Help, patio laying novice

[Dave80s]

My first post - so hello everyone.

I'm having a go at laying a patio, but I'm a bit of a novice (although not too bad at DIY in general). I've read all the info on here which is great, but I still have a question or two.

I've lifted the slabs from the previous patio which was laid on sand. First question, can I reuse the sand?

If not then do I just skim it off and lay down mortar dry mix? Or shall I leave it and adjust the sand/cement ratio to compensate? It's 30sqm.

I'm laying riven paving which is bath yellow, so should I be concerned about the colour being affected by the mortar?

Thanks, Dave.

[Tony McC]

Remove the old sand.

If it's clean, coarse/sharp and of a pale colour, it could be mixed with cement to make a bedding mortar, otrherwise, buy new.