Concrete steps

[HoseA]

Hi
I've just moved into a house with four,fairly wide steps down from the parking area.
The steps are fairly strongly constructed from 6" concrete blocks-the treads are poured concrete with a reasonably rough finish.
I'd like to render the sides of the steps and the risers and I'd also like to lay block pavers on the treads to make them more attractive-I'm intending to use a mortar base and then point them up with a black sand mortar in keeping with the surrounding walls.
I'm aware of the fact that bricks/slabs used as treads on steps are often subject to movement.
Have you got any tips on laying them to prevent this?
IE. Mortar Mix additives,Unibonding the riser prior to laying, I've even considered putting a screw into the base of each paver, leaving 8/10mm protruding and using this to tie into the mortar course.
Any suggestions/advice would br gratefully recieved.
Regards
HoseA

[Tony McC]

Black sand mortar? Where would you get a black sand?

I'd suggest using a Class II mortar with a bonding agent such as Ronafix or SBR added as the bedding material. There's no real need to point the pavers, but, if you wanted to do so, then the same mortar could be used.

No need for any screws in the base, as the bond between a enhanced mortar and the blocks is phenomenal,

Have you considered the appearance at the nosing of each step? If you use standard pavers, you'll be exposing an end face, which will probably have a spacer lug incorporated.

[HoseA]

Thanks for the prompt reply Tony.

The previous owner of the house had the front walls topped with grey pavers pointed with a black sand mortar.He left 100 pavers for the other walls and six bags of black sand!!

Where it originally came from I've no idea-Lanzarote perhaps!!


What do you mean by a class 2 mortar?

For the nosing I was going to use Wickes Tumble blocks which are small square pavers that don't have the side lug.
I was going to have these in a different colour to draw people's eyes to the edge of each step.

Thanks for your help.
Kind Regards
HoseA

[Tony McC]

Most black sand in Britain is known as 'Foundry Sand' and it's damned hard to source these days.

A Class II mortar is described on the Mortars page of the main website.

Are you sure those Wickes' blocks don't have a spacer lug? I'd double-check, if I were you.

[HoseA]

Most black sand in Britain is known as 'Foundry Sand' and it's damned hard to source these days.

Blimey I'm sitting on a gold, or should that be a black mine.

I'll see if I can find out where he got it.

The Wickes' tumble blocks are lug free-they've got a slight indentation on one side-I presume to aid buttering
Regards
HoseA

[Tony McC]

There's no way that a tumbled block incorporates any 'aid to buttering' - concrete block pavers are not intended to be laid with mortar joints!

[HoseA]

There's no way that a tumbled block incorporates any 'aid to buttering' - concrete block pavers are not intended to be laid with mortar joints!

I stand corrected!!

[HoseA]

Tony
I've checked out Ronafix and SBR and there is a big difference in price.
Is there a big difference in the quality of the bond ?
Obviously I'd prefer to use the cheaper one (SBR), but not at the cost of sacrificing the bond strength.
Is it a case of "you get what you pay for."
Thanks for your time.
Regards
HoseA

[Tony McC]

I think the Ronafix offers a consistency of quality, backed by a major company, that is vitally important on commercial projects. However, for a residential project, it may be that bog-standard SBR will be adequate for what you're attempting. It's not as though these steps are going to be run over by buses and delivery wagons, is it?

Simeon might be able to give you more info on why Ronafix is 'better' than the un-branded or own-label SBR churned out by the BMs. Are you there, Sim?