Well, its down.... photo's of my 10 hour shift.

[k13wjd]

well, they are down. Be honest
Level in the right places, slight fall towards the house









That gap is there for a good reason. row of granite setts going in, then a french drain with black pebbles( cast concrete house )

[rimexboy]

very nice, your back will feel it tomorrow i bet lol

[k13wjd]

getting there !!!!


When your working alone, you make full barrows. Tough going !

level(fall away from house!!!, sub base back towards house) up until here, then uphill for my path






There's gold in them there flags !!!


The gate isnt level, before you ask !!!

Kinda knew i'd have a 5ish inch gap at the end, and already planned to get these setts in there, pointed up black they will look really good




And the final one. This is where i think i'll get it in the neck. My pattern differs from my orig plan. Yes, those are 2 1x1's next to each other. and yes, 4 corners meet in that spot. That as random as random can be. In true randomness, you'd end up with more than 2 next to each other, given 40 odd flags, and only 4 sizes

They were all washed as i went, well, mortar taken off, and sponged/scrubbed down. The light colour was there before i started, lots of dust from the quarry, a good few washes with hot soapy water will take that all off( i hope)

I'm happy, they are level in the right places, Bed is THICK, these bad boys are going nowhere. Pointing either tommorrow or wed depending on weather and my body.

how did i do, never laid a slab/flag in my puff, never used a mixer........decent first attempt ?

[k13wjd]

very nice, your back will feel it tomorrow i bet lol

what do you mean tommorrow ??

used 13 bags of OPC, and the best part of 1500kg of sand. Just need to decide how to point it now

[rimexboy]

lol, you have a mixer i see, but the main bit of kit is the sports direct mug , looks great...

[k13wjd]

aww they are the mutts nuts. couldn't get past without that mug, 2 big spoons of coffee in there, awesome.

yip, leccy mixer. to be honsest i couldn't use it to begin with, made a right hock of it. but after i stopped and thought, i made some quality mix. water+soap in, 7 big shovels of sand, 1/2 bag opc( cut through with old saw, minimal spillage) another 7 big shovels, and the other half off the bag. leave to mix. adjust water. Job done.

its nearly 80mm in places......tis going nowhere !

[r896neo]

holy hell 80mm is a deep bed, you could've saved a lot of work and a bit of money with another few ton of MOT.

Looks really good and nice to see photo's of the result of advice given.

Being super critical its a pity about that one cross-roads it does draw the eye.

[k13wjd]

looking at it from my kitchen window, im actaully starting to like having focal point. I tried to get round it time and time again, but it was taking far too long, and i had deviated from my orig plan. Its random paving, with a repeat pattern path.

[k13wjd]

( yes, 80mm is deep, but its only that along the front edge, the rest of it falls away to 50 odd mm.)

solid bed, it won't go far

[Pablo]

I suspect that your flags my be badly stained now that's why I recommended using a hose and a long handled brush and not a bucket and sponge but hopefully I'm wrong. The edges need tidying by the house and into the fence with some kind of trim or kerb but the levels look grand.

[k13wjd]

yeah, i'll be putting a run of granite setts along, same as under the gate. they'll be pointed black too. french drain after that, likely in dark pebbles ( which will follow round onto the fence gap)

Still to decide what happens with the rest of the area, either fake grass OR decking.

There was a LOT of dust on the flags when they came, even washing one down with a stiff brush and fairy left SOME dust.

I'll did try to keep ontop of it, washing as i went, and washing at the end( as much as i could without getting on the patio) If i could have used more water, they would have been cleaner.

First time for everything thanks once again for all the advice, and comments. Pointing next, black mortar with building sand i reckon.

[mickg]

you have done very well seeing you have not laid paving before

>>>>Pointing next, black mortar with building sand i reckon.
for the sake of a few more pounds I would use the easipoint if I was you, the sun bleaches the black dye out of traditional sand and cement pointing so you will end up with a very pale patchy grey colour

but the ball is in your court we can only offer the best advice, good luck either way

[k13wjd]

Nobody seems to be able to tell me how long mortar "DYE" will last. sika liquid seems like decent stuff, then there is powders. I'd be worried that the dye might leach out on the path, and leave streaks.

Or as you say, i use easy point( can't seem to find a price) i presume i CAN apply easypoint without using a gun ? i'll call the local supplier in the morning and get a price - And i'd need to work out roughly how much i need to point them well.

Lastly, i presume i should get these flags nice and clean prior to pointing, then seal them after a bit ?

[mickg]

it can be as little as a few weeks, a few months or between 12 - 18 months, it depends if the patio is in direct sunlight or not

get a gun from your local builders merchants, I have 2 guns, one off easipoint when I bought my first order and the second gun work just as good for less than £19 from a builders merchants

yes get the paving cleaned off before you begin the final stage of pointing

regarding sealing I would wait for a dry period with the weather before attempting to seal

[k13wjd]

seems i can get it around £20/25kg bag + vat. 2 bags and a gun then.

So, removing mortar stains. See you all in 5 hours.