flagging my back garden

[fergal1]

the soil in my back garden is clay and although ive sown grass on it it is a real swap. so i was going to get it all flagged but i got a shock when i got a quote for £5000 to get it done.
i was thinking of trying it myself. at the minute the soil/clay is level with the path round the house and i wanted any flagging to also be level with the path. its a fairly new house so the soil/clay will be loose. is this the right way to go about it?
1. dig out one foot? of soil
2. pack down half a foot of hardfill
3. pack down half a foot of quarry dust/sand
4. level it all off
5. lay the flags on top
i have no idea how much i should dig down, one foot, two feet? or how much hardfill and dust to use.
i hope to put some drainage in there somewhere too.
thanks for any help

 

[breezer]

tommy walsh just flattens the ground and puts down his special mixture and lays the flgs on that

Tommys special mixture, 3 sharp, 2 soft, 1 cement

as for the quote its cheap, if you hava football pitch sized garden, if its in Chelsea its reasonable if you live in Scotland its extortionate

it all depends on, how big an area, how much work involved oh s*d it read forum rule 9

 

[Bodgeit and scarper ltd]

Turf might be a better idea.

 

[breezer]

isnt turf grass?

the soil in my back garden is clay and although ive sown grass on it it is a real swap.

doesnt look like its taking very well.

gravel the lot (i did)

 

[Bodgeit and scarper ltd]

"breezer"isnt turf grass?

Yes turf is grass but it has a bit of good soil attached to it.

 

[fergal1]

i just thought with the amount of water in my garden (and the fact that its clay and a new build, so the ground is loose) that i maybe should dig down a bit deeper?
do any of you know how deep i should dig? and if i give you the dimentions of the garden, how much hardfill and quarry dust i'll need?
i live in belfast so i think the quote was well over the top. i don't have a football pitch , just a back garden the width of the house and back about fifteen feet maybe.
again thanks for any advive you can give

 

[2scoops0406]

here is a good source of info.

 

[WabbitPoo]

If there really is a clay layer, its no good just using Tommay Walsh's method as when the clay dries out (some chance!) it'll shrink, leaving the supporting layer itself unsupported.

 

[Thermo]

depends on the type and thickness of the slabs and whats going to be on them, ie foot trraffic or vehicles?

assuming foot traffic
slabs-40mm
bedding-50mm
mot-100mm

total construction thickness 190-200mm. Thats what you need to dig down from your desired finished level. 100mm min of mot compacted down will be more than adequate. If its a new house then the clay etc will probably be nicely compacted by all those builders and machines going over it for 6 months. They normally drop a load of old topsoil over the top and walk away.