The Brew Cabin

great site, i have the grand task of laying 300 marshalls timber decking flags (i.e. wood effect) over an area of 68 sq m. i have had a couple of guys come and give me quotes for the job and a price was agreed. all the materials were ordered and they were meant to start last weekend. they arrived on time and dropped off their tools etc, i even hired a compactor for the job. they told me that they had another job and would return on sunday. sunday came and went. i rang them to be told that one of them had injured his back on the other job. so not only did i order all the materials for the job and hire a compactor i have now been let down. i am trying to find someone else to quote me but failing that i will attempt the job myself.

as i was saying before i got carried away.. the area is 68sqm which is a soil base. this area is at the end of my lawn and is elevated 2 ft above the lawn. at either side of this area is fence panelling and at the back of the area is a brick wall. the flags are 450mmx450mm.

questions :

A / i have order 5 tonnes of sand grit for the base, is this all i will need to apply to the surface before i compact ?

B / when laying the flags what mixture will i need for the mortar and how do you measure the correct amount. i have read 5:1 sand/cement mixture but how do you measure the amount to be used.

C/ will i need to build some sort of retention wall around the perimeter area to support the flags? instead of a wall can i use railway sleepers?

i hope my questions make sense and any help is appreciated.

abs

A - the bedding: This depends on what the existing sub-grade is like. If it's reasonably form and dry, then you could spread the grit sand over the area. However, it's best to stir in a bit of cement with the bedding sand, and this can only be done as you progress with the laying, otherwise it will have set by the time you get to covering the last of the 68m2.

So, spread the sand, if you must, and compact it with the plate, but you;ll need to disturb the top 25mm or so to mix in a towelful of cement as you prepare the bed.

B - Mortar: I assume you mean mortar for pointing and not that stupid, silly, nasty, amateurish 5-spot method of laying flags that is the universal indicator of a true eejit?

You measure in 'units', whether the units are spadefuls, half-buckets, kilograms, pint pots or whatever. You mix, for example, 4 spadefuls of sand with 1 spadeful of cement.


C- Retainer: If your flags are going to be higher than the immediately adjacent area, then you will need some form of retainer, and it should be a brick or concrete retainer, rather than wood, which can (and will) swell and shrink over the season. A flag -on-edge is a simple and cheap retainer, if one is needed.

thanks for the reply tony.

re point C flag on edge i take it means as it reads using the edge of the flag as a retainer.

No - it's a flag set vertically on its edge - see the Edgings and Kerbs section of the site for a fuller explanation.