Without the great advice on this site i would never have attempted this. I have just finished laying my sandstone patio on Tony's recommended 10:1 sand cement bedding with help form my friend. I have 2 questions:-
My patio has about a 5" drop to ground level at the edge my friend suggested haunching with mortar to stop movement I will be building up the level afterwards with soil is this ok to do?
see attached pic
Also what is the best way to point them ready mixed mortar or self mix and do i need to remove all the sand between the joints first?
I like the idea of Romex and reading on the site looks a doddle to use. The only problem being is where to buy it. I am near Cumbernauld in Scotland and none of the local merchants have heard of it. I Tried google and only yourself and a company in Ireland came up any ideas??
I still have one question, the patio has about a 5" drop to ground level what's the best way to make the patio stable? My friend suggested haunching with mortar will this hold? I am goint o be putting a level of top soil on top to bring the lvel back up. I just don't want to ruin my hard work the patio is 20m2.
dont use mortar steve,dig down 150 from the flag and haunch it with concrete (semi wet) then back fill with your topsoil
very nice job there fella
i would guess you will need 4-5 tins of rompox,it is quick to use but when i have used it i still run the jointing iron over it to make sure the joints are full(bit of extra time)
btw what flags are they?
cheers LLL
Thanks for the advice not a builder you see The flags are Bradstone sandstone Modac and are a lovely red colour. Will I need to remove the last line of flags before I dig down and is it ok to by concrete bags that are pre mixed? (no mixer you see)
no dont remove any!
just scrape the bedding material away 6 inches back and down if possible then use your semi wet concrete and haunch it
i am getting some global modak rose this weekend and i hope it looks as good as yours
cheers LLL
Back to the drawing board I am afraid in my infinite STUPIDITY I laid the flags the wrong way up DOH!!! I have now lifted them all and have spent 8 hours cleaning them to remove the cement stains. I will re-lay on Saturday the CORRECT way up!!
what do you mean wrong way up???
there is no right or wrong way with natural stone,there is a recommended way thats all
i did a 70 m job in dunstable for a guy who wanted a real rustic look and he asked for them all to be laid the *wrong* way up as you put it,we did it, he was happy, and we got paid.
tbh looked fine from the picture
i am worried now
LLL ???
Took me 11 hours to clean each slab one by one with a bolster, hammer and a powerwasher horrible job. I am a bit confused with how to lay the concrete to stop lateral movement my garden slopes so i need to scrape back 6 inches and fill with concrete? will this mean my flags sit on the concrete just making sure before I make a mess.
the drop is about 10 inches to ground level which then slopes away to the bottom of garden. Would a retaining wall be better something like this?
sorry its a bit vague but i want the edge defined, ie the patio slab hangs just proud of the retaining edge by about 2-3 inches any help would be appreciated
well i f you were going to use a wall it should of been built first
but wait!
dont rip them up again
you can still dig a little footing adjacent to the flags say 12 inches wide and 300 deep
put 150 of concrete in this footing and build a little retaining wall next to the flags say 2 courses higher for effect
of course this will need time and money
alternatively you can scrape back the bedding verticaly from the flags edge and haunch some concrete along the front in like a right angled triangle shape if you look from the side elevation .
did mine the weekend in modak,what did they cost you oop there mate?per metre
cheers LLL
Thanks for reply, I'll have a bash. What I meant was can I remove the last line of slabs and build a retaining wall underneath so the slab protudes over the edge as I was going to buy Bradstone natural sandstone walling so it gives a finished edge when looking at it from the bottom of the garden. The slabs cost me individually 300 x 300 £2.68 300 x 600 £4.98 & 600 x 600 £8.98 so about £27 inc vat a square metre.
The flags are Bradstone sandstone Modac and are a lovely red colour. Will I need to remove the last line of flags before I dig down and is it ok to by concrete bags that are pre mixed? (no mixer you see) 
