The Brew Cabin

hi tony, i have been asked do a 130 sq metres of block paving and they have asked for a multi coloured mix of blocks in a 45 degree herringbone, i have not done a multi color before and want to know what advise u have all they know is they want brindle in there somewhere, i think 3 colours in total maybe burnt brown and another colour would look best but are they layed totally randomly or is there more method than that TIA M8;) also we screed with 3 metre 3x2 sawn timber we purchase new ones each time and it takes sometime to find straight ones is there anything else u can advise us with the screeding rails, what experiences do u have with purpose made screed rails and where do i get em??

You're planning to mix in 3 differently coloured blocks within the one pavement - is that right? There's nowt so queer as the taste of some folks! ;)

Well, if that's what the client wants, fairy nuff, but I think they could end up regretting their choice. It's going to end up looking 'bitty', but, until the whole pavement is laid, there's no easy way of giving them a visual indication of the finished results.

From a laying point of view, you will have to truly randomise the blocks. There's a temptation to lay, say, a brindle, then a brown, then another, then a brindle again, then a brown...and you end up with a pattern instead of a truly random mix. Best way is to get the labourer to load, say, 16 of each colour into a barrow, unload them at the working edge in a random fashion, creating, say, 3 stacks of 16 blocks, and then have the laying operative place the blocks 'as they come'. If you get 3 brindles together, leave them. This is the only way to get a truly mottled appearance.

Still, at the end of the laying work, you're going to have to stand back and survey the work, to see if there are any areas that stand out or look uneasy. Lift, randomise and re-lay as required until it looks as right as it's going to get, and then do the sand jointing. I'd add a few bob to the cost to cover this extra configuration.

Screeder bars and rails: - we make our own by buying aluminium box- or I-sections from a local supplier. Lightweight, very strong, and dead true. :)

If you want a professional system, have a look at probst's stuff. It's the best kit in the world, bar none, and there's a link in the Tools section, or from the Screeding page. :)

thx for the advise tony i may send u a piccy to show u what it turns out like, when u say u make your own screed rails do u mean u use pieces of alu at 2"x 2" and screed with another piece of alu at 2" x 2" if so how long or do u have lots at different sizes, could u allaborate a little plz. TIA

Please do send me a piccy or three - it's good to see how jobs turn out after talking about them via the web.

The screed kit consist mostly of 75x25mm (approx) I-section or box-section ally that's used as the screeder bar and then 25x25mm box section or tubular ally or steel conduit for the trammel bars. The trammels are minimum 2m in length and max of 6m (but these have to be treated with respect to keep them from bending), while the screeder bars range from 600mm to 4m, with one 'beast' that is a 150x50 section and 7m long.

A mate of mine runs a double glazing business, so getting hold of ally section is no problem for us. He lets us have off-cuts for a pint and custom sections at cost. :)

so if i can get me self sum ally tubular 75x25, i can get 3 pieces of 3 metres each and could then use them for block paving mostly. using 2 for the trammel rails and one for the screed bar.

Yep - that's not a bad 'starter kit' :)