How much grit and silica sand?

[66-1093879036]

Hi,
I am planning to lay paving blocks over an 18 square meter drive. I have the base complete and need to know how much grit sand to order for the bedding layer and how much silica sand I will need to brush down the gaps.
Cheers.

[84-1093879891]

2 tonnes of grit sand and 2 bags of the jointing sand (40kg bags) should do it.

There's a spreadsheet for calculating all these quantities on the Laying Blocks page. :)

[66-1093879036]

Thanks Tony,
I will get on to my local merchant.
One thing I have noticed with todays heavy rain, there is a shallow puddle slightly off from center. It's about half an inch deep and about the size of a flagstone but if it gets any deeper it will drain off the edge. Is this a problem or am I ok to lay the bedding sand and blocks?

[84-1093879891]

I take it this is a puddle on the base that you intend to pave over? If so, don't worry about it - chase out any standing water with a yard brush before placing and preparing the laying course, just so it doesn't get saturated. :)

[66-1093879036]

Cheers Tony,
I seems I've been a bit thick as I was assuming that surface water drains between the blocks through the sand then runs off the concrete base at the edge. Thats why I was worried about failing to get the base to drain properly as I was imagining a permanent puddle under the blocks. Obviously I just need to make sure the the blocks are set so they drain where I want.
Thanks again.

[84-1093879891]

It's not just you - it's a common misconception that surface water drains through the joints of a block pavement when, in fact, over 98% of surface water never gets more than 3mm into the surface of the pavement. Howver, the laying course still needs to drain, so it's good practice to ensure you're not creating a 'pond' beneath the pavement. :)