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Posted: Thu Nov 11, 2004 3:46 pm
by matthew29
I have a couple of questions about laying a pattern of Drivesett Tegula blocks in 3 different sizes.
1. When laying the initial pattern how should I go about leaving the gaps for cutting bricks at the edges? As there are three different sizes of bricks should I vary the size of gap I leave as I lay the initial rows? I expect this will become obvious to me after starting the job but I'd appreciate some advice.
2. I'm planning to lay the pattern on the diagonal, in straight rows, however the edge course protrudes into the area of the paving at a rightangle in two different places. What is the best way of laying the bricks around these rightangles, or the best way to cut them if I have to.
Thanks
Posted: Fri Nov 12, 2004 10:59 am
by Tony McC
When laying on the diagonal, a good 'tip' is to position one of the large blocks so that, when cut down, it would just fill the gap, and then start laying the full blocks from there...
...of course, you could just measure the length of a large block (240mm for Marshalls Tegula or 208mm for Tobermore Tegula) and start laying from there, but I find it's easier to use a block as an instant measure than keep effing about with a tape measure.
As for laying around an intrusive right angled edge course, I can't see the problem. You simply continue the paving alignment and the orientation of the cuts changes, as shown here...
... does that make it any clearer?
Edited By Tony McC on 1100257836
Posted: Fri Nov 12, 2004 12:25 pm
by matthew29
Thanks Tony
That's all very helpful.
I suppose I was concerned about cutting a "V" shape out of the block to fit around around the rightangle as shown in your diagram - it looks as though it will be fiddly and perhaps require the use of a ginder.
What is the best way to make this kind of cut?
Cheers
Matt
(who is now off to finish lugging one tonne of base layer through the house in a bucket as he doesn't have a back entrance) 
Posted: Fri Nov 12, 2004 7:00 pm
by Tony McC
There's a few options. Obviously, in an ideal world, the vertex of the right-angled edge course would coincide with a transverse joint of the body paving like so....
...but life isn't like that and so you end up with the vertex being slap-bang in the middle of a block.
You have a few choices, illustrated below.
1 - cut out the right-angled notch using a nangle grinder or a cut-off saw. It's a neat finish, but having a concave right-angled notch like that cut into a block seriously weaken it, and it's often just a matter of time before the block snaps, with one end of the crack being very definitely located at the vertex of that notch. However, for a residential driveway, this is less likely to happen (because traffic volumems and loadings are much lower) and is a common choice amongst contractors.
2 - the block itself is split, pre-empting the inevitable eventual cracking. I've shown two alternatives below - one where the block is split parallel to its long edge, and one wher the split occurs in line with the edge course and at 45º to the block. Of these the first is the preferred option because you end up with two bits of block of reasonable size, and neither of them are the dreaded triangle shape.
Which you choose is entirely up to you. From an aesthetics point of view, I'd go with option 1, but from a professional contractor's p.o.v., it would be the parallel cut.