Whats the best bed to lay slabs on.

[paulfaye]

this is going to be my 1st time slabbing and ive had mixed advice regarding either spotting the slabs with a sand cement mix or a flat bed of sharp sand and cement,any ideas as which is best i have already put a 50mm sub base of mot down.

[lutonlagerlout]

full bed of sand cement mix
spotting is a total failboat
it takes a bit of getting used to but if you do it right it will last a long time
LLL

[local patios and driveway]

Sharp sand, i lay 5:1

[seanandruby]

capital punishment is still enforcable for spot bedding, you'll be hung by your balls :;):

[Mikey_C]

I don't imagine you are going to take it back up again, but 50mm of type1 is no good, to thin needs to be a minimum of 75-80mm really for it to work as described somewhere on the website.

[MattyH]

I cant believe people still advise others to spot bed paving. It's a practice only used by cowboys and people who have to be tight with their materials. If you want it to stay put and for the pointing to not crack it HAS to be a full bed.

What is the sub grade ground like under your MOT? Is it clay? If not, you may be able to get away with 50mm sub base if you put at least 60mm full bed of mortar under each slab. It's not ideal but it may save you having to take it all up and dig down further! If it's also just for light foot traffic you may be ok.

[MattyH]

I also use a mixed sand rather than sharp sand in a 5:1 mix as I find it gives a better mortar adhesion to the sandstone slabs.

[Dave_L]

Whatever happened to the OP??

[syec]

hes probably digging

[lutonlagerlout]

hung by the baws
LLL :;):