The Brew Cabin

Posted: **Sat Sep 10, 2005 7:49 am**

I'm using some concrete slabs with a textured effect on the surface to create a set of steps to my front door. The slabs form a quarter circle, so the top steps has 3 slabs and then bottom step has about 5-6. These are supported on normal bricks.

Anyway the problem I have is that after about a week of the slabs being down on the bed of mortar (normal premix mortar) you can just lift them up? The mortar isn't binding with the slab at all and the only thing keeping it together is the pointing? When you lift the slab up there isn't any mortar stuck to it at all.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks

Tom

Posted: **Tue Sep 13, 2005 5:06 pm**

Buy some Ronafix (a white liquid), and some cement, mix the two together in equal parts, clean the back of the slab, damp it with water, brush on the Ronafix:cement mix, and whilst it's wet, lay the slab into the wet mortar.

That'll do it.

p.s. don't splash the Ronafix:cement on top of the slab as it will stick - that's what it's designed to do

Call us on 01279 638700 for price and local stockists.

Posted: **Thu Sep 15, 2005 3:18 pm**

Just to expand on Sim's answer, Ronafix acts as a bonding agent when used in this manner and will give you a bloody incredibly tough bond between brickwork and mortar and between mortar and flags/slabs. It has other properties, too, but as a bond-enhancer for mortars or concretes, it's about as good as you can get!

The Brew Cabin

Slabs won't set - Mortar problems