"ste©" wrote in message
...
Hi there,

This weekend I plan to create a small patio at the end of our narrowing
garden to put our new small arbour on. The patio will be about 3m x 1m.
Not too sure what type of paving to get yet, but will just pop into B&Q /
Homebase / Wicks tomorrow and get something that I like. Also, I've not
got
any preferences over the size of the paving (either big paving slabs, or
small block paving).
Stay away from block-paving if you're not experienced
After I've dug out the flower border and grass, and levelled the ground,
what do I need to do before I lay the patio? Will it be okay to just lay
some sand down first and level this? If so, what type of sand and how
deep
should it be? Or do I need a different base?
Read the leaflets they have in store.. Depends how compacted your ground is.
Also, once the patio is laid, would I need to put cement or something in
between the flags as 'grouting,' or can I just fill any gaps with sand?
To
be honest, I'd like to keep away from using cement if possible.
A dry sand-cement mix is most often used to fill the minimum 10mm joint
lines.
The bags of mortar mix they sell are ok for this.
This should be a really simple question in this group, but I'm new to DIY
after recently buying my first house, I'm only 24, blah blah blah, excuses
I
know... :-)

If yr house is new the ground may be too soft for yr proposed procedure and
you may have to dig out 150mm...
Thanks for any help.

Ste