Having a bit of time on my hands due to current circumstances, I have managed to get on with a job that’s been on hold for a couple of years, the Garden Path. I have raised the level of the Garden hard surfaces to allow for the importation 8 Tonnes of quality Top Soil to lay a complete new Lawn on, note the construction technique. A one and a half inch Concrete base, a three quarter inch sharp sand mortar bed then the slabs as illustrated side supported with mortar as in the photos.
Nice job Spitty, but I would only say that the edge haunching is unnecessary with fully bedded slabs as there is no sideways pressure to speak of, and the haunching diminishes the amount of topsoil adjacent to the slabs which can in turn inhibit grass growth up to the slab.
Hi Barry, I did ponder the merit of the haunching, it was done as a bit of belt and bracers, it does have a steep rake so hopefully will not be a problem. The hardest work has been having to hand mix the mortar bed, it has never been successful stopping the mix clumping in the mixer, which is great for concrete but useless for mortar, any suggestions?
Hi Summer, you can say that again:lol:. Who ever buys this house after we are finished will have a right game if they want to change anything, I’ll put a picture of the patio on later, that has a three inch concrete base under it and a half cubic meter drainage system.
I tend to use a wet mix (adding some soft sand) anyway. After 10-15 mins any excess that squirts around the edge can be easily removed without the slabs moving and can be added back into the main mix to soften up again.
The trick is when using a cement mixer is to make sure the mix is always wetted as you add materials. Start with water in the drum before adding any cement or aggregate, then add the cement and continue to add water as you then add the aggregate, so the mix never gets any drier than the consistency that you will finally want.
Thanks, water first, you may remember when I built the Conservatory, I bought a brand new Belle Mixer which I kept scrupulously clean and sold on for what I paid when the project was done. When I built the Office rather than hire, I bought a real old 110V Belle which has had a hard life but only cost £30.00 (if I remember right), well, the inside of the drum is far from pristine, there are no large lumps of set concrete inside but, it does not have the smooth original metal finish, could this be making matters worse?
Hi Dextrous, I would describe the mix as wet, but in the dry side 5 - 1 Sharp Sand and cement. I used to use 4 - 1 but, although strong compression to levels with the mallet was a job and a half.
It doesn’t help matters but as long as the inside of the drum is kept wet then it shouldn’t stick too much, and make sure the drum is washed out well if the mixer has to stand a long while between mixes. Regarding laying the slabs, if you are having to bash the slabs down a lot with the mallet then you need less mortar!
I’m onto the last two slabs on the long run now Barry, just the platform in front of the Shed to do, the bed of Mortar is so accurate before the slab goes on makes it difficult for the Mortar to compress, I’m learning to get more lackadaisical now I’m nearly finished.
We always used a spread of mortar around the outer four inches or so of the slab and and a large dab in the centre, which allows an empty space for the mortar to squeeze sideways when the slab is placed on top. This also gives much better control of laying to line or level.
Last two in, I counted a run of 26 slabs (double width = 52) at 450mm each which is just short of 12 metres. the concrete base was put in about three years ago, so we have a path of sorts, anyway, the last slab has lined up millimetre perfect where the base widens in front of the shed, at this rate, the Garden will be done before lockdown is lifted.
