a average professional person lay in one day?
If I were to take 25% of that figure as a daily target for a first timer would that be realistic or over ambitious?

Martin

[seanandruby]

why not do a dry run without cement first( if you have the time) screed the sand then see how many you lay in say half hour or so. then work out from that how much mix to knock up. its all trial and error first few times.
good luck.

[lutonlagerlout]

How many square meters of riven type slabs can a average professional person lay in one day?

i would hope to lay 25 to 35 m2 of 600 by 600 riven flags a day ,in a straightforward bond,any kind of random pattern knocks this down a fair bit
if you can do 6-8 m a day (approx 25 flags) you will be doing well
just take your time and watch your levels and datum
cheers LLL

[bobhughes]

I note that you are using multi sizes which i presume you will lay in a "random" pattern. Before you lay a single slab you should work the pattern out in detail and make sure that you know where every slab is going.

With the best will in the world the reality will probably not be the same as your drawing (I know mine wasn't) so laying out the first dozen or so slabs on sand as a trial run will enable you to modify it as neccessary.

An hour or two spent getting the layout right now will pay dividends later.

See here how to do it.