Ask The Trades - Paving slabs

Welcome, Guest. Please Login or Register

	May 1^st, 2024, 9:17pm
View recently thanked users View top thanked users

Quote: To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism, to steal from many is research.

Ask The Trades › DIY Forum › Building Questions › Paving slabs

(Moderator: TIMBA-WOLF) - (Moderator Group: Board Moderator)

< Previous Topic | Next Topic >

Pages: 1

Paving slabs (Read 11936 times)

coggy GDPR opt-out	Paving slabs Apr 15^th, 2004, 12:54pm This is more of a gardening question really but will give it a go. Fitst off, i am a crap gardener and know nothing about laying slabs. I want to lay a patio (quite big) in our garden which is currently grass. Ok i need help on this, i want to lay the slabs dry if poss, because its easier. Right what do i do next: 1) Take up grass 2) ??
Back to top	IP Logged

thescruff

Global Moderator
Trade Member
Author

Offline

Who said plumbing was
easy.
Posts: 6037

Total Thanks: 147
For This Post: 0

Gender: male

Trade: Plumber

Re: Paving slabs
Reply #1 - Apr 15^th, 2004, 1:13pm

Probably not right but I've seen it done this way so;

Get a sheet of that stuff they put under roads to stop the weeds growing.

Load a fine scalpings and smack it down hard with a plate wacker.

Spread a load of dry sand and cement mix over the site and level, if you put boards around the edge you can make up a simple scrapper using a length of wood.

Lay slabs and tap em down.

Sweep the dry sand and cement mix in the cracks.

plumb

IP Logged

ColG GDPR opt-out Total Thanks: 147 For This Post: 0	Re: Paving slabs Reply #2 - Apr 16^th, 2004, 9:25pm Nah Coggy, just lay a load of decking - you're a chippy for crissake!!!!
Back to top	IP Logged

coggy GDPR opt-out Total Thanks: 147 For This Post: 0	Re: Paving slabs Reply #3 - Apr 16^th, 2004, 11:06pm Dont like decking, sorry to slippy and in our weather nope sorry
Back to top	IP Logged

Charlie Farley

Guest

Total Thanks: 147
For This Post: 0

Re: Paving slabs
Reply #4 - Apr 19^th, 2004, 1:00am

The slabs must slope away from the building and an easy way of laying great slabs every time is to lay a subbase as mentioned above but lay two sticks of 4x2 and level across and fill in between with sand and cement. Screed it level and lay on the slabs onto the correctly spaced 4x2's. Next, pull out a stick and move it across to the next line of slabs. A surefire way of keeping it level across the house line.

A rule of thumb is when a bucket of water is thrown on a finished slabbed area it should be seen to be drying within two minutes on a dry day else it will get all slimy and green in the winter

IP Logged

Dewy

GDPR opt-out

Total Thanks: 147
For This Post: 0

Re: Paving slabs
Reply #5 - Apr 19^th, 2004, 3:18am

1st thing to do coggy is make sure the grass & weeds are dead. If you have somewhere to put it I'd take the turfs off & stack them upside down in a pile for a year. This should turn them into a good loam (I'm on blue clay & good soil is hard to get). Digging out the turfs makes room for the mortar & slabs.
As thescruff said. Put that weed suppresant material down. If you use the dry mix, the damp from below should set the mortar but you would get a better result with a fairly dry but workable mix laid level then ridged with a trowel. Lay the slab then you can level it by tapping with a rubber mallet. The ridges in the mortar flatten til you get to the required height. Make sure you use a spirit level so the fall away from the house is maintained.
I wouldn't use the 5 spot of mortar method favoured by many as the voids underneath make weak spots & they will soon be inhabited by hoards of ants & other creapy crawlies.

IP Logged

Big Al Trade Member Offline The Scottish Joiner Posts: 53 Total Thanks: 0 For This Post: 0 Gender: Trade: Not Specified	Re: Paving slabs Reply #6 - Apr 29^th, 2004, 10:36pm glad you asked coggy. I need to lift and relay around 60 4x2 slabs to the side of my house and the answers you've got will help me just fine. Got a feeling my backs gonna feel like s**t for a month but hay ho. keeps the boss happy. Thanks guys
Back to top	Joiners put it all together IP Logged

Dewy

GDPR opt-out

Total Thanks: 0
For This Post: 0

Re: Paving slabs
Reply #7 - Apr 29^th, 2004, 10:46pm

4x2 slabs? I hope they arent ex council ones like mine. They are 3x2 & so thick I could hardly move them but laid a 100' path with them & used half slabs for steps up to it then down the bank to a bridge I built over the brook. I was tempted to use the 5 spot method but am glad I didn't. They are firm and likely to be there long after I'm gone.

IP Logged

highlander Newbie Offline I love YaBB 1G - SP1! Posts: 1 Total Thanks: 0 For This Post: 0	Re: Paving slabs Reply #8 - May 3^rd, 2004, 11:05pm Go a truly great site www.pavingexpert.com It will give you all the information you need regarding flags blocks gravel etc. etc
Back to top	IP Logged

coggy GDPR opt-out Total Thanks: 0 For This Post: 0	Re: Paving slabs Reply #9 - Apr 1^st, 2005, 9:43pm Thanks for that site it,s a good site Can you lay flags on top of flags ? It would save taking up the 3x2 massive heavy council ones I was hoping i could lay on top of them with a dry mix of somthing ???. They are solid and not to bad level wise. I could then just add and extra row. Any advise welcome Jase
Back to top	IP Logged

chappers Trade Member Offline Posts: 167 Total Thanks: 0 For This Post: 0 Gender: Trade: Not Specified	Re: Paving slabs Reply #10 - Apr 2^nd, 2005, 8:30am I just pulled some up in our garden last weekend they were 70mm thick, 2x2s could barely move them when I went to smash them up found out they were even reinforced there were about 25 of them wouldn't have fancied being the bloke who had to carry them through the house and then lay them. Over-engineering don't you just love it
Back to top	IP Logged

CWatters Super Member Offline "Daddy fick it" says James Posts: 5150 Total Thanks: 58 For This Post: 0 Gender:	Re: Paving slabs Reply #11 - Apr 3^rd, 2005, 4:31pm Hope this forum owner won't mind but.... This is a fantastic site for anything to do with paving, driveways, drainage etc... http://www.pavingexpert.com/ Checkout their site index.. http://www.pavingexpert.com/pavindex.htm
Back to top	IP Logged

Pages: 1

(Moderator: TIMBA-WOLF) - (Moderator Group: Board Moderator)

< Previous Topic | Next Topic >

Ask The Trades › DIY Forum › Building Questions › Paving slabs