Indian Sandstone patio, with or without..

GoodOne

GoodOne

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Hiya,

I would like to lay an Indian Sandstone patio on my garden. I seen some patios that were lay without mortar/cement. What is better? With or without? And what the advantages and disadvantages?

Really appreciate some advise from those who experience.

Thanks,
 
Under them or between them?

They should be on a full bed of sand and cement around 50mm thick.
 
Pros for full mortar bed - job done right no cons.
Without - can relay every couple of months when they sink, no mortar to remove, you can grow stuff in joints, watch insects making there home in loose bedding, no need to pressure wash, if you do you will need to repoint, then when you realise what a fook up, you can just scrape all the sand up and do it right.
 
I can 100% state that having had a patio laid by a "professional" with just sand below it and between the slabs, it has just washed away and I have sinking patio slabs which are dangerous, uneven and need to be relaid.

I suppose what happens underneath depends on how the ground is already prepared... if the area underneath is already dug out with hardcore to standard practice you could get away with not doing that again if it's good quality and secure - check for any weak or soft spots or unevenness.

There's a reason why nearly every guide you see will say something like "dig down 6inches/150mm, put down hardcore, level hardcore, put down concrete, lay stabs into concrete and lightly mallet down, mortar between slabs". Doing it correctly (as said above by Charlie George) should have no downsides. Doing it incorrectly means you could end up with issues and potentially dangerous slabs as they move or sink over time.
 
Last edited:
TeeDub said:
I can 100% state that having had a patio laid by a "professional" with just sand below it and between the slabs, it has just washed away and I have sinking patio slabs which are dangerous, uneven and need to be relaid
Click to expand...
Did they use any cement by the edge as to stop it from washed away?
 
GoodOne said:
Did they use any cement by the edge as to stop it from washed away?
Click to expand...

No, there was no edging other than gravel infill. Slabs were able to move toward the edges and water will go where water must, so there will always be some form of incline - either on top your slabs or underneath them.

I've got a thread on here about the poor work done (https://www.diynot.com/diy/threads/help-needed-dodgy-gardeners.524875/). That's a sure-fire way of NOT doing it right. Have a skim of it if you're interested - it has photos of some of the results and what happens if indian stones are not secured and drained. The water goes underneath and undermines the sand and ground, washing the sand away and causing dips. I guess if you had some kind of secure edging it might take a little longer to happen though. The problems with my patio happened over 1 day after they finished work with some medium rain for 3-4 hours.

www.pavingexpert.com seems to be an invaluable resource for this.
 
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