As a woman who has laid all the paths, paving and steps in the garden herself, the trick is to work out your design for whatever using the different sizes of slabs available and paving bricks. That way you have no need to cut slabs to fit. Cutting a brick is much simpler if you need to - a good bolster and a lump hammer will do the job, And I agree, the slabs you buy these days are a lot thinner and easier to handle than the old slabs. I can happily lay an old 2x2 slab but a 3x2 with a bit of difficulty.
Measure your area accurately and sit down with pencil and paper and work out your design,
'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
If there are not too many slabs, have a look for a local stone mason. Or if you are very cheeky do what I did once (when I only needed a couple done) I asked the guys that do headstones and the like for funerals and they did it for me!
I have started measuring and drawing out the design as you suggested @hogweed.
The only awkward part is putting new slabs on the steps as they are a width that is not standard size to slabs I have seen so far, but the rest of it should be a nice easy rectangle.
Now all I need is to take some time off work and get stuck in!
If the steps are (say) 2 and a 1/4 slabs width you could consider laying 2 slabs with an edging of bricks laid either side by side or end to end depending on which works best. You also have a bit of wiggle room with the width of the grouting lines.
We managed to 'lose' 4 inches on a path about 3m long by just increasing the spacing between the slabs by a couple of millimetres. Saved having a rather ugly strip of paving slab where the path turned the corner.
Last edited: 15 March 2017 11:29:27
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
I have found a local handyman who i can hire by the hour. So it looks like I can get the cuts done, and if there is time left over, he can tackle a few other things.
Just to add to this, cutting slabs yourself with a grinder and a diamond disc is really very easy and safe if you take your time. Mark the cut with a chalk and just start at one end, slowly move the grinder along the line as you go and done. A 4.5" grinder would likely be enough for 40mm slabs. If it doesn't quite go all the way through it's fine as you can just tap the slab once cut 2/3 through and it'll split on the line.
Posts
As a woman who has laid all the paths, paving and steps in the garden herself, the trick is to work out your design for whatever using the different sizes of slabs available and paving bricks. That way you have no need to cut slabs to fit. Cutting a brick is much simpler if you need to - a good bolster and a lump hammer will do the job, And I agree, the slabs you buy these days are a lot thinner and easier to handle than the old slabs. I can happily lay an old 2x2 slab but a 3x2 with a bit of difficulty.
Measure your area accurately and sit down with pencil and paper and work out your design,
If there are not too many slabs, have a look for a local stone mason. Or if you are very cheeky do what I did once (when I only needed a couple done) I asked the guys that do headstones and the like for funerals and they did it for me!
Thanks for the replies...
I have started measuring and drawing out the design as you suggested @hogweed.
The only awkward part is putting new slabs on the steps as they are a width that is not standard size to slabs I have seen so far, but the rest of it should be a nice easy rectangle.
Now all I need is to take some time off work and get stuck in!
If the steps are (say) 2 and a 1/4 slabs width you could consider laying 2 slabs with an edging of bricks laid either side by side or end to end depending on which works best. You also have a bit of wiggle room with the width of the grouting lines.
We managed to 'lose' 4 inches on a path about 3m long by just increasing the spacing between the slabs by a couple of millimetres. Saved having a rather ugly strip of paving slab where the path turned the corner.
Last edited: 15 March 2017 11:29:27
Thats a good suggestion.
I have found a local handyman who i can hire by the hour. So it looks like I can get the cuts done, and if there is time left over, he can tackle a few other things.
Just to add to this, cutting slabs yourself with a grinder and a diamond disc is really very easy and safe if you take your time. Mark the cut with a chalk and just start at one end, slowly move the grinder along the line as you go and done. A 4.5" grinder would likely be enough for 40mm slabs. If it doesn't quite go all the way through it's fine as you can just tap the slab once cut 2/3 through and it'll split on the line.