The Morecambe DIY Project

[trevnhil]

I am overjoyed that you have now got all the pieces of your jigsaw to enable you to finish it (hopefully)

Just keep an aye on your Bladderwrack and you will be OK.

Ref: not being able to see Mrs Keefy. Could she not just be out shopping??

Trev..

[accykeef]

First sign of a nice day and he's out again with his concrete. Having a full set of flags should mean that it is plain sailing from here on in but laying these flags is not as easy as it should be.


I am not a professional flag layer and in my naive fashion, I assumed that all flags in a particular circle would be the same size. The flags which form the middle circle vary as much as much as 20mm between their curved edges. As the joints are meant to be 10mm, that leaves no room for the joint. The next picture shows the problem - it won't fit in the gap. There will have to be some extra angle grinding taking place.


I knew it would be tight, getting the circle to fit but it will be worth it in the end.

[trevnhil]

It's amazing that they are not the same size on each 'ring' As you say you have a little cutting to do.

Trev..

[accykeef]

It was time to get the big toys out today, never used an angle grinder before so thought I would start with a real beast of a thing. Quite cheap from Amazon and cuts flags no problem at all. It is heavy but really easy to control - greate fun - boys and their toys time.


The grinder does almost too good a job at cutting the flags and leaves a very smooth cut and a sharp angle on the corner. A bit of chipping away with a claw hammer soon has the job down to my usual standard.



You would never know it has been cut with a machine.


Both of these pieces needed to have 18mm cut off the outer curved surface to make them fit but a lot of noise and dust later, they were ready for laying.


I was a bit unsure about having 2 white coloured flags together but they work with the random pattern.


We have something planned for the centre circular bit but you will have to watch this space - if the plan doesn't work, you will never know.


The aim today was to get the final quadrant finished.


This was always going to be the hardest one as it falls away into the corner much more than the rest of the circle. It qould have been easy to just lay it on a surface which sloped the right way. I may have over done the fall but I believe in a belt and braces approach. That way, the job is only done once.

This flag was a bit of a worry as they are meant to be between 25mm and 40mm in thickness. This one is clearly a bit shy of that. It was measured on an Indian/Yorkshire tape measure no doubt, by someone who cannot count.


The fall is not too obvious on this picture but from the centre to the lower quadrant, there is a fall of over 2 inches. This was complicated by having the previous fall away from the house and towards the camera.


It has all made for some pretty crazy level calculations but it all seems to be working out. As I get to the corner between the house and the garage, I need to break out the concrete so the flags meet the existing concrete surface. This will be renewed at some point in the future but the final level will be the same. Breaking out the concrete presents it's own problems as under there somewhere is the electricity feed for the garage as well as some water pipes (possibly lead). I would not like to put the grinder through either.

[accykeef]

So the great cable and pipe hunt began. The cable was easy to find as it laid in a cemented chase across the gap between the house and garage. Horror time as it is not in a conduit, just a T&E laid in the ground. Not sure what I am going to do with it yet but it is not staying there like that! I had to break it out slowly and it was more like a archeological dig rather than general construction ground works. I didn't want to discover a water pipe nor did I want to take any of the rendering off the house or the garage.


The water pipe is a totally different story and despite digging quite deep, there is no pipe there. I don't think there is a magic water source in the garage so the pipe is there somewhere. I made an access under the kitchen door mat where the internal pies and cables are, when I did the kitchen years ago. I have had a look down there and a pipe leaves the kitchen at right angles under the window. I am assuming that is the water feed and I will dig that out during phase 163 of the current plan.



The job was quite straight forward although I cannot work knelt down for very long. Having to keep standing up is annoying but better than discovering, at some point, that I can't stand up.


With planks across the hole, it is starting to look like a real building site. The next job is to design the layout of the flags and that can be done sat down with a glass of whisky so I think that could be a job for this afternoon.

[accykeef]

.... and here it is.
Designing the layout was harder than I thought it would be. This is version 3 as 1 and 2 had too many straight lines in them - not good for a random pattern. I did it in Photoshop but I am sure there are some very clever maths which could be used to automate this. Haven't had much time recently to work on that kind of thing, what with the day job, redesigning the picture gallery on my website and working on the land.


The area is not rectangular so it will need a bit of tweaking at the laying stage but I have the design I need and it is only a matter of laying them now
Doesn't sound a lot when you say it quick.
Ahh - and those silly flows - I need them to run to the grate next to the garage.

I need an excuse to use the grinder again - that was such fun!!!

Maybe tomorrow, we have some pizzas that need cutting.

[trevnhil]

Hi Keith.
The job is certainly looking good now. Thanks for all the pictures, it is so much better than just saying "We did a circular design with flags in the back garden"

I bet you are glad that you managed to steer clear of the the wire to the garage. I am surprised if it was just PVC twin and earth. I remember at or B_L_S bungalow it was clad in copper.

I too have one of the big disc cutters like yours. It certainly makes jobs easier although mine is used mainly for cutting steel bars.

Keep up with the good work and the pictures if you don't mind.

Regards. Trev..

[trevnhil]

PS. The picture with the cutter has a puzzle for me. The background looks like a wall made of decking boards??? Is this so??? It looks good and of course would be treated timber.

Trev..

[accykeef]

No mystery there Trev, the cladded surface is the garage door. I wouldn't want to get dust on the new flags now would I.

This is the tricky bit where I have to turn the flow round from running away from the house to running into the grate.


Not helped by the proper fflag for here being as thin as a biscuit. I decided instead to use another one although it is a bit too small.


It has a lump missing out of it but it adds to the character. The bricks are not permanent, they are to stop the flag sliding as it is on a slope.


This is the following day now and time to lay the flags on the plinth. The 2 x 2's were dead easy to lay as they are the same thickness, the riven flags on top were cut to size and are to go in front of the plinth.


Just like that although the ones on the right are not yet fixed in place.

[trevnhil]

Hi Keith.
It certainly is all looking very good from your photo's. And I know that you will make sure that the 'falls' are alright.

It will look even better when ll the grouting is completed. I remember doing grouting on concrete flags and it was a devil not leaving a mess all around the joints.

But I have every confidence in your abilities, and I look forward to the pictures of the finished job with some chairs, and a table with celebratory drinks on.

Best wishes. Trev..

PS. Your signature is very apt.... "Morecambe - There is plenty to do!"

[accykeef]

Now it is time to find out if my level calculations are correct. Armed with a sprit level and the latest edition of 'The Whippet Racing Gazette', I have set about filling in the gap.


There is a plan to all this as it is harder to work out a pattern than you might think. If in doubt, try it, cut out some bits of card, paper etc. in 3 sizes. small squares, large squares equivalent to 4 small squares and rectangles equivalent to 2 small squares and try to work out a pattern where no 2 identical flags are side by side. Makes a great game for when you are sat enjoying a drink.


At the back of the garden the garage strip matches up to the main garden but at the front it matches up to the side of the garage.


The piece around the corner of the house is an awkward one as the levels are so odd. I suspect it will require some clever cutting to make the change in level work.


I will have to use some of the broken bits to make the correct pieces. It is jigsaw time this weekend - so wish me luck.

[mpprh]

Bit of a puzzle ?

Here, they sell mixed sizes as m2 packs which interlock.

Some still struggle -


Bonne chance


Peter

[accykeef]

The ones I am using are only 3 different sizes and the thickness varies by quite a lot. Some of the flags vary in thickness on their own and are thicker in the middle than they are at the edge.

The flags in the picture form a regular pattern and the pattern is made up of at least 5 diffetent sizes - but where is the fun in that

[accykeef]

I had originally planned to concrete up against the fence but as I have quite a few spare bits, I decided to flag up to the fence. Cutting the bits was great fun and didn't take very long. Mrs Keef is not too happy with the shoddy workmanship but they look level to me




Cutting a piece to fit round the clothes line post was a challenge but it worked out well.


The 2 pieces between the grates had to be cut as I didn't want to use a very thin piece where there would be a lot of foot traffic


I didn't want to leave a sharp corner next to the back of the garage so I set about cutting a round corner. The cut edge was far too smooth so with a combination of hammering and cutting with the angle grinder, I have ended up with quite a pleasing finish.


There is a small wall going here I was wondering what to cap it off with. I think some coping stones with edges cut like the previous picture will look good. The gap under the fence is slowly being filled in with left over concrete



The planks have gone back for now as I don't want anyone walking over those loose flags. All the bits need to be concreted in yet but rain stopped play today so I will have to see what the weather is like tomorrow. I am going to tidy up the flags next to the corner of the house by cutting one down a bit. I have a diagonal cut flag just round the corner to make the level work.


This piece of slate, I dug up, has proved very useful for marking cuts as the company pencil was shrinking at an alarming rate.

[trevnhil]

Well it is continuing to get nearer the finished job. The cuts next to the fence will be fine when they are grouted. As you remarked the various cut outs and L shaped cuts look good. Sorry to hear about the damp weather but of course the Bank Holiday is here.
Shame about the lead in your pencil but the slate looks a good alternative.

Trev..