Laying paving slabs involves a great deal of physical labour, and in terms of technique, it is much more complicated than tiling a wall.
Planning, accurate setting out and careful laying, especially during the early stages, will help you achieve your desired results.
Tools Required:
- Wooden Pegs
- Spirit Level
- Club Hammer
- Wooden Straight Edge
- Garden Roller
- Brush
Material Required:
- Pavers
- Mortar
- Gravel
- Sand
- Hardcore (broken bricks or crushed stone)
Setting Out the Paving Area:
Whenever feasible, plan an area of paving so that it can be laid with whole slabs only. This eliminates the arduous task of cutting units to fit.
Use pegs and string to mark out the perimeter of the paved area and check the measurements before you excavate.
You can use a straight wall as a datum line and measure away from it, to allow for a 100mm to 150mm margin of gravel between the wall and paving.
TIP
A gravel margin not only saves time and money by using fewer slabs, but also provides an area for planting climbers and for adequate drainage to keep the wall dry. It is a rule that all paving must be installed 150mm below a damp-proof course, to protect the building.
Marking out an area simply involves accurate measurement, as paving slabs are made to near precise dimensions, and keep an allowance of 6mm to 10mm gaps between the slabs. Some slabs are cast with sloping edges to provide a tapered joint and should be buttered edge to edge.
Preparing A Base for Paving
Paving slabs must be laid upon a firm level base, but the depth and substance of that base depends on the type of soil and the proposed use of the paving. Compact the soil with a garden roller and then spread the sand with a rake and level it by scraping and tamping with a length of timber.
To support heavier loads, or if the soil is composed of clay or peat, lay a subbase of firmly compacted hardcore (broken bricks or crushed stone) to a depth of 75 to 100mm before spreading the sand to level the surface. If you plan to park vehicles on the paving, increase the depth of hardcore to 150mm.
Laying Paving Slabs
Lay a first-size blob of mortar under each corner and one more to support the center of the slab.
If you intend to drive vehicles across slabs, lay a continuous bed of mortar about 50mm thick. Lay three slabs at a time, inserting wooden spacers between.
Level each slab by tapping with a heavy hammer, using a block of wood to protect the surface. Check the alignment.
Gauge the slope across the paving by setting up data pegs along the high side. Drive them into the ground until the top of each corresponds to the finished surface of the paving, and then use a straight edge with a packing piece under one end to check the fall on the slabs.
Don’t Walk on the paving for two or three days, until the mortar has set. If you must cross the area lay planks across the slabs to spread the load.
To fill the gaps between paving slabs, brush a dry mortar mix into the open joints. Remove any surplus material from the surface of the paving, then sprinkle the area with a very fine spray of water to consolidate the mortar.
Please Note: Avoid dry mortaring if heavy rain is imminent, it may wash the mortar out.
Did You Know?
What is the difference between Mortar Mix and Concrete Mix?
The terms cement, concrete, and mortar are often used interchangeably, but they are different materials with different uses. Though both mortar and concrete are widely used building materials, they cannot be substituted for each other without compromising the integrity of a build.
Mortars with a high water-cement ratio bond best.
This is the opposite of concrete, where concrete mix is formulated for strength and lower water content makes it stronger and more effective for its purpose.
Additives or plasticizers may be added to mortar mixes to increase their flexibility.
All the Tools and Materials required for Laying Paving Slabs are available for purchase and delivery from the Build it Online Store www.buildit-store.com
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