[jwholden]

I will be creating a step for a paver walk this week by glueing a 5' piece of 1 1/2-2" bluestone on top or a SRW riser. I'm not crazy about the idea but the homeowner wants to work some bluestone in to match what's on the property. What is the recommended lip on the front of the step, I was thinking 1 - 1 1/2 "?

I am going to take my time leveling the block and will clean the bluestone and SRW well before applying the adhesive.

Is there anything else I should/could be doing to make this process go smoothly WITHOUT FAILURE?

[Rex Mann]

That 1-1 1/2 will give you a nice shadow line. Only thing I'd do is to picth the step forward for drainage. Because of the large surface area of the bluestone.

Peace,

Rex

[jwholden]

Thanks Rex.

[PSUscaper]

Hello,

I wouldn't go much more than 1 1/2" on the lip as it begins to become a trip hazard, especially if they are only 12" deep treads.

One trick, learned from others here, is the use of a angle grinder and diamond grinding cup. For all my capping and stair tread projects on SRW's, I use the grinder on a regular basis to help smooth out any imperfections on the top of the block or make up for any variances in the block tops due to slight deviations that arise as a wall is built.

For blue stone especially, it is important that when you set the tread on the block, it doesn't teeter/rock at all. Although the adhesive may make up for the difference, over time, it may flex a little (as it is suppose to) and the stone can crack. If you have a perfectly flat surface from the get go, then all the glue has to do is hold it in place.....not keep it from rocking.

Many guys just go the mortar route as you can make up for the block deviations....... but I still have my doubts about how well mortared caps/treads hold up over time do to the fact that the wall is flexible.

steve

[jwholden]

I saw the homeowner at the jobsite today and talked him out of the glued bluestone idea. He wanted to use a couple spare treads he had around from when he redid his front entry. They were 'old' looking and still had a lot of cement stuck to the bottom. I explained that we wouldn't get as good a bond as we would with something cleaner and frankly this two treads would have made the job look hideous.

Thanks for the advice. I know I'll use it in the future.

Especially the angle grinder idea. Nice.

[jwholden]

Steve,

You responded to one of my first posts about a Techo-Block job I was working on. I remember discussing the rocking of blocks (and coping) due to the 'poor quality' of some of the block. On that job I ended up using some cement triangles as shims where the coping moved too much. Worked great.

You may want to look at this http://www.pavetech.com/newtools/ezshim.shtm if you are still having trouble with rocking blocks.

Take care,

John

[Stonehenge]

Sweet! Never saw those before. I'll order some up this week. Nice link JW!

[jwholden]

Jeff,

Hey wouldn't they be a great sponsor?

You want to call them or should I have them call you?

[Lanelle]

They have some other neat new products also:
http://www.pavetech.com/newtools/flexmarker.shtm

[Stonehenge]

I haven't looked at their literature in awhile - looks like they have some cool additions.

And JW - as I understand it, Tim from Accuscreed may already have sent the word out to them. They would be an excellent sponsor - they fit right in with the topics here. And with our guys already using some of their tools (Slab Grabber, Paver Square, Saw Cart, Paver Extractor), I can tell you they sell quality, tough tools.

[jwholden]

Lanelle,

I need to get a copy of their catalog, lots of cool toys.

I saw that photo and started thinking about what I could do with the concept. I was wandering the Depot and found 1/2" PVC electrical conduit (quite flexible) for .85/10' section. This stuff has male and female ends so you can connect it for really long curves. I bought about 14.00 of the stuff to complete this job. Further, I cut shorter pieces to keep the sidewalk sides paralell even with the curve.

Try it!

[jwholden]

Man it looks like that place was hit by a bomb. Darn skidsteer!!!!

[Stonehenge]

That's how we've been marking longer curves for more than 10 years.

This one was done with about 70' of 1/2" PVC...

[jwholden]

Just when I think I'm getting better at this paver stuff you show pictures like that and blow me right out of the water.

But it's ok.

It's Like when you play tennis with someone better than you, you only get better!

[Rex Mann]

I love my flexible 1/2 pvc. And, don't forget the sharpie.

We use it for anything, which is not a straight cut.

Peace,

Rex