Help and Advice: Living Stone - breathing life into your garden

LIVING STONE, breathing life into your garden




	Planning Before commencing work on a proposed scheme, Living Stone recommend that a scaled plan be drawn up. This will enable more accurate calculations of materials needed and may help to reduce the need for cutting paving.

	Sub-base All paving should be laid on a firm and level base. Soft soil should be removed and ideally, a sub-base of at least 75mm of crushed stone should be laid. It is important that the sub-base is then well compacted with a roller or vibrating plate. A fall of at least 1:100 (1 centimetre in every metre) away from any adjoining building is required to allow surface water to drain. If paving is being laid next to the house, the top surface of the paving should lay at least 150m below the damp-proof course.

	Laying course Living Stone recommend that paving is always laid on a mortar bed, on top of the sub-base. Mortar should be mixed 1 part cement to 6 parts soft building sand. Laying should normally begin at a corner and at the highest point. Five dabs of mortar should be placed where the slab is about to be laid – one in each corner and one in the middle. The slabs should be tamped down in the middle with a rubber mallet. A spirit level should be used after every slab has been laid to ensure that it is level and that joints are evenly spaced. For random laying patterns, work diagonally across the laying surface. For straight course laying patterns, work in straight rows. For circles, octagons or feature kits, work from the centre outwards. If possible, always select products from several packs. Once laid, the paving should not bear any weight for at least 24 hours.

	Cutting Cutting should be carried out after the whole area has been laid and should be carried out using a disc cutter. Slabs should be marked out prior to cutting. Care should be taken to follow manufacturers instructions.

	Pointing Pointing should be carried out in dry conditions using a dry grout mix of 1 part cement to 8 parts soft building sand. This grout should be trowelled or brushed into the joints. The grout should then be pressed and smoothed into the gaps using a pointing tool or rounded piece of wood. Excess mix should be swept away and re-used. Care should be taken not to stain the slabs. Alternatively, a proprietary resin-based grouting mix can be swept into the joints. In this case, care should be taken to follow manufacturers instructions.



	Ground preparation In order to get the most from Living Stone decorative aggregates, it is important to carry out the correct ground preparation. If the area is to be walked on or trafficked by vehicles, a compacted sub-base as described above may be necessary. For areas that will not bear any weight, the ground should simply be firm and level. Living Stone recommend that aggregates are laid on a water-permeable geotextile fabric. The fabric will help to stabilise the ground and reduce unsightly weeds. It will also prevent contamination by the ground beneath whilst allowing rainwater to drain away.

	Laying aggregates Decorative aggregates should normally be laid 40-50mm thick. Approximately 3 large packs of Living Stone decorative aggregates will cover 1m². For larger areas, a Living Stone bulk bag of decorative aggregates will cover 12-15m². Coverage does vary slightly for different products and customers should refer to guidance on the relevant Living Stone bag.



	Efflorescence – all concrete products may suffer the temporary phenomenon of efflorescence, this is not detrimental to the product performance and Living Stone cannot be held responsible for its occurrence. Colour – Living Stone paving may be subject to slight variations in colour. Slabs should be drawn from several packs wherever possible. Choice of colour should always be made from actual materials rather than the colour photographs herein. Weathering – the appearance of Living Stone products will weather and change, especially after a period of time exposed to the elements. Dark patches may appear due to differential weathering. Like efflorescence, they generally disappear with time and Living Stone cannot be held responsible for their occurrence. Dimensions – all sizes stated are nominal and may be subject to change. Slight variations in thickness may occur and Living Stone therefore recommend that slabs are always laid on a mortar bed. Small fissures may occur on larger individual slabs as a result of shrinkage. This does not necessarily affect the long-term performance of the product. Liability – Liability in respect of any statements, conditions, warranties and representations made on behalf of Living Stone is limited in accordance with the terms set out in the Standard Conditions of Sale. Whilst every effort is made to give sound advice, Living Stone cannot accept responsibility or liability in respect of products being used for any purposes other than those for which they were intended. Due to continuous development, products may be subject to change without notice. Customers should check that information is up to date. Should a product reach you in an unsatisfactory condition, other than a naturally occurring one as described above, the defect would have to be apparent prior to laying. It is at this point that the supplier should be notified of such a fault, allowing time for faulty products to be replaced. If the complaint is received after laying the product, no responsibility will be accepted for any relaying or removing costs.

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