My Exotic Garden Project 2025 Ep.9 – Weekend Patio Mission Day 1

It’s a return to my messy jungle garden project and today’s video is the first day of my ‘how to lay a natural sandstone patio’ mission – or should that be ‘how NOT to build a patio…’! Filmed on a beautiful October week in the glorious autumn sun, join me as I go through the steps of how to build a garden patio from the crushed stone foundation to the mortar bed, using a slurry primer then onto cutting and laying these Indian sandstone paving slabs. Will I complete the project in time though? How many rookie mistakes will I make? Most importantly, will I be happy with the end result?! You’ll have to watch this and the next video in the series to see how it comes together….

My Evolution R230DCT 9″ electric concrete saw – recommended power tool for cutting blocks, bricks and makes easy work of paving slabs, on a great offer currently at Amazon with a diamond blade: https://amzn.to/4ofNISH

From Screwfix: https://www.screwfix.com/p/evolution-r230dct-230mm-electric-disc-cutter-220-240v/520kr

Azpects EASYPrime Slurry – Easy Prime 15kg on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3VZ1DAB

How to use Azpects EASYPrime video: https://youtu.be/aJclWVMpc84?si=VYoT5XwQ25jvNeAK

(Amazon links are affiliate links so Jeff Bezos chucks me a few pennies every time you use them so please support me at no extra cost to yourself!)

0:00 Intro
2:32 My garden patio project – creating a secluded & stylish garden seating area and pond base
5:43 Using a tamper to prepare the crushed stone patio base
9:35 Natural Indian sandstone slabs and preparing to build my DIY patio plans
13:34 Measuring out & cutting sandstone slabs with the Evolution R230DCT 9″ concrete saw
20:53 Using Azpects EASYPrime slurry primer for natural stone slabs & porcelain paving
24:36 Starting to lay my first patio!
30:03 Natural stone patio build Day 1 results & my tips, learnings, mistakes and advice!

If you’ve enjoyed my videos and would like to say thanks for the price of a coffee then please head over to my Ko-fi, any kind donations would be appreciated and put towards creating more exciting content: https://ko-fi.com/georgesjunglegarden​​

Thanks,

George

Hi everyone, welcome back to another video in my garden where we’re finally making some project progress. In today’s video, we’re going to learn how to make a sandstone patio. Hi everyone, welcome to another garden video. Today we’re learning how not to make a garden patio. So there’s two possible intros filmed depending on how this video and indeed project go. Today is my first time I’ve actually built a sandstone patio or indeed any kind of patio. I used to work at a builder’s merchant so I’ve got a rough idea of how things go and more importantly I’ve seen some of the people who claim to be builders. So, I think I’m more than competent at at least giving it a go, trying to get a good result. But, it’s finally a day, a beautiful autumn day where I can actually progress the garden. These opportunities, chances are very rare at the minute. And I’ve actually got two days to get a patio sorted here and then continue and hopefully finish off the wall around it. It’s a gorgeous mid-occtober day. Beautiful crisp blue sky. Honestly, stunning light shining through the garden after a misty orange start to the day. What a treat to be outside. So, let me give you a bit of an idea of the overall project and then we’ll get straight into what I’m going to do. Let me first then give you a bit of a garden overview. So, this is the jungle part of my garden. Quite a narrow garden, long and slim, and we’re going to be working up that way. There’s all manner of plants down here ready for future projects. Some I’ve shared with you, some that haven’t just yet. But don’t let’s get ahead of ourselves. We need to go and actually make some garden progress today. So, let’s push through the garden here. It’s looking possibly messier in some respects than it ever has done. Partly down to the autumn, is it scessence, that gentle decay as the days get shorter, the nights get longer, and the temperatures drop, but also down to, you know, poor housekeeping and very little time outside. In fact, that just gets worse as we head down. But don’t get me wrong, there’s beauty in here. Beautiful plants, gorgeous flowers. Salvia confered flora there. Big banana leaves looking magnificent in the autumnal sunshine. All the evergreen shrubs just waiting for their turn. But today, it’s not about the plants. It’s about continuing this project here. Earlier in the year, we’ll say around midsummer time, you pretty much saw this get to this point. I’ve created these cobble walls. I’ve widened this path. I’ve got the base down. I put the hard work in so far to really push a garden on. A lot of that time could have been spent weeding as you’ll see throughout the garden. But no, sometimes you have to choose and putting in the effort, making those steps to really bring the projects forward is probably what I’ll thank myself for most one day in the future. So, this is the area in question. A bit more sun up here. My Mediterranean planting over there. This video, don’t get me wrong, it’s as amateurish as it can get. There’s weeds growing everywhere. The soil that I moved in possibly the last episode you saw is already getting swallowed up, enveloped by those weeds. But I can’t really move it until we’ve got this wall built here so I can push the soil up to it and also coated treated the bottom part of these arches. Today I want to concentrate on this patio here. So what I’ve already got is a nice crusher base. I used the whacker plate to get it whackered down. I’ve since cleared up some more crusher from the paths, the sweepins, odd bits I’ had left over, and I’m going to use them to just bring the level up a little bit more just close to these sides here so I don’t have to use quite as much mortar. So, I guess the main question you’re going to ask is what slabs have I chosen? Well, you’ll see very, very soon, but it’s going to be a nice simple patio. And then the plan is after I got the patio down tomorrow or in the next video, you’ll see me hopefully bring the wall all around this back edge here. The long-term plan is to have my containerized pond here. That’s my project for next spring. And also a couple of chairs to enjoy what will hopefully be a less weedy and more sunny Mediterranean view. So today is very much a case of head down cracking on. This is a project which is very much unfinished that I want to get sorted this year. It’ll give me an amount of comfort going into winter knowing that I’ve at least prepped the area ready to go because the weather today is absolutely beautiful. We’re having a glorious dry sunny spell here in October, but that’s not going to continue, is it? And my next day off, my next free day off, should I say, is possibly going to be in November when the weather, well, who knows? Definitely darker, definitely colder, and almost certainly wetter. So, today is time to crack on. You can probably hear up there the mixers on the go. Just give you an idea of what things are looking like. Messy, messy, messy. Weeds everywhere. Got stuff laid out. We’ve got a paddle mixer today. We’ve got tarmac rags. We’ve got Wow, that looks particularly dangerous there. I’m well aware that anytime I start filming with a power tool or indeed hand tool in my hands, it feels like the beginning of an old casualty episode where you know something’s going to go disastrously wrong. So definitely fingers crossed today. We’ve got the mixer on the go. The garden up here definitely messy, which is mainly why I haven’t done a tour of it if you like this time round. But there are certain bits of beauty including up there that gorgeous Nefafia Ruperay. Absolutely stunning. Even with that mixer in the background, we’ve got blue sky. We’ve got the apple tree, the beautiful russet tones to the grass there, the olive tree, and that gorgeous red hot poker. But anyway, let’s not get distracted. It’s time to get started. I want to go there someday. I know we’re going somewhere into the danger zone. It all points right to you know it’s going to be a good day when already by 8:00 you’ve cut your arm, you’ve got nettle stings on your hands and you’re sweating. You definitely know it’s going to be a good day. But it’s now around 10:00. I’ve got most of the things I need brought up this end, other than the slabs and the cement and the sand. Basically, the heavy stuff. But first, before I get into any of the exciting things, I need to clear this crusher across here and whack it down. But now, I haven’t actually got the normal whacker plate. So, I’m going to rely on this hand tamper. So, plenty of fun, plenty more sweating. Let’s get into it. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. There was no need for a half five gym session this morning because that certainly worked up quite a sweat. But all I was doing was basically just packing down that thin layer at the top. Everything else been whackered down. You saw in my last video using a proper whacker plate to really get a solid firm base. And if you’re doing this whole lot by hand, then definitely put it on thin layers. Whack each layer down, then put the next one on. A lot of work. But as always, it’s well worth putting all the effort, the energy into the foundation of any kind of plant or garden project. So I’ve got a roughly level base. Not 100% level, but the mortar can take up some of that. And what the plan is? Well, I’ve chosen 3x two slabs. Partly because obviously it’s easier to lay several larger slabs than a lot of small ones, but also because I really like the look of just big slabs running in lines. You can’t beat it for that modern sort of crisp look. Just big slabs. I don’t like messing around with little fiddly things, but it might provide a nice contrast to whatever mosaic go down here. So essentially I’ve gone for 3x two slabs laid in a obviously like an offset kind of bond this way. And what I’m generally going for because about 2.4 mters comes across here is four slabs wide at 600 wide and then put the 900 or the 3ft length this way. So I’m essentially going to have four strips of slabs and they are going to run over this edge here. And then once everything’s set and ready I can take an angle grinder and literally just cut them flush with this wall here. So, this wall creates a nice little step to get onto the patio here. I might have a slight slope just towards the front here so no water sits in it, but with me putting a containerized pond in it, I do want it quite level. So, I’d rather go for level than have any significant slope in it. But, we’ll see where the day takes us. Like I mentioned, this is my first time doing any of this. And I appreciate a lot of you are proper builders. You know what you’re talking about. Feel free to laugh at my efforts or just shake your heads in disbelief, despair. We’ll see how it goes. So, now that’s down. There’s no way around it. It’s time for me to bring the cement up here, bring you the slabs, show you which slabs I’ve chosen, and also get some sand ready for the mixer. Let’s get going. An hour or so later then, and I brought the materials up this end of garden from the front of the house, which is about 60 m away. So, you definitely know that you’ve done it. But now, that golden light has faded into a more familiar autuminal gloom. The geese have been flocking overhead in their Vshapes. Hoverflies and bees feasting on the ivy flowers. But what have I brought up? I brought up some big lumps of stone. Yes, for this patio, I’ve decided to go for a natural Indian sandstone. Beautiful gray color. Why have I gone for gray? Well, the main reason I mean it’s it’s very nice. I do like it. fits in nicely with a gray sort of buff color of these cobbles and the mortar, but I’ve gone for it because it’s quite neutral, which sounds a bit boring, and I suppose in some respects it might be, but I’ve gone with this because then this whole area, it will nicely blend in with the walls. It then lets me be a bit more out there with whatever covering I decide to go for for this path area running up here. So, gray, I think, will offset colors quite nicely. If I gone for the more Raj green style sandstone, which is I guess really a mixture of browns and heathery type colors, I think it would have looked a little bit more stylized. So then I couldn’t have a clashing color running through here. So I think the gray is a nice choice for a simple, modern, calming, relaxing little seating area here in the garden. And I think gray works nicely with the buffs anyway, doesn’t it? A lovely color. and it lets me just pop against it with some brightly colored plants and really dark greens around the outsides as well as just ivy and nettles that is. But anyway, let’s not rush ahead today. Head down project on the go. It’s time to get these slabs sorted. So, got 12 of these 3B2 slabs. Beautiful things. Some are going to need to be cut. I did actually go into the builder’s merchant and just choose the ones that I wanted. Although, to be fair, the mix was pretty good. I’ve only got one with a slight raised bit on it. And there was only really one or two in the whole crate that I wouldn’t want to use myself. So, all in all, very nice slabs. They’re calibrated, I believe, to 20 mil, which is about 3/4 of an inch, which means you don’t have those real chunky bits you can get in some of the old style sandstone slabs where they’re a bit of a nightmare to lay. You know, really thick bits and really thin bits. These are regular, hopefully quite easy to lay. And because they’re quite thin, they’re not really the heaviest thing to lift around. So that’s definitely a nice benefit. Obviously because these are thinner slabs, I will be going for a full base, a full wet bed of mortar underneath them. I know in the past people have dot and dabbed patios and you can maybe get away with it with heavier slabs where they’re definitely not going to move. But in my opinion, as a proper amateur, I wouldn’t want to make a patio in any other way than a proper solid wet mortar base. When I say wet, it’s going to be on the drier side. But we’ll get into that very shortly. So those are the slabs. There’s a few more up here. And then passing into my messy and weed riddled fire pit area. We’ve got some sharp sand, grit sand. That’s what I’m going to use. Got some water filling up over there. Got some cement. And I’ve also got this here, which is I’ll show you the front of it. Easy prime, a slurry mix. And the idea is that you roll onto the slabs first onto the back of the slabs you’re going to stick down. And it helps create a better adion, a better bond and primes the slabs so you don’t have the issues of the mortar getting sucked up into the slabs, creating staining, not getting the right kind of adhesion. So again, one of the things you possibly don’t need to do it, but I very much only want to do this once. So definitely do it properly. I’m going to try this slurry out and we’ll see how we get on with it. So I need to mix that up shortly. But first off, I think time for an early lunch and then it’s time to get a mix on the go and get on with some slabing. When I come back out, I imagine it’ll be just after 12:00. So, time pressure will once again be on us. I don’t think I’ve done a single garden project video that hasn’t been against the clock, so you should be used to it by now. The idea is I need to ping a line across the back there. So, I’ve got the back line for the slabs. I need to cut a couple in half so I can get that staggered sort of area there and then simply run them down to this edge here. Nice and easy. But, can I do that in about 3 and 1/2 hours? It’s going to be a challenge. But challenge accepted. A little bit more messing around later then. And I’ve got my line across the back of the patio area. I’m not really using it for the level as such. I’ll definitely use a spirit level and see where the individual slabs are to get that. But just so really I’ve got a line where I can start the slabs from propped up with a bamboo cane at the end there. You’ve just got to use what you got, haven’t you? So I’ll hopefully have a consistent distance away from the grapper boards there. It’s not really so much about this back edge. That doesn’t need to be millimeter perfect because I will be building the stone wall across the back of the slabs. Putting the stone on top of these slabs. So that doesn’t really matter too much. But obviously for all the joints in between here, I do want them to stay fairly consistent. Now there is a world where I actually lay these slabs at a 45° angle. I do quite like that. Something like that there. Obviously I mean more cutting, but in the scheme of things, you know, it’s an end result which you may prefer and I do quite like. But I think for this section here, I’m just going to go with squared off because then it does actually let me if I choose to use the same slabs up there in the fire pit sunken patio area, I can potentially just use the same theme, copy exactly the same pattern across there and it will neatly nicely tie the whole garden together. So I’m going to do it like that, just literally straight lines left to right. And hopefully the natural curve of this wall here and that curve when the actual sandstone slabs are cut to it that’ll provide the organic flowing informality which I really enjoy in my garden here. I’ve marked out here. I’ve got one slab to cut and that will let me get the first back line across there and actually start to set the slabs out. So I’m looking forward to doing this. Haven’t actually been in for lunch yet. So it’s definitely going to be an action-packed race against the clock this afternoon. But let’s get this one cut and then get inside some lunch. All right. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. So there we go. Cut done. Safety first. On the sites I do work at, you know, occasionally when I’m out the office. Safety is, we’ll say, possibly treated with even more importance than I would at home, but definitely important. protect your eyes, protect your ears, and also protect your lungs as well because you don’t want this dust inside you. So, I’ve cut a nice straight line through the middle of the slabs. Yes, I possibly could have done it on a flatter surface and got it even more perfect, but it’s there or thereabouts. This tool that I’m using, this evolution one. I actually got this, I’ll put a link to it in the description below. got it from screwix a few years ago when I was cutting the blocks for the fiber area. Using my sort of mentality of if there’s a job you think you can do yourself, then if the tool costs less than a day of a tradesman labor cost, you might as well get it and you’ve got it for next time, haven’t you? And it’s worked well so far. It might look big. It might look scary if you’re not used to using power tools, but it’s essentially a big grinder, but it’s actually even safer than a 9-in grinder because you’re holding it from the back here. Now, one thing I did do when I cut it is just lots of light passes. I was possibly a little bit more tentative than I need it to be. But it’s always best, particularly with thicker stone. Don’t try to be a hero and just cut it in one go. Lots of light passes. Gently cut into it. That’s the way to do it. But it’s a nice little cut. Only a couple of rough bits on the edges. Where I’m going to hide the edges, it doesn’t really matter. I can literally leave them as they are. But if you’re going to have these edges showing in your patio, you might want to what they call fettle them, which is essentially get hammer or chisel and just rough them up a little bit, which is what I’ll be doing for one these sides here that will be in the middle of the patio. But there we go. I’ve got this one cut, which means I can get my actual back edge in place. So, after a quick bit of lunch, it’ll be time to get a mix in the go and actually get some slabs on the ground. Exciting stuff. After a lovely jacket and potato lunch, and thank you, Alice, it’s time to get actually cracking on with this patio here. So, any kind of inklings of production value or attempts at artistic cinematography in this video, that’s gone out the window. It’s time to get on and see if I can get this patio down today. So, if I get the patio down today, there’s maybe a chance I can get on with the wall tomorrow. So, I’m really, really gunning for that. Free time in the garden at the minute is definitely in short supply. For about a month now, it’s been a case of dark before I go to work and then dark after Harry’s in bed. So, no time outside. So, now I’ve got two days. I really need to get on. As you can see here, I’ve got a mix ready. Sharp sand to cement about 5:1 ratio somewhere around there. This is possibly a little on the dry side, but you’re better off too dry than too wet, aren’t you? As you can see, put your hand in there and it molds around you. So, there’s a nice bit of sort of firmness there. It holds together quite nicely, but equally it’s not sloppy because we don’t want the slabs actually just, you know, dropping into it under their own weight. We don’t want it too wet. So, better off too dry. So, I’ve got a nice mix there and that I’m going to lay a bed which will be, if I said roughly inch and a half to 2 in, maybe a little bit more, just to help level things out and give a nice foundation for the slabs. But before I do that, it’s time to use some of the easy slurry. Like I mentioned then, my first time using this, first time making any kind of patio. So, this isn’t a how to use Easy Prime. Not at all. No, we’re just going to get into it and see what we have to do. And in that, I’ve actually followed the instructions. Yes, I know, not a manly thing to do at all, but I had a quick look at the website. They’ve got a YouTube video how to use it, which again, I’ll put in the description below. So, inside the tub, we’ve got these bags here. Each bag is a 5 kilo mix, I believe. So, we’ve got plenty. I should be able to do this area with just one because a bag can do about eight square meters. You basically just mix it into a paste, paint it onto the bottom of the slabs about 1 or 2 mil thick. And then it should go should cover this whole area, which in theory, yeah, should be under that around that kind of area. Anyway, let’s give it a go. Now, one thing with this is it’s actually got a mix time of about an hour. Well, not a mix time. Takes about five minutes to mix it up, but then it’ll actually last about an hour. So, today we’re definitely going to be stretching that a little bit, but we got to give it a go, aren’t we? See where we get on. Just use a sharp bit of stone like a caveman. So, empty one 5 kilo bag into here. And then we need to add 2 L of clean water which I have brought up with me. So here we go then. One I made earlier. 2 L of clean cold water fresh from the kitchen in a jug which definitely doesn’t come from the kitchen honestly. We’re going to put this in here and then we’re going to mix it up with a paddle mixer. Now, I imagine you can mix it manually, but if you’ve got a paddle mixer, and I bought one a few years ago for another project, which I could have paid a trade to do, you might as well use, right? And now probably around 3 to 5 minutes of mixing. So, we’ll see how that goes. Start off slow obviously otherwise this could get very very messy. So, got a bit of mixing later then, and we’ve now got a lovely gloopy mixture, which I’m going to put the lid on just for now, but it’s all ready to go. It does say an hour of working time at 20° C, so it’s a bit cooler today. Hopefully, putting the lid on in between applying it will just make it last that little bit longer, but it’s now time to get some of the sand and cement actually down here, get the base on, and start putting some slabs down. Yeah, really need to get on now. But let’s see how quick they go down. Sometimes these projects, it’s more the planning, the preparation, getting everything out, getting ready, and actually getting on with it goes relatively quickly. We’ll see. While I was actually preparing for this, I did manage to drop the mic that I wear on myself. So hopefully this comes across all right. If I do need to replace it, it’ll probably cost more than the patio did, which will be a shame, but fingers crossed not. And you can hear me perfectly well. So let’s get on. So now, a bit of time later, the usual interruptions that life brings, it’s time to actually finally get some slabs down. If you haven’t laid sandstone slabs before, there’s a really easy way. The small side always goes to the bottom. Some of them are shanford. You get the larger size at the top, smaller joints, more of the slab in contact with the mortar joints and the base underneath. These have got a very obvious line base to them. So now I need to paint on the magic slurry. And let’s see how it goes. Possibly already eaten well into an hour, but never mind. That’s life, isn’t it? Just got to give it a go. So, what they recommend is not actually going right to the edges and that way you can actually pick up the slab without getting slurry everywhere. It’s lovely stuff. Lovely and gloopy. Interesting smell to it, too. Look at that. That is very satisfying to do. You can see how thirsty the slabs are. If you were doing this in a hot day, you definitely need to prime them because otherwise that mortar, all the water that’s in it will just get sucked straight up and you won’t get the adhesion that you want. Right, there we go. That’s most of it done. I imagine you could probably do a much more professional job. Feel free to comment below if you think you can, although I’d be surprised if you couldn’t. And now it’s time to pick it up and we can actually get it down. So all I’m trying to do is get the back edge level with my line first off. So I want it somewhere around there. And then it’s time to get a level on it so we can work out where we are. Feel free to imagine this is filmed with multiple camera angles and a more professional feel if you want, but it’s not happening today. So, let’s have a little look. So, left to right needs to be down this way. Now, it’s time to get the mallet out. So, middle of the bubble there. Middle of the bubble there. Let’s kick it around a little bit. Let’s go a tiny bit more. Okay. So, I’m happy with that way. I’m happy it’s roughly up to that line there about right. So, no problem there. Just need to now get it from front to back, which really is the critical bit. can already see that having half an hour away, it’s dried a little bit more than I wanted, but no dramas. We can sort it. Okay. Right. I am happy with that. So now it’s time to have another go and just keep cracking on. Let’s see where it gets us. Time is very much getting on now. So really need to hurry with this. Not hurry, just do it quickly. Well, it’s now the next morning. A gloomy, chilly start to the day. The sun only just beginning to burn through that lingering mist. Well, what happened? Life. I guess that’s what happened. An afternoon full of disruptions. A delivery that should have come in the morning. The sand didn’t come till mid-afternoon. That held things up a bit. a couple of work calls and just general life stuff added to the mix the fact that I now have to pick Harry up from nursery an hour earlier the winter hours. Yeah, that definitely cut place short. But, you know, let’s see how I got on. I did get some slabs down. Just repeat exactly what you saw. Get the mortar down first, position a slab, try to level it as best I could. Anyway, enough talking. Let me share with you what I’ve got up to and what’s to come. Pushing through the jungle today then. Autumn is definitely here. Flowers there popping away. Beautiful hardy beonia grandis there. We’ve still got flowering ginger. There’s the scent of gardener near the house. And here we’ve got the beautiful asam orange there. The last of the flowers for this year. Like I mentioned yesterday, Salvia is popping up everywhere. Lovely autuminal tones. But there’s no distracting. Look at this. Did I finish it? No. But it kind of looks like a patio. Yes, it does. Right. First thing I’ll say right out the gate. Is it perfect? Absolutely not. No. I had to pick it up from nursery at 5:00. It was quart 4 and I hadn’t put that one, that one, and that one down. I don’t want to use the word rushed, but I had to put them down very quickly. So, are they 100% spirit level perfect? No. I definitely have high standards workmanship and possibly higher than I’d expect a tra to do for themselves. Is it perfect? No. No, it’s definitely not. Some of the joints are a little bit irregular. The sloping I tried to get it to gently drop off this way. Possibly not 100% perfect, but let’s face it, it’s not bad. Now, where do things go wrong? Well, the fact that I had to pick it up so quickly meant I didn’t have time to fully brush and clean off the slabs of water before I went. So, it was a little bit of staining. Not the end of the world because and get some more stain remover, some acid, and clean that off. That’s no biggie in the scheme of things. Some of the joints, like I mentioned, they’re not 100% perfect. Some are a bit deeper than others, but the pointing compound, some of that brushing stuff, maybe that’ll make short work of that and tidy up nicely. This morning I have given them another little wet down the brush which is why they look darker than the unfitted slab just over there. Overall, yes, I suppose I am happy with it. I always set myself these completely arbitrary but wild goals of this is what I want to do today and with a busy life trying to create a video and a few other interruptions that was never going to happen. But I’ve done my best. Obviously, I prioritized to try to get the back slabs in so I can actually get on with the wall later today. But before I get on with that, I will have to put just these remaining slabs at the front. What have I learned from this then? Well, there’s no way that I’ll be calling this video how to lay a natural stone patio. And like I said, this is my first time. But what have I learned? Well, I’ve learned that really preparation is absolutely key. There was nothing else I could do before I started yesterday. But if you had two people, one person to bring the barrels of sand up, one person to get a mix on, you could easily do this in a day, no problem at all. And I think that’s probably the main takehome. Yes, a tradesman will do a better job, you’d hope, and yes, they do it quicker, but there’s something to be said about doing something yourself, learning these skills, not being afraid. That’s definitely what it’s about. In the words of Tim Menchin, it’s not perfect, but it’s mine. And that’s exactly what I’ll think when I look at this patio before it annoys me too much. I have to rip it out and do it again. Despite what I said earlier, but in terms of practical tips, although at the start I said about a drier mix on the drier side works better, I actually found wetting up ever so slightly worked slightly better for these ones. Yes, Sebastian, wetter truly is better when it comes to laying slabs. You don’t want it sloppy or sloshy, but just a bit more movement really helped because that first one where I had to leave and come back after half an hour, I could hardly move a slab. The mix was a bit too dry. So, a bit wetter gave me that extra flexibility. Second thing, when it came to this line here, I made a mistake. I should have measured the two slabs 900 900, 1800 plus a gap of about 15 mil. I should have measured that from the edge of here and brought the whole patio this way a little bit because now I’m going to have a little annoying bit of this edge here. Bit frustrating, but there’s not a huge amount I can do about that. I will, however, overlay, you’ll see in the next video, these other slabs just over the edge so I can cut everything nice and evenly. It’s a shame I couldn’t get those down last night and really that extra hour that could have seen the end of it. And then today I could have cut them all nicely, got my motor underneath and really tidied the front up. But that might have to wait till another weekend now, which is a shame. But that’s life, isn’t it? That’s life. So other than a few of the joints not being perfect, I mean, they’re not bad. Let’s face it, just not perfect. And that not quite reaching the edge there. It’s not bad. Like I said, unfortunate with the timing because I actually had pretty much a full mix of the mortar left over, but I used that to create more of a foundation, which is where I’m going to build the wall up around the side. So, definitely nothing wasted here. And maybe I had to clean up after I put Harry to bed. So, yeah, other than that, a bit of mortar stain in. All in all, not a bad job. Just not quite as far on as I wanted to be. So, there we go. The main patio. You can get an idea of what it’s going to look like. I think the gray works nicely, particularly when it’s wet. And seeing as we’re having a water feature here, it may well be wet most of the time. I think it’s time to leave today’s video. And in the next one, I will be finishing this patio. I’ll be bringing these slabs right over to this edge here. And then I’ll be starting to build the wall around the back of it. Two different types of mortar, two different types of material. This is going to be a very, very busy day. Good. I’m not tired, isn’t it? Well, thank you very much for watching. in what is a shambolic, rambling, completely unnecessary video. And I hope to see you in the next one where we’re going to look at some more exciting hard landscaping. See you later.