Thanks, glad it was helpful!

Thanks John

Glad it was helpful! 🙏

No problem, glad you liked it 😄

No problem 😃😃

Thankyou!

They can last some time on sand, it's just not as permanent as on mortar as the bed can be moved about by water and burrowed by ants etc. But still effective in the right situation!

Guarantee you'll be re-laying those mate. Complete bed of mortar every time.

@@stephenoverthrow2463 me personally laying I wouldn’t put it on anything but mortar

No problem 👍 let me know how it goes

@@SamDaviesBuilder what sand you using ? Sharp or builders sand? if I want to do this do I just need Mot Type one sub base that’s all ?

@@user-cv3wq7pt3f I used builders sand, sand quality can differ depending on where you are though. Yea type one sub base will be all you’ll need for a base, just whack down well

@@SamDaviesBuilder thank you for that much appreciated. if I want to grout the joints on a dry mix , what sand should I be using please

Hi Paul, I will try and do one in future about the base for a patio

Thanks but I’m laying on mortar so it goes hard anyway

Thanks. I do have a few videos on mixing on my channel, if you want to take a look. For a mixer full (electric mixer) I’d put couple of small glugs from a 5L bottle. how much plasticiser you need can depend on the quality of sand and the quality of cement. I try and use as little as possible as if you put too much in it can add too much air to the mix

Hi, thanks for the compliment! How much do you think you’re building up with mot? As long as it’s 100mm+ you’ll be fine putting mot on the concrete. Any less and it might move about

@@SamDaviesBuilder swift response thanks! The dip from the house to the garden is easily 300mm+ i don't plan on having it flush anyways as I'm planning to build a step. Can you also confirm how often mot should be compacted every 25mm?

@@Physocrusher I’d compact every 75-100mm, make sure you have a good sized whacker too

​@@SamDaviesBuilderonce compacted, is it built up by sand? When is the weed membrane installed? Sorry for all the questions, new to this all and never had a go at landscaping before. But with your video it's given me confidence to give it a go! Thanks

@@Physocrusher if you’re going over old concrete there is no need for weed membrane. But normally if we put stone on top of dug out ground the weed membrane would go down first then all the hardcore. Ideally you’d leave your hardcore a little higher to allow for it reducing in height once compacted, but it’s never an exact science. You can just top up with more hardcore and compact that in again

Thanks Colin, those who understand this method know how they should be laid. People leave them on sand and think it’s amazing as it’s so quick but it doesn’t take long for them to move and then it’s the expense of having to start again!

@@SamDaviesBuilder Correct, taking the easy route can be longer, to be honest rocking them and resetting them, to walk over them in a day or two and feel another rocking, or even cracked flag is a pian.. they will move, and move again...take the time to mix up mortor like you have done and set them, they go off very quick and there's no messing after that...

@@colinstewart6367 yea and a properly mortared slab will never need redoing!

@@SamDaviesBuilder Gonna get that done over me grave when I kick it...just in case I rise with bad weather😛😛😛

@@colinstewart6367 🤣🤣🤣

Hi, yes you can use the sledge hammer to compact the hardcore, another way is to use the flat surface of the shovel to give it a good whack down. Thanks for the view too 😃

Many thanks

Hi, thanks. No when laying on a wet mix like this then you wouldn’t put water over the top afterwards. You’d be able to walk on it the next day (if the middle of winter then you’d probably have to leave it an extra day before walking on it.

Thanks Steve. On these types of slab I don’t - I’ve always had them stick tidy when using a mix like I use. If it’s porcelain I’m laying I definitely would use a primer. Make sure you enter my competition to win £50! It’s on one of my recent videos…

What primer would you use ?

Mortar is what you lay it on - sand and cement…

Good video by the way

No, you can’t use Cotswold stones, you need hard-core that is small and big stones in it so it all packs together tight. I would call a compactor and a whacker plate the same thing. What do you mean by a whacker plate?

@@SamDaviesBuilder maybe he meant a hand tamp?

@@hashmo101 possibly!

I’ve done a few on slopes and they can be tricky as you either have to dig into the slope a lot or build the back up to get it more level. When it’s sloping both ways it’s even worse!

Hi, I used a basic 450x450mm patio slab. Jewsons own brand ‘Ultipro Farndon’

Hi, thanks for watching. I use a website www.pavingexpert.com which has calculators to work out all the quantities needed. For me and a labourer, this would probably take two days. You can lay the slabs next to each other but you will probably get weeds coming up through the joints at some point. Hope this helps!

@@SamDaviesBuilder Thanks Sam, this is so helpful. Also I found out today that there is a concrete base at 3.5 inch from the proposed top of Patio, can we do without laying a sub base. How much would it cost roughly if I have get it done by a professional. Thanks again.

@@chanderhooda389 honestly I couldn’t give you a figure on price as it’s varies so much throughout the country. A concrete base would be fine to lay on. If you need to build up the height though you would still need hard-core (sub base) as you don’t want to stupidly deep mortar bed

Thanks Sam. Noted.

Hi, if you’d like to browse my channel I have a few videos on how I point a patio

On this type with a wet mix there is no need - I have never had any issues. With porcelain and natural stone you need to use a cement based primer

You should still use your spirit level to set the fall but then you can use string lines. (You can still use a level easy enough on the riven pattern)

@@SamDaviesBuilder thank you 👍.

Hi, assuming a 50mm deep bed and for a 6:1 mix you’d need roughly 0.3 tonne sand and 3 bags of cement. I used the calculator on www.pavingexpert.com to work it out

@@SamDaviesBuilder thanks for the prompt reply. Much appreciated. I listened to your commentary about the depth of mortar that you use “no more than 35mm” so the recommendation using the calculator of 50mm seems a little overkill to me. What are your thoughts?

@@SamDaviesBuilder hi Sam me again. Sorry to bug you but I used the calculator and I got a different result. It’s probably me being thick but the result I got was 1tonne sand and 9 bags of cement. That’s for 8’ x 6’ area = 13.44sq mtrs. Is it me !?!?!

@@Eileen0656 I used the 50mm example as that’s what their calculator was set to. I’d go off the quantities for 50mm as it’s always better to have a bit too much material than not enough. I always do 30/35mm beds, as long as the base you are going on is good then those depth beds are fine

@@Eileen0656 that shouldn’t be 13 square metres? I had it more like 4 square metres. What are the measurements you are doing in metres?

Hi Alex, Thanks for watching. I use a building sand (we don’t get much choice of sand here in West Wales, we just have a choice of building or plastering sand). Plasticiser will depend on the brand, I use the concentrated stuff and it would be 5ml per mixer full. For joint widths I go 12mm with these style slabs, if you are a first timer I’d use 12mm ply cut down as spacers but I have been doing it long enough to not use spacers. Fall for allowing water run off will depend on the type of slab, I always factor in a fall. You want it level one way and fall the other way, a fall in both directions can be very tricky. I’ll do a more detailed video with digging out, base, fall etc one day I just waited to show the process for laying a slab in this one

We use to use 2 plastering sand 2 sharp sand 1 cement mixer up with a little splash of SPR or UniBond mix up same you have done 👍 with Sharp sand give the more sturdier on bed all way lick the back of the slabs with a bucket 1 shovel of cement a mix-up like a creamy paste then put a little bit spr or UniBond then get a 4 inch paint brush paint on the back of slab be down solid you'll find hard to get up again try it see what you think Alex 👍

Hi Dan, do you know if he laid the slabs in a wet mix like I did or a dry mix?

@@SamDaviesBuilder I think it was dry. 4:1 sharp sand to cement. He said let it settle for a day and then water the patio which till wet it so it sets.

@@danielharris3180 I’d only ever lay on a wet mix like in this video. Laying dry mix never seems to work so I’d personally say your base is fine but what he laid it on is poor. What country are you in?

Daniel...use a wet mix ..lift them up one by one and simply drop a mix under them... But I would have put a sub base of stone down, chalky clay ground is fine when it's dry, when it's wet it turns to mush and will move.. My advice, pull them up, put down a layer of stone, get it compact, and then lay your first flag down with wet mortar and a spirit level, and work from that... It's not rocket science and you can do it yourself...there's no real skill in it...just patience.

@@colinstewart6367 I did in the end, worked fine, all sitting nice a still now.

I’d have to see a picture of the bevelled edge flag. Have you got a link to which one it is?

@SamDaviesBuilder thankyou for reply the for for out back door I only need to put 12 down

@@hindleymanb6626 I’d always point between but ideally would have to see the slab first to make a proper decision

@SamDaviesBuilder ok thankyou and what's smallest joint I could use

@@hindleymanb6626 10mm I’d say. You can do 5mm if it’s porcelain

No I’d always lay a stone base and compact

I’d never lay these slabs on just a stone base without mortar - it wouldn’t take long for them to move. The only slabs I’d say you can lay on a stone base without mortar is the 900x600x50mm council slabs as they’re so heavy they won’t move. This is in the UK though so if you are in a different country then things might be done differently….

Yes sharp sand is best for this type of work

Hi, yes they are. From Jewson I think they were

@@SamDaviesBuilder cheers mate just double checking I’m ordering the right ones. Thank you

@@Sedricsmitherson they used to be cheap as chips but since Covid they’ve gone up so much

@@SamDaviesBuilder yeah It’s crazy mate I thought that I’m a plasterer and multi went from a fiver to a tenner!

@@Sedricsmitherson and it’ll never come down again sadly

Our sand is pretty sharp so minus the sbr I’m not far off what you do

I don’t prime these type of slabs. I would prime Porcelain/sandstone/slate slabs though

I don’t use slurry on these type of slabs but I would definitely use slurry on porcelain slabs and natural stone slabs

@@SamDaviesBuilder Thanks for the reply, I'm just glad i don't have to redo my back patio. because i did not use slurry....

@@tonycat721 you should be fine…I’ve never used slurry on these slabs and never had any come loose

Spot bed is a no no, it creates voids which can trap water and then freeze/thaw in the winter. You can also get the spots showing through onto the face of the slab

Depends on what slab you’ve got but fall is 1:80 for industry standard

🤣🤣

I don't prime the back of these type slabs and never had an issue when using wet mix. Porcelain and natural stone slabs should be primed though

Hi John, do you mean the mortar or the stone base?

@@SamDaviesBuilder both I’m thinking of just extending our little patio which has slabs and block bricks cheers

@@johnhill1421 I would dig out you can get at least 100 mm of sub base in and compact. And then lay the slabs on 30 ish mm of a 5:1 sand and cement wet mix. I’ve attached a link for making a good mix kzfaq.info/get/bejne/isB2iJaeqc3Hk5s.html