laying patio -Do i lay corner to corner for random paving?

Hi, just ordered my random manufactured paving to cover 11ft x 13ft.
Have compacted mill waste & will lay on a mortar mix of 2 parts sharp 2 parts builders sand 1 part cement.

2 Questions....

1, How many bags of cement do I need ( I have 1 tonne bag sharp & 1 builders)?

2, When laying the slabs so to keep the rectangle in shape do i lay corner to corner or end to end & should i use spacers?

Many Thanks

whitehaven said:

1, How many bags of cement do I need ( I have 1 tonne bag sharp & 1 builders)?

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Try this page - it has calculators for that sort of thing

whitehaven said:

2, When laying the slabs so to keep the rectangle in shape do i lay corner to corner or end to end

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Not sure what you mean by "corner to corner". Assuming its going against the house or other straight line, I lay the first row of paving along that line, setting them with the required fall. Then do the next row, with the same fall, of course. To help, I put pegs or, if possible, a straight edge at the required height at the bottom end of the slope, so its a simple matter of checking for "level" with a long straight edge or spirit level as each row is laid.

whitehaven said:

should i use spacers?

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No. Each slab will be a little different in size. I would advise you to do it by eye. Bear in mind that most paving requires a 10mm or so gap once laid. Many slab designs have slightly angled sides, so the bottom edges (ie the ones in contact with the mortar) tend to be closer than 10mm.

All make sense?!?

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When I say corner to corner, i mean, lay the top row , say left to right.
Then lay a 2nd row along the left hand side, so top left to bottom left.
Then lay from the top left corner working diagonally from the top left to bottom right, completing the rows as you go.

Fortunately the patio is to be laid about 8ft from my house & 3ft from my neighbours though I think I will go for a fall towards my garden just in case?

Will do a mix of 4 parts sharp sand, 1 part cement. Mixed in a cement mixer ,then water added to a stiff mixture. Finally shovelled over compacted hardcore,about 3 inches then tampered down with a rubber mallet, sound about right?

If you work corner to corner as you describe you run the risk of losing your squareness, which means the last x-number of slabs won't fit your pattern. By all means lay the first row, then the first column with the right fall - you then simply lay each row (across that patio) level with the first column (if you know what I mean).

I use a wet mortar mix as it makes tapping down slabs whch are uneven in thickness much easier. If you can gauge the thickness of the dryish mortar then fine. What are the slabs? Concrete or stone? make/style?

They are manufactured concrete direct from manufacturer, will do like you say left to right,then left column then keep going down from the top, makes sense what u say about keeping the shape. That is what concerned me what with all the money I have spent on builders skips & so on