I have prepared the ground in my back garden to lay a patio on and I have been waiting for a good weekend weather forcast, to buy in the slabs, grit sand and cement. However, being in Glasgow there has been a shortage of 'good weather weekends' lately .
Therefore I have a couple of questions, when bedding the patio on a semi-dry bedding mix, and buttering with general purpose mortar, how long does it need to be dry after the patio has been layed?
Also if I buy the sand for this weekend, and the weather is poor, should I protect the sand from the worst of the elements until I use it? (i.e. can the sand be too wet?)
I am planning on get the material delivered for this weekend, but the weather is uncertain!
You can lay in damp weather, but it's best to leave any pointing until the weather is dry and will be for the next 24 hours. The bedding mix and the buttering mortar are not greatly affected by damp conditions or even a bit of drizzle, but if it gets any heavier than drizzle, best to leave off and retire to the pub for a re-think.
The grit sand won't come to any real harm if it gets a soaking, but if you do have a tarp lying around, sheeting over the sand will help prevent it getting saturated.
Funnilt enough, at this time of year, the biggest proble is usually that the laying course sand is too dry! There is an optimum moisture content for laying course sand, and, if it gets to be too dry, it doesn't compact properly, but starts to act like a fluid when the plate compactor runs over it. It can get to be too wet, as well, but, if it's a good grit sand, it normall drains itself in a couple of hours after even the heaviest downpour.
If it gets as bad as this....
...then it's too wet! :O
(Photo take a couple of weeks ago at one of KGC Paving's jobs)
Thanks for the advice. It doesn't look as if I will get any work done this weekend and the weather is taking turn for the worse! Looks like I am going to have to take your advice and head to the pub instead. Damn!
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