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How do i properly lay them? someone told me of a mortar bed? what is that? It just seems I should make the ground level, add stone bedding and sand and I am good. is there something I am missing?
It really depends on what "finished" look you want to achieve.
Is it for a walkway or patio?
The most common sub-bases are sand, pea gravel, or a combination of both. Setting in a mortar bed (it's kindda like a concrete base that still wet- then placing the stone on top) it not really necessary here.
Since ATL has so much clay, it makes for a pretty stable starting point. AND since we also have an abundance of granite (there's this little mountain called Stone Mountain that made out of granite), the best sub-base to use here is decomposed granite. It's heavier than sand and compacts better than sand. Which means that once it's in place it doesn't go anywhere- especially during torrential downpours!
How much base prep you want to do may depend a little upon where you live. If there's no frost, you might get away with just leveling the soil and dry laying on a couple inch sand bed. I'm doing a dry-laid flagstone patio in PA, and my base will be at least 6" of 3/4" and smaller crushed limestone, compacted with a machine. For me this has also required a small retaining wall, which is the part I'm still working on now. Lots of different opinions on how to lay stone it seems to me, so you just have to read and sort of make some of your own judgment. That's what I did anyway.
Mortar is going to be a pain, because you'll have less room for error if you place the stones wrong. I wouldn't mortar, but if you're in a frost area, you may still get a little heaving is my understanding, which means you may have some annual maintenance of the stones. The guys where I bought the material also recommended polymeric sand brushed between the joints. (You wet this and it bonds a little bit and has some elasticity to it which allows for a little expansion and contraction.) If your walkway is only one stone wide (3ft or whatever), though, this probably won't do a lot, dunno. I'm still unsure if I'm actually going to use that stuff.
But what is a mortar bed? havent heard that before - can someone send me a link so I can understand it?
A mortar bed is simply the substrate or setting bed for tile or stone that is created by mixing portland cement and sand, and perhaps polymer modifiers. The mortar bed is also the means by which a tile or stone installation is sloped or leveled. It is usually (but not always) allowed to cure before setting the tile or stone with a similar mix as an adhesive or bond coat. If the stone is thick, it should be set in a "wet" mortar bed, or one that has not dried, or cured. Tile or stone is placed in the wet mortar and pressed or beaten into the mortar to create complete coverage on the back of the stone.
Critical question: Indoors or outdoors? (and consider a 3-season porch outdoors)
I see you are in Georgia.... so can I assume you don't get freezing weather? Correct me if I am wrong.
Oops... my bad.... after re-reading the posts, it is a walkway.
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