Granite patio kit - Thickness of granite flags

[Moggsie]

Hi

I would lke to lay a granite patio, and I have seen a 'random' design patio kit for sale by a company called Nustone. The kit comprises of 18sq mtrs in 4 different sizes, for £13.00 plus vat per sq mtr. It is a machine cut flamed finish. This seems very cheap when compared with prices elsewhere. I have noticd that it is only 20mm thick, which is between 5 and 10mm thinner than what is generally on sale elsewhere. The patio will not have any heavy traffic, and I will be laying it on a decent sub-base, and mortar bed. Does anyone have a view on whether this specification of granite would be ok for a patio? I have helped to lay a couple of patios in Indian stone before, but i prefer the clean look of granite. Are there any difficulties in a relative beginner laying granite, and would it be better to butt joint or leave a wider joint.

Thanks

[Tony McC]

Not familiar with the company, nor its products, but 13 quid per metre for granite makes me worry. What's up with it?

Granite flagstones normally look best with a 6-9mm polymeric joint or a 9-15mm mortar joint, just depending on which finish you prefer. Butt-jointing never works properly: it fails to define the individual flags, it emphasises even the smallest dimensional inaccuracy, and it often causes spalling of the arrises. The only time I'd ever use butt-jointing would be under written instruction from the client.

[drall]

Today granite is cheaper then limestone, at least here.
In 2005 I had an offer for Chinese granite , 2 cm thick in something like 15$, so 13 pounds is not so cheap.

Yet, I wouldn't use large slabs for outdoor pavement in this thickness, but prefer using slabs of 3 cm thickness.

And then again, if your granite slabs are small (20X15 cm or so), you might have no problems using it.