Existing garden platform - bonding concrete blocks to existing

jc1001

Hello,

I'm looking for advice on what to use to bond some blocks to the edge of an existing platform a previous tenant used possibly for a oil tank etc. in a domestic garden situation. A bit clueless on bonding compounds / concrete / cement etc. Doesn't have to be perfect, just trying to avoid making a complete ar$e of it with the wrong materials. Would something like a 25KG bag of Handi Mix Concrete from Woodies be the thing to use here? Thinking of raising the platform slightly with a car jack and putting a few blocks underneath where it's gone below the level of the existing blocks at the side, then patching up the gap at the front with a few more blocks and some kind of cement etc. in the gap. Would this need a thin row of something different to raise the blocks on the path to the same level as existing? The blocks are the same size, is it a line of mortar underneath that is bonding it to the ground. Very basic questions, but no knowledge of this stuff - thanks. The only thing that would be sitting on top of this is a deck chair or two, sunny spot in garden.

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10-10-20

Hi, yes, it's mortar that you would use and that handi-mix sounds fine. The underlying concrete needs to be clean and scraped to give it a key. On edge of the flat section I'd also scrape the surface to clean it and brush away the dust, then paint on a wet slurry of cement just before you start working to lay the mortar and blocks. Make sure to take the soil away from under the slab and back-fill the space with handi-mix. You then bed the blocks into a peaked-up mortar bed, bedding the block in by tapping it until it's level with the rest. Usually that's a mortar bed or around 1 to 2 cms high.

The handi-mix needs to be mixed with just enough water - it should stand up if you run a garden trowel through it, but not be too hard that it's difficult to work with. If you have PVA glue handy then put around 5ml early on into the mix and this will enhance the work-ability of the mortar. You should get a good 30 to 40 mins of working time with mortar like that, so take your time.

…and photos of the finished project are required. 😁

jc1001

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122348992#Comment_122348992

That's really helpful @10-10-20 thanks so much!