Patio Laying

Mar 24, 2009 6 Replies

My proposed patio will be made with 450mm slabs. As it is at the back of the house there will be no vehicles driving on it.



I have lots of sand and it is my intention to lay the slabs on a 100mm bed of sand which has been dry mixed with a 1:15 cement addition.



Has anyone experience of this method? I appreciate that it is usual to put a subbase of stone down first but that'll be around £300 extra and I've plenty of sand.



mark


"mark" wrote

Is the area well compacted or likely to settle? I did a similar job years ago as you describe (except 50mm sand/cement dry mix well stamped down). But mine was on well compacted ground with significant clay content. Check out

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for qualified advice.

Phil

I looked at this article and found it interesting. I'm hoping to lay a small patio in part of a garden, and am not quite sure if I ought to get a professional to lay it. The soil is very soft in this garden. I see that the diagram at the end of the above article shows the slabs laid on a "prepared sub-grade" covered with a 2in grit/concrete mix.

But what exactly is the "prepared sub-grade"?

I laid mine 20 odd years ago on 100mm of sharp sand, and no cement apart from the edges. No problems so far, but the soil was pretty stony IIRC. I was doing it a bit at a time, so I just packed the slabs out individually as I went. I overdid the fall away from the house a tiny bit, but that's probably a classic beginner's mistake

1 Cement to 15 sand !! The ants will think is there birthday. even the worms will love mixing it in. More like 5 sand 1 cement

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