The Brew Cabin

Hi all,I'm laying a patio 5m X4.5m using dovedale buff riven concrete flags,i have prepared the base and am laying them on a full bed of mortar.My question is can i just butt them together with no gap as i think this would be easier than pointing them up.
Thanks Phil

Standard apology - been off for a few days due to angina. Sorry for delayed responses.

You can butt-joint these flags, but, in my not-so-humble opinion, they look much better with a proper mortared joint.

Thanks for the reply tony,i have decided to lay the flags with a 10mm gap ,what is my easiest option for pointing them, a dry mix or wet? Also should the riven flags be laid with the pattern just random or all facing the same way? Thanks for your help Phil

As it says on the main website, butter the joint with a Class II mortar and then, once the flags are bedded, and while the butter mortar is still plastic, sweep in a dry mix and press it down with a pointing bar or similar.

As for the riven effect, it's a matter of personal taste. Soime folk find that, with these repro flags, having the riven texture aligned the same throughout emphasises the sameness, while others find this to be a pleasing effect. That's summat else I could do with photographing as it's much easier to explain using a picture than to rely on text. Any offers?

Hi tony,been hard at it this weekend ,half way there and it is looking good,i have about 11 square metres to go but need some more building sand i have been using a mix of 5 to 1 mortar,will a ton of sand be enough to cover the remaining area? Thanks for your help it's a great website. Regards Phil

Building sand for the laying course? You should be using grit sand, but, if it's mixed at 5:1, then there's not likely to be a real problem.

So, you've a patio of around 22m² and 11m² to go, using around 50mm of bed? That's just over half a cubic metre, so a tonne shouldn't be far off. :)

Thanks for the reply tony,however on your general purpose mortar page it says a class 2 mortar is 4 building sand and 1 cement ,most people i have spoke to say 6 to 1 is fine so i split the difference and went for 5 to 1. the whole 22 metre area has had 4 ton of mot whacked down prior to laying flags.Should i stick with building sand for the rest?

Yeah, but a Class II mortar would only be used for buttering and pointing, not as a laying course material!

Is that what you've done? Laid on a Class II mortar? Not that it would do any harm, but it's a lot of extra work and extra materials. A weakly-bound grit sand, such as the legendary 10:1 semi-dry mix, is more than adequate for laying course.

Bloody hell! no wonder i'm knackered,yes tony i have laid the flags on class 2 mortar,i diden't realise it was only for the buttering and pointing i have miss understood the instructions,but still as i have borrowed a cement mixer i may as well continue if it is not a problem. Thanks for your imput I will send a piccy on completion. Phil