Browse Forums Paving & Concreting 1 Nov 10, 2010 3:21 pm Simple question. I've seen a lot of professional paving contractors (on TV )using steel flatbar as a screeding rail. eg: http://www.archistone.com.au/specifications/4880AS-Paving.pdf What i dont understand is how this can be used when its not rigid. It just follows the humps and bumps of the sand you sit it on?!?! I've always used rigid steel angle or timber as screed rail but now that I'm doing a larger paving job I've gone and got 4 6m lengths of this flatbar but for the life of me i cant work out how to set it level for screeding. I just know there's some little tip that I'm missing here. Help! Re: Paving: Screed Rails 2Nov 10, 2010 8:22 pm Hi Lefty Basically once your base is done, you need to set your heights for top of paving. For this example, say your pavers are 40mm thick. You will need about 65mm distance from the top of your base (ie crushed rock or concrete) to your finished paving height. Then get your barrow and cart in your washed sand and roughly level over area. Mark out your top paving height on a wall or existing path etc, sit your screed rail with a paver on top on a bed of sand and move it up/down so that it sits about 5mm above your final height, to allow for compaction. You can get 25mm or 30mm tubes of aluminium or steel square tubing to use as your screed rails. Then you can transfer this height with a level or long straightedge to get your fall for drainage depending on where you want it to fall to, keep in mind top levels. Bed your screed rails in firm, compact the sand around it then fill the whole area with sand. If you set your screed rails apart at a distance which is shorter than your long screed bar or level it makes it easy. Just criss cross the bar across the rails and back while kneeling down which will level out the sand, I usually give it a tamp down as well before the final scrape so the sand isn't too soft. Once you get to the end of the screed rails, move them down to the next area. The channels that are left by the screed rails get a trowel or long float and fill them up with sand, pat down and take off excess and make flat. You will have to bear in mind you may have to start paving before you screed too much so you have access to lay the pavers without walking on the sand. Once all laid, you can throw over some fine white sand or pavelok, sweep over roughly, and run the whacker plate over the area with some carpet on the bottom to protect the pavers. This will then get your pavers down to the height you set at the start. Hope I havent made it too confusing! Planned Landscape Constructions http://www.plannedlandscape.com.au Find us on facebook http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id= ... 9907611509 Re: Paving: Screed Rails 3Nov 10, 2010 9:14 pm Thanks for the advice...I understand the screeding process when using rigid screeds. I just see everyone using tihs floppy 3mm flat bar as rails and I cant work it out. I ask be cause I've got some 6m lengths of the stuff and if I can use it the i can do my long path much quicker. Re: Paving: Screed Rails 4Nov 10, 2010 9:57 pm Haven't seen the 3mm flat bar being used. I can't see it as an advantage, as it would take more time to set to level, and may move during screeding. The tubular steel is the same thickness as the sand bed so can be set up much quickly. I could only see the flexi stuff maybe quicker on rolling levels ie. driveways where there is a "roll" in the driveway to head into the garage for example. But even with rigid rails you just do your 2 angles then screed off the ridged section that joins the 2 levels to make a gradual curve in levels. Planned Landscape Constructions http://www.plannedlandscape.com.au Find us on facebook http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id= ... 9907611509 Before you rip it up, if you can in the grout lines, drill some holes and pour/inject techgrip by sika. I have used it to bond mdf to timber, but in the process it dripped… 1 4290 Hi all, We're curring working on our outdoor and have some questions in relation to screed. I've tried to find information online, without success. Apologies for the… 0 3343 Currently renovating, and our main lounge is 5m x 10m, with a cathedral roof peaking at 6.5m high. Currently have tiles on concrete slab. Room is very hard to heat. I am… 0 4815 |