Hi all, looking to lay 100m2 of indian stone (uncallibrated) for my driveway and wondered what the best bedding would be. Have already dug out and got down 100mm of hardcore on a good base. I laid a patio last year on 5 parts sharp sand and 1 part cement but fancy laying on cement as I think it will be easier to lay. Concerned as its a drive and we have 3 cars on it, cheers.
Indian stone driveway
- Thread starter jbkirky
- Start date
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Wow. Not too sure as to the suitability of Indian sandstone as a drive myself.
If i were to do it i'd put it on mortar bed (3:1). Approx 30mm thick. The bed would have to be solid (no air gaps). I would also coat the underneath of each stone with diluted PVA or even SBR as i layed them.
Good luck.
Post up some pics...during and after...i'd be interested to see the outcome.
If i were to do it i'd put it on mortar bed (3:1). Approx 30mm thick. The bed would have to be solid (no air gaps). I would also coat the underneath of each stone with diluted PVA or even SBR as i layed them.
Good luck.
Post up some pics...during and after...i'd be interested to see the outcome.
You need a deeper sub-base, 150mm minimum for a driveway.
You really need to be careful to chose one of the harder sandstones like kandla grey. Speak to a good supplier who knows what they are doing for advice.
I would get over to the paving expert forum and post there as there are plenty of guys on there who can give you more specific advice including a few suppliers.
You really need to be careful to chose one of the harder sandstones like kandla grey. Speak to a good supplier who knows what they are doing for advice.
I would get over to the paving expert forum and post there as there are plenty of guys on there who can give you more specific advice including a few suppliers.
Mortor bed as in building sand 3 ; 1 or with some grit sand. Mate of mine who is a builder (too expensive and too busy) sasy he lays his on a good 5 sand 1 cement mix but the sand he uses is a bit gritter than normal building sand (straight from a quarry). When I did the patio on solid 5 ; 1 grit sand and cement (mixed like dough) it was a pain to lay as really thick and no room to tap down to level and I also thought the slabs more rested on the mix rather than rested and stuck, hope that makes sense and thanks for the replys.
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Grit sand based mortar is much stronger. Mortar made with building sand is very weak in depths over 20mm because of the small grain size.
Building sand is also a problem because it holds so much water that it becomes like porridge when trying to tap flags down into it.
I use sharp/grit sand 5:1 mixed up similiar consistancy (a fraction stiffer) to bricklaying mortar with plenty of plasticiser to give it a bit of bounce. I lay it between 25-50mm deep
The fact of slabs resting on the bed isn;t so much of a problem but the way to overcome it is to add sbr or prime the back of the flags with sbr as EB1 said above.
I can;t stress enough how different the sandstone varieties can be strength wise and your choice of stone will be very important.
Building sand is also a problem because it holds so much water that it becomes like porridge when trying to tap flags down into it.
I use sharp/grit sand 5:1 mixed up similiar consistancy (a fraction stiffer) to bricklaying mortar with plenty of plasticiser to give it a bit of bounce. I lay it between 25-50mm deep
The fact of slabs resting on the bed isn;t so much of a problem but the way to overcome it is to add sbr or prime the back of the flags with sbr as EB1 said above.
I can;t stress enough how different the sandstone varieties can be strength wise and your choice of stone will be very important.
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