The sun/jodrell bank - British standards

[Tiatodd]

At first glance the Sun at Jodrell bank looks fantastic.On closer inspection i note that the "cutting in" within the inner circle does not conform to British Standards.There is no evidence of inboard cutting and blocks less than 1/4 size have been used.Was the Clerk of Works asleep or in some cases is it ok not to conform to BS?Apart from that it looks great

[ken]

Tobermore's sales manager asked me to do the cuts as shown in the finished product, so i did.

[Tiatodd]

i think the decision was probably the right one to follow the sales managers instuctions but it does open up quite a good discussion.If things dont always conform to BS, does that make them wrong or could it be that in certain instances BS is wrong.I wonder?

[mickg]

you do what is required to make the job the best it can look even if it means doing something what is not to BS, inboard cutting means you loose the bond of the blocks which can make the layout not look as good as if you follow the same bond but have smaller cuts

lets not forget blocks are manufactured as small as 80mm x 80mm (plaspave como) so a quarter size block could be 80mm x 20mm which is a very small piece but if bedded correctly on fully compacted sand its not going to move

marshalls don't recommend cutting a block less than a quarter in case a woman walks on the piece and pushes it down with a stiletto heal....

huh....she has more of a chance of breaking her leg and falling flat on her face whilst walking over priora block paving and getting that same heal stuck in a 6mm gap

thats BS for you, is it "British Standard" or "Bull Shit"

[Tony McC]

There is a sound reason why the ¼ block rule is part of the BS. Small pieces work loose, which then compromises the integrity of the rest of the pavement. Personally, I'd avoid using anything less than 1/3 of a full block or 60mm-ish, as I state on the main website.

The BS is a guide to best practice, but occasionally, a client can instruct a contractor to disregard the very good guidance given therein. By so doing, the client then assumes responsibility for the pavement's performance. However, unless the clients does give such an instruction, a professional contractor is duty bound to follow the guidance given in the BS. If the contractor unilaterally decides to ignore the BS, then any problems are his responsibility.

It's also bad form for one contractor to have a pop at a fellow tradesman in a public forum without either putting his own work up for consideration or declaring that there is a hidden agenda behind his comments.

As the hidden agenda involves the courts, this thread is now ended and any continuance of this theme elsewhere in The Brew Cabin will result in posting rights being withdrawn.

[Tony McC]

Thread closed due to legal reasons.