shall i put a patio down or not?? :S

right at the top of my garden it is utter crap! loads of stuff has been buried before i lived here and then mud thrown on top and then gravel. the steps over
time have slipped forward and as you can see by the pics there are cracks, is this from the weight of the upper gravel bit? i am meant to be getting
it done as a patio but am worried as that is more weight will it make the steps slide more ? the men who want to do the job said it wont? my concern
is if i let them do patio then it will sink and step slide in a bit more time as i noticed the gravel does sink so whether that is as it is not compacted or what?
advice would be brill

It appears to be on a slope so it will want a good retaining wall first to hold it in place. this could be done by digging a trench and pouring in concrete, with shuttering to raise it to the finished level of your patio, or you could have a brick wall which wouild look better, or a brick wall with concrete behind it.

the existing concrete wall and steps looks to me to be too thin and too shallow so would be best broken up. the broken concrete and brick could be used as hardcore under your new patio (the loose stuff needs to be dug out).

If they are thinking of laying slabs on that patch as it is, it will continue moving which would be a shame as you will have had the cost and upheaval without getting a lasting solution.

Could you afford to have the high patch dug out and levelled?

There are probably some guys here who could tell you how deep and thick the concrete needs to be if you can give some dimensions and describe the subsoil.

right well i could save up and get something different done at a later date and obviously these guys will say whatever to get extra money to do this job as they are not proper workmen just some council workers doing it out of work, what they are goin to go is waker plate some stones down and then add sand and cement and then do a couple of layers of stones and then the concrete and sand and then place the slabs, they said it wont even sink or nothing but i dont believe them, so prefer not to get it dont if this will happen in 12 mths or something

You seem to be implying that the Council does not employ 'proper workmen' If they do this for the Council then they probably have at least some clue, using whacker plate is a good sign.

But they could be bin men, and the order of putting things down that you just listed does sound a bit wrong.

Just get a few more quotes. Not just comparing prices but also their opinions on how to put it right. Once you get a few suggestions you'll be able to pick the winners from the losers.

I don't see that whatever is under the gravel would be pushing the steps out. I reckon the problem here is drainage. Water and in the winter ice will crack and knacker those steps. They might just have been thrown down, in which case doesn't matter what's behind, above or below, they will fail anyway.

Does look crap though, although not a massive job to put right. You could make a start by hiring a breaker for the weekend and smashing it all up, do you have big arms?

no i have lovely slim arms

i will have to get some quotes then on other options including smashing up those absolutely dog poo steps, as they are vile lol its rented accomodation so i dont want to go mad money wise, so something cheaper but looks ok

Rented! Are you planning on staying there long term?
If not then just get some paving slabs and mortar them onto the steps, including the top section. Easy, quick, cheap makeover.