Paving and Setts - Part 2

At last! My paving stone has arrived, after getting stuck in a container at a dock somewhere in India I think it was.  I've taken delivery of the first 17 sq m, and have been having fun laying them down between the setts which were set in cement weeks ago. Happily,

all my careful measuring has paid off and they all seem to be looking good, with no large gaps anywhere. Here's the first lot (right) of 19 slabs, laid in about two and a half hours.  I'm glad that I chose to bed them on sand; having helped lay the 18 sq m of pretty similar stone in the kitchen in 2011, and then done another 12 sq m in the rebuilt extension all by myself, I knew that getting the level was surprisingly difficult, and so I wanted to retain the option of lifting and re-laying a slab later on.  There are a couple of those set in mortar that I would love to be able to do again!  In fact, when laying large slabs (60cm square, or larger) on mortar, due to the suction it is quite difficult to lift the slab even when you have only just laid it, never mind when it's all set.

The annoying thing about the delay was that I didn't trust my ability to measure accurately enough.  Hence I wanted to get the first half or so of the paving laid beside the house before I turned the corner (literally) to do the back.  Now that the first lot is done almost to the back, I will be able to prove the positioning of the end of the setts; then I can work from that edge and lay the remaining setts accurately beside the half-finished wall. 

That will then allow me to work across the back of the house on what will be our patio; in fact that part is almost a sunken garden due to the high walls, but it still catches the summer sun almost all day even though it's on the north side of the house.  Here's another view (left) from the other direction; the "patio" is at the end and then on the right out of sight behind the brick extension.


I'd just done those first pavers and was thinking of a cup of tea when a light shower started which decided the issue! So I took these pictures and decided to update the blog instead.

Paving and Setts - Part 1

It's been a long time since my last post.  At last the weather has improved, and I've been outside preparing to lay paving. The photo right shows what it used to be like soon after we bought it, and the photo below left shows the view from the other end when the extension was being rebuilt after removal of tons of earth (note higher garden on right).

This excavation gave a recessed pathway along beside the house, and I decided ages ago to put in a retaining wall about six feet from the house (photo below right, taken in opposite direction). 

This retaining wall is essential to prevent the higher ground of the "garden" (I like to call it that - it will be true one day!) moving gently back towards the house; this would again cause dampness and, having spent time and money in sorting this issue, I have no intention of ever letting it return.  However, as you can see, the wall is still not finished!

One of the issues in clearing up the exterior has been the question of what to lay?  For the same dampness reason I have not felt inclined to lay much concrete, or do anything which feels too permanent.  I will admit that I have laid concrete in the front, and just inside the back gates, but I felt this was a neccessary evil.  In the front it is three inches lower than it used to be and there's a recess beside the lounge wall, so I am not repeating the "let's concrete right up to the wall at interior floor height" error which caused floorboards and joists to rot.  Last year, for the back, I purchased some cast gratings which are really heavy duty items (in fact well over the top!); I intend to fit these between the house wall and whatever I do with the paving. 

It seems almost all paving is really quite expensive, but I have made it sound cheaper by comparing it to the cost of carpet.  You certainly get what you pay for; if it's cheap then it looks cheap and you'll regret it.  I did a fair search - cast cement, brick, reconstituted stone, real stone, etc, in a variety of colours and various finishes (but who wants polished stone outside?).  Eventually I found I could get imported tumbled limestone, 30mm thick in regular sizes, for £32 per square metre.  We chose the pale grey (with a faint hint of purple?) which hopefully will set off the greying yellow of the Cotswold limestone.

It seems the modern way is to lay a huge bed of cement, lay the paving of your choice and then add a dry mix for the grouting.  Something in me still rebels at the thought of laying paving on cement - it seems so permanent.  After all, in 2011 we got rid of nine 18-ton lorry loads of hardcore, soil and stuff from this house (and there were yards of concrete path and slabs all at the wrong height) so why should I want to lay more new cement?  So, after a lot of deliberation, I have gone for a dry bed of sand on MoT Type 1 hardcore (which was already laid in 2011). This has the benefit of being easily reversible (a key principle for old buildings) but requires to be held in place with solid edging.  [Top Tip - work out the entire cost before you decide anything - edging can add a lot to your costs, especially for some of those reconstituted stones.]  I decided to use granite setts which I could buy for about £2 each (and they are almost 25cm long); I am also saving a bit of cash and work by laying the sand up to the wall of the new extension (the level being two bricks below the DPC).  Since the extension was laid out with the use of a laser, this also gives me a good level to work from.

So, in the last three weeks I have laid the last little bit of concrete (near the drains) and a lot of setts in a slightly complicated pattern. This is because I didn't
want a straight pathway and, in any case, I have to avoid various obstacles such as the gas meter box and a few drains.  Clearly, you have to get the setts right: the right plan measurements to avoid cutting the slabs, and the right height as well.  The first thing I had to do, therefore, was to cut granite setts.  This is achieved by use of a bolster and a decent mallet; a few good blows with the bolster carefully held yield a pleasing result.  However, it is made more difficult if your setts are not smooth and then the bolster is not making good contact along its length.  Result - it splits in not quite the right direction!

The current situation is that I have finished the preparation along the side of the house.

The setts on the right will separate the paving from a strip of earth so that I can plant a few things to make the wall look pretty.  On the left, iron grating will fill the gap and allow the house wall to breathe.  Notice that the gas meter box is a bit high; this is a good indication of how much lower the ground level is now - when it was fitted it seemed ever so far down!  All I need to do is to work out how much Type 1 and sharp sand I need to order, then I can start laying.  Then I have to do the rear of the house and extension...