Victorian style floor tiles - What should they be laid on to?

[PhilMartin]

Hi

I am recreating a 1x2.3m path that leads up to my front door. It is a geometric pattern of black, white and grey tiles. Each tile is 9mm thick they range in size: 151x151mm, 151x24mm plus triangles etc... the tiles will be sealed with HG impregnator once laid. I will use grey cement grout. the path has an incline of about 7cm from gate to steps.

The area to be the path was covered with concrete paving slabs previously. I removed them and underneath is sand and rubble on top of soil. It seems compacted.

Tile shop says lay the tiles on concrete with a special adhesive (I bought the adhesive) .

What concrete mix should I use for the base? how thick? Can the concrete be put straight on top of the sand and rubble? The surface for the tiles needs to be smooth and flat.

Do I have to put the rope edge in first? Or can I use a timber edge to hold up the concrete then put the rope top in later? I wanted to do it later incase the tile design doesnt quite fit between the wall and the edging. It is a fixed width and the tiles have tolerance of a few percent so this would make life easier.

I am new to this and I am concerned that the expensive tiles will be a waste if the surface is not smooth and solid.

Any help is most appreciated.

[lutonlagerlout]

try here i would say C25 concrete ,and i would put the rope tops in first but just lay the tiles out dry to check the widths etc
what rope tops are you using?
IME the concrete ones are not very straight ,remember always better 5mm big than 5mmm tight
cheers LLL

[PhilMartin]

thanks for your help.

So (1:1½:3) means (1cement:1.5sand:3gravel) ?

How about the depth?

Laying them out first is a great idea, the wife said the same thing too. My problem is with all the extra handling this requires I think I will end up chipping some. but I suppose I will just have to be careful...

The rope edge is the black stuff from B&Q.

[lutonlagerlout]

if you just buy ballast then it means 4.5 ballast to 1 cement
you really should have a sub base under the path as well 100 mm type 1 wacked
look on the main site for more detailed info
cheers LLL