Can anyone do this sum because I have given up

[TheMustressMhor]

Okay - so we are putting concrete slabs on a small area of the garden.

This measures 12 ft x 8 ft.

The slabs we have chosen measure 450mm x 450 mm.

My brain has fallen out trying to work out how many slabs we will need.

Even the woman in the shop got three different answers and eventually sold us 36 slabs.

I think 36 slabs is wrong.

But the fact that I am incapable of working this out is driving me mad. My brain has fallen out and I appeal to anyone who has any sense to tell me how many slabs we need.

TIA

You need 40 (8 x 5) whole slabs, plus enough to do the extra 1/3 of a slab width.
You could either buy another 8, on the principle that you might fuck up cutting them;
or you could risk only buying 4 and cutting 2 x 1/3 off each, leaving you with a smaller margin of error;
or you could go the whole hog and only buy 3 more but then you'd have to cut them neatly into 1/3s and make no mistakes (and you'd have a 1/3 left over).

So anywhere between 43 and 48 slabs required. 36 isn't enough.

Yeah I don't know the exact conversion but the principle is the same How many 450mm fit into the length and how many fit into the width then round the figures up and multiply together

Mind you, I think you might also need to calculate how much sherry will be required for supervisory duties.

Just had a vision in which the thread meanders on, with countless people giving answers and calculations, long after the patio is laid.

It may even get to 1,000 and some posters will ask for a second thread.

Who wants a crap diagram?

You need 40 whole slabs, plus another 4 that need to be split in two and further cut down to size (450mm x 188.4mm).

The garden will have a 57.6mm excess strip of space along the width, which is too small to be faffed with I think.

This is assuming there will be no gaps at all between the slabs.

I think I have confused the matter by using cm on the diagram, sorry.

44 if you can cut them easily and use the halves, 48 if not.

Who else is expecting there to be a viral Facebook meme similar to "What colour/color is this dress ?"

How many slabs do you see ?

Well fuck me pink.

Just had a look at the original invoice and realised that DH paid for 34 slabs, not 36 as I originally said.

Still.

I have rung them and paid for an additional sixteen slabs, so we now have 50 slabs arriving on Monday.

Is DH an experienced slab cutter?

People are approaching your patio question mathematically and trying to convert imperial to metric.

Won't work.

You need to lay out 8 slabs along the long edge because that's the closest whole number of slabs you'll need. Any shortfall can be absorbed by the spacing in between the slabs. You then need to lay out four more rows of 8. Total slabs so far, 40.

You then need to decide if you are going to [make DH] cut the last row of slabs. You'll need another row of 8, either of whole slabs, or half slabs.

If cutting you could get away with 44. Otherwise it's 48, and no trip to A&E.

lol, haven't heard 'Fuck me Pink' since I left Ireland.
I didn't think it would be used in Scotland ... kind of assuming that's where you are if you're eating Stornaway black pudding.

Is DH an experienced slab cutter

He has been (variously) a roofer, long-distance lorry driver, painter and decorator and general builder. I think he knows how to cut slabs.

It is neither here nor there, really. I have great confidence in his ability to do this.

He has always been brilliant WRT home improvements and never tries to do things which he considers are not within his capabilities.

So I would say, YES. He does know how to cut slabs.

He has engaged the services of another man who does this for a living anyway. Between the two of them it should be just fine.

As ever, I shall watch, and sip sherry.

@BuzzLiteYear

Yes.

We are in a small, remote village in Argyll (West Coast of Scotland) and it never stops raining.

@Myimaginarycathasfleas

Otherwise it's 48, and no trip to A&E

Thanks for that, fleas.

Our nearest major A & E Dept. is in Paisley (100 miles away) and requires a helicopter ride.

It is very exciting when the helicopter leaves our village with an emergency on board. It flies right over our house and makes it sound like the house will disintegrate.

I would say, YES. He does know how to cut slabs.

If not, how do you fancy crazy paving?

Thank you for your input Witchend

Odd that people struggle with this kind of thing

Are the slabs definitely 450mm x 450mm as this seems very small; are they not 4500 x 4500?

You haven't thought this through, have you? 4500 mm is equivalent to 14 feet and 9 inches.

That is a very big slab!

Mmm sherry.

12 feet by 8 feet is 96 square feet

450mm is 1.47638 feet

1.47638 x 1.47638 = 2.1796979044 feet squared

96 square feet (area to be covered) ÷ 2.1796979044 square feet (paver) = 44.0428005212 (amount of pavers needed.

If they're plain, buy 50.

Enough to cover the ground, enough to make up a few cut pieces and a few spare.

Probably the poster who queried the size of the slabs got mixed up and thought I meant 45mm x 45 mm.

That really would be small slabs.

TheMustressMhor
Always helpful: That's me

I never worked out whether my df had planned crazy paving on the patio or whether it developed after he'd dropped them.

Actually I think DH and I were really lucky to be offered the "clearance" slabs.

We were about to pay a good deal more when the woman asked us if we wanted to look at the clearance slabs.

They were only £2.91 each ROFL.

It was our lucky day and no mistake.

This brings back hilarious memories of my very own garden being fixed up. Many moons ago I hired a builder who could not add up to save his life.
He had to build a very very long wall and lay the whole garden to patio.
He was good at his job, the wall is still standing and the patio still down.
But he asked me to go to b and q, find slabs I liked etc etc. Duly done I told him the sizes, he did his maths and told me how many to buy.
Well 500 slabs later, I sold on I think 150 cos I couldn't get them back to b and q for a refund.

And the wall was even better. I kept having to order more bricks because he did his maths and forgot pillars had to be included to keep the very very long wall up.
Utterly hilarious time.