The Brew Cabin

With the classic british spring weather now upon us (the only nice days we get i have something important planned so i can't lay my patio) i have a question about the sort of conditions that i can lay flags.

My subbase is hard core with a nice layer of river sand to level it all off.

I'm laying Marshalls Heritage Flags (600 * 450).

1. Is it advisable to lay flags in the rain?
2. Is it advisable to lay flags on wet ground or do i need to wait for the ground to dry out before laying flags.
3. What about pointing? I was thinking of laying about half a dozen flags then pointing them. Is it possible to point in the rain. What if it rains when i'm laying the flags and have to stop? Do i have to let everything dry out before pointing?

Maybe the solution is to move abroad !!

From practical experience (!!) I would recommend you do it all in the dry.

I have just layed some slabs following the guidance from this site. I had laid them and had just started to point when a "shower" arrived. Unfortunately it lasted an hour and was pretty torrential. The pointing was ruined and the path of least pain was to dig it out and start again. I even managed to cover it but the water got underneath.

I would also suggest that you point in one go to ensure that you get an even match on your pointing (both on mortar colour and finish).

I can't imagine a more depressing experience than laying slabs in the rain (or perhaps I could but I could think of better ways to spend my time) :)

Ian offers good advice.

Although it is possible to continue laying flags in the rain, it's less than ideal and bloody demoralising to boot. You don't need the ground top be dry before laying, but it's best to get rid of any standing water on the sub-base or sub-grade, wither by chasing it off with a brush or waiting for it to percolate away.

As for the pointing, you really do need dry weather, and a guarantee of 24 rain-free hours before tackling the pointing. If the surface of the flags is wet or damp, allow it to dry off before starting with the pointing, as the mositure only encourages the mortar to spread everywhere.

So: you can continue to lay in the rain, but leave off the pointing until it's dry. In an ideal world, the flags would be pointed within a few hours of being laid, but it's not the end of the world if this isn't possible.

A sort of related question, but at the pre-flag laying stage!

We've got the hole to put the hardcore in, but due to the weather over the last few days, it'll probably be easier to have a swimming pool rather than the planned patio. At the moment the water level is more or less stable and at most 10-15mm above the level where the hardcore will start (and so 85-90mm below the planned level).

So the question I have is; can I put the hardcore in now and use the whacker to level it out to the proposed/required 100mm thickness, or do I have to get rid of the standing water (or wait for it to drain naturally)?

Help/suggestions/dry weather gratefully received!

Thanks

I would reccommend that you drain as much water away as possible and then remove any ground that has been softened by the water, especially if using a limestone handcore and be sure to compact the hard core as soon as possible after you get it in there, i have seen plenty of uncompacted hardcore ruined by wet weather but if it is compacted straight away it will remain stable im any weather.

Thanks for that. It's finally stopped raining, I've had my lunch... best get going!