On Sun, 5 Feb 2012 07:51:42 +0000 (UTC), Chuck Banshee
wrote:

It's a good thing I'm not getting paid by the hour - but at least I'm
learning how to make mistakes in my first alt.home.repair sandstone tile
& flagstone walkways:

First lesson learned was to wear better gloves!
The tips of the middle & pointer fingers of both hands are worn through
the skin already!
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/...mg/7493829.jpg

It looks like your fingers are pretty well burned, too.

Another lesson learned was that 5-gallon buckets are just too small to
mix mortar well! I will go to Home Depot tomorrow to buy a concrete pan!
What I did learn was that buckets are still needed. Lots and lots of
buckets!
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/...mg/7493849.jpg

As others have said, wheelbarrow. I do use a 5gal bucket to mix mortar to set
tile. It takes me too long to use 80# of the stuff.

Another lesson learned is that I made the mortar far too wet! And, I put
far too little in the first, second, and third time I tried! And I didn't
make enough. Given that, the sandstones were at first too low, and then
they were sinking in the mud. There must be a fine line between lousy and
just right - and I'm no where near it!
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/...mg/7493879.jpg

Keep some mortar mix in reserve. You can add more (or water) to get the
consistency right. Also, measure everything. When you get the mix right,
you'll know what the right ratio is. You can scale from there to the size of
the mix needed. The ratio might change a little from day to day (or bag to
bag) but you'll have a good starting point.

In addition, forms are MANDATORY! I tried doing it without a form, but,
in the middle of laying the first two stones, I found myself hastily
building a form just to hold the two inches of mortar back!
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/...mg/7493863.jpg

Yes, and forms will allow you to calculate the quantity of mix you need
(~120#/ft^3).

Along that vein, it's helpful to have two jobs going at once. The first
job is the critical one. The second is simply a place to dump the extra
mortar... perhaps to fill the bottom tier of a form. With a second job
handy, I don't feel so badly making more mortar than I need.

I don't usually have much more than I need, so just dump it where I clean the
tools. If it's washed out thoroughly it'll just be a little gravel in the
dirt.

Another thing I learned is that the location of the sandstone laid out as
flagstone is vastly easier than choosing the flagstone to be then cut
into tile to fit a defined space. Here's the flagstone, for example, that
I very roughly laid out in a semicircle out of the waste products left
over from the tiling job:
http://www2.picturepush.com/photo/a/...mg/7493845.jpg

NOW I see what you're doing. It's making sense (I thought they were steps).
Lookin' good!

I'll leave it with those of my lessons, for now. I'm sure tomorrow will
bring more!

The most painful of all the lessons was that these leather gloves, while
fantastic for outside work, stink for working with wet concrete!
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/...mg/7493902.jpg

The only good news is that I now have no more fingerprints - so - I guess
I can rob a bank and not get caught (as long as I don't bleed on the bank
counter)!

Be careful! CSI can use your toe prints through your boots. ;-)

Thanks for all your help. It looks sooooo easy in the videos. But they
don't tell you all this stuff!

They also cut away when the real work is done (by Mexicans).