Hello, thanks for looking. I'm working on my garden, and would be grateful for some help.
The main thing is there is a small central lawn area with a large concrete path going right round it. I want to fill it in, make it on a level with the path, then pave the whole lot. I've dug the earth out down to about four inches, and the surface is nice and level, tightly packed. I think it could go down a little more, but is that necessary/would it do any harm to have a layer of earth below the hardcore?
I was thinking of just putting down damp-proof membrane now, whacking my hardcore on top, blinding it with ballast, then putting the concrete on. Is that a good enough approach? (Oh yeah, have I got it the right way round with the DPM?)
I'm planning on using loads of broken bricks I have lying around for the hardcore, will that be okay? The biggest pieces are a quarter of a brick in size - should I break them down more?
The other thing I wanted advice on is mixtures, as it's been years since I've done anything like this, and I was ever the novice. I was planning on using ballast and cement for the concrete - is that right, and what ratio should I use please? As for the bedding for the paving, I'm not sure what to use.
Lastly (for now ) how smooth does the concrete need to be before I put the paving down. In general the whole lot will be about as level as you can get, but there are areas of the path that are quite rough & have ever so small ridges here and there. Is it worth the extra cost and work to put down levelling compound?
Thanks very much!
The main thing is there is a small central lawn area with a large concrete path going right round it. I want to fill it in, make it on a level with the path, then pave the whole lot. I've dug the earth out down to about four inches, and the surface is nice and level, tightly packed. I think it could go down a little more, but is that necessary/would it do any harm to have a layer of earth below the hardcore?
I was thinking of just putting down damp-proof membrane now, whacking my hardcore on top, blinding it with ballast, then putting the concrete on. Is that a good enough approach? (Oh yeah, have I got it the right way round with the DPM?)
I'm planning on using loads of broken bricks I have lying around for the hardcore, will that be okay? The biggest pieces are a quarter of a brick in size - should I break them down more?
The other thing I wanted advice on is mixtures, as it's been years since I've done anything like this, and I was ever the novice. I was planning on using ballast and cement for the concrete - is that right, and what ratio should I use please? As for the bedding for the paving, I'm not sure what to use.
Lastly (for now ) how smooth does the concrete need to be before I put the paving down. In general the whole lot will be about as level as you can get, but there are areas of the path that are quite rough & have ever so small ridges here and there. Is it worth the extra cost and work to put down levelling compound?
Thanks very much!