Get 3/4"-to-dust ballast ( i.e a mix of varying sizes of aggregate and sand ) from your local builders' merchant and mix it with cement in the ratio 1:5 cement to ballast by volume. Cement paths look a little ugly IMO. If you want, you could add a final layer of concrete with more decorative gravel ( just sand and gravel, ratio 1:5 again ), then when it's started to go off run a stiff rush over the surface and this will reveal the decorative gravel. Just an idea,
Andy.
The current path that leads to the main door is flag stones, they are cracked and well a bit worse for wear.. anyway instead of replacing the flag stones, I would prefer to construct a concrete path way.
The path length is about 5 metres by half a metre.. what kind of concrete mix with sand will I need..
any other material I will need, gravel mixed in with the concrete etc.
thanks for any advise..
Paving slabs are cheap and so is builders sand, and that's all you need to replace this type of path. So I'd advise you to replace the slabs. They give a far better movement ratio in all weathers than stiff concrete does, it's liable to crack up in its first winter. I think slabs are also less slippery in wet and icy weather as well.
Slabs are definitely the way ahead. Use the largest and thickest you can handle. I used council standard 3ft(c) by 2ft(c) by 2ins(c). Used them "spotty" side up to reduce slippage. I set them on a bed of concrete but this is not strictly necessary. No cracking or movement over 20+ years. Regards Pete
Yes - I used some of those, also about 20 years ago, and - also - they have not moved.
I tell you what though: I had occasion to move a slab of these dimensions a couple of years ago ... and I cannot *for the life of me* work out how I ever moved, manoeuvred and laid about 30 of the buggers. The thing weighed a ton, and I could barely budge it. I'm sure I haven't shrunk that much in 20 years.
So -- n.wave -- be careful about which ones you pick (unless you're a big and/or young lad).
John
That's why we were both sure that we did a good job first time. No way would I be able to repeat the exercise now !!
Pete
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