Back garden - new patio (Indian sandstone) DIY log

[Buffman]

99% of people install the boards upside down.

I believe there is no such thing as "upside down" with groove/flat edges as I recall.

Anyways I'm not installing decking (yet! / this project..... Later for the garden room next year.... But I'll go composite for sure)


Moved over 4 tonnes of grit (/sharp) sand and cement ( 171bags) into position ready for mixing. I'll be doing a 5:1 mix with a little plasticiser in it.

Ive bought some prebagged larson primer rather than mixing my own primer with SBR.

 

[Buffman]

Put some of the sandstone in.

Ive marked out 1:60 points on all my levels, this is about 1.5 days so it is taking a while! Hopefully I speed up as a lot to do. Main one was getting 1st right as it sets up the rest..

 

[Buffman]

How much mix are you requiring per slab?

Think the above that I've done I've used about 10 bags (25kg) of sand and 2 cement.

So I guess the short answer is lots!

 

[Buffman]

More in

 

[Buffman]

Looking good.

At some point in the near future I expect SWMBO to order me to relay the patio here which is somewhere in the region of 100sqm+, down the sides of the house and to the rear.

I do wonder if a grabbo style lifter makes positioning large slabs any easier? Or if offering up once on the bed of mortar is sufficient.

I don't think grabbos would work on these riven sandstone. They'd be fine /good for "flat" porcelain. Tbh you get used to it. 100 sqm will be horrible on your own!

 

[Buffman]

I love it how people put down diy youtubers, tiktokers etc etc while posting DIY advice on an IT forum…..

Generally I think YouTube can be good but just particularly the hard landscaping info I've seen on YouTube is pretty patchy at best.

 

[Buffman]

Good work so far OP.
Are you doing it entirely with a level?
We will set up string lines at our finished height (falls included) every 6 feet or so, that way you can just tap down a slab, and then use your level on the slab to check with the lines if its high or low, i find this way a lot faster and easier than just using a level.
Its a personal choice, but i would also avoid any long straight joints.

Used a laser for initial set out of the MOT (there are spot level marks on the fencing pins and house and a level for the rest.

Not sure I quite get you on the string line but now the first run is set I know which way I want it to run.

Yes I've read to avoid long lines and cross joints. Maybe the last row line is a touch long but I was initially following a manufacturer pack (which doesn't go as large as I require) then I will free hand it to keep it random

Done some more today. Done 3 mixes today (each of 3 bags of sand plus cement!) so circa 250kg of mortar in

Didnt help i split a couple and also had to take out some after laying as the size was so far different from others in the pack.

 

[Buffman]

Had a bad one yeserday

Ground out this tile and realised I mismeasured, also had to grind a couple other tiles as the fitting tolerances weren't going to work/ allow a grout joint (i think it's due to excessive tolerances in the stone and me only using a 10mm joint than say 15mm)

Ive bought a new grinder blade as my porcelain tile one was very slow.

Still got 3 boxes of slabs to fit and this is about 1 and a bit!

Also I'm thinking of what type of shingle to cover the drains. Any thoughts of wether to go more light similar to the slabs or possibly a darker stone for contrast...




Cut well but wrong size :

Replacement

 

[Buffman]

Done a bit since these last pics!

Still got a fair bit to go then got to grout it all. It drained well in all the terrible rain last week.