Hand made mosaic paving tiles - Flags and slabs

[meryl]

I'm a ceramicist and have made tiles to pave an area in my garden. The tiles are small (average around 15cm x 5cm) and the thickness is approx 1cm, but since the clay was hand rolled this varies slightly. The tiles are irregularly shaped and the design is random. The clay is frost proof and the tiles are not glazed but fired to 1200 centigrade.

The area to be covered is a circle with a diameter of 4.5 metres around which is a border of half bricks. The flower bed within the circle was dug out and I have put down hard core with a sand infill. I then used a whacker plate to compress it. On top of that there's around 6 or 7 cms of sharp sand which has been levelled and tamped down. There's approx 2 cm between the top of the sand and the top of the brick border.

I want to ensure that the paving is level with the top of the bricks and slightly raised in the middle to ensure that rain water runs off into the surrounding plant beds. The area will have very light use (me, the dog and seating).

What I need to know is the following:
Do I need to do anything else before I start laying the tiles?
What should I use to securely lay the tiles (sand only, sand and cement, what type of sand etc)?
Is any particular method of tile laying recommended?
Should I lay the tiles slightly higher than the brick border to allow for settling?
Should I wait a while before pointing between the tiles in case adjustments need to be made?
What mix should I use for the pointing? I would like the pointing to be dark grey.

Hope you can help.

[Carberry]

I would lay a 75-100mm concrete base for putting the tiles on.

Is that 60-70mm of sharp sand before compaction? Sounds like too much and it will end up settling further leading to dips and peaks all over the paved area.

Secure them with tile adhesive / grout designed for outdoor use, something like This

Would use grout between them, not pointing.

Only tips I can give for laying them, lay them out dry and make sure you are happy with your pattern first. When you are ready to lay them properly, start from the center and work your way out.

[lutonlagerlout]

100 mm concrete then tiles fixed with outdoor adhesive on to that
the 70mm of sand is a bit weird,what gave you that idea?

LLL ???