Using old bricks as hardcore for paving

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We have recently done some building work, and have a lot of rubble left over - about 5 cubes. We now need to pave outside the back door. I've read in another post that the bricks should be broken down to about 2" pieces before laying it down, and to be careful to remove all plaster from the rubble before doing so.

A couple of questions on this:
  1. How does one break up bricks into 2" pieces? can I just lay it down 100mm at a time and smash it down with a plate compactor, or do I need to bring a brick crusher in? I'm filling in about 300mm.
  2. The rubble doesn't contain any plaster, but does contain cement previously used to hold the wall together. Is this a problem, or is it only plaster I need to worry about?
  3. Can I lay the paving stones (400x400 concrete slabs) directly on the hardcore with cement/sharp sand, or would you recommend casting a slab first?
  4. The paving will come up against the house, joining at the level of the damp course. Should I add waterproofing between the hardcore/slab/paving and the house?
  5. The minimum fall for paving is quoted as 1/40, which seems quite a lot. Is this correct, or can I get away with less?
Thanks
 
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If you want to reuse them get a Kango or just a good SDS drill on hammer with a chisel or point bit put the brick on the ground and the bit on top with your weight behind it most bricks will break up easily unless they are engineering ones. Long job though with that amount of brick!
Old cement will not matter.
Finishing level with the DPC is a bad move though, maybe a French drain might help but I am not that expert on ground works myself.
 
The external ground level (paving in your case ) should be at least 150mm below the dpc in the external wall of the house. This is a fundamental requirement in building.
 
Don't smash them up it'll take too long, place the neatly with a little gap between, do one layer then fill the gaps with stone and compact. Then repeat.
 
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I spent about half an hour getting nowhere breaking up my brick and other waste before giving up. Hired a crusher and it made short work of it and produced perfect MOT. Quite satisfying to do as well. I had a bit more and made sub bases for a patio and two sheds. It wasn't cheap to hirehbut was cheaper than a skip and buying new MOT and much better than just using the rubble as is
 
  1. The paving will come up against the house, joining at the level of the damp course. Should I add waterproofing between the hardcore/slab/paving and the house
Thanks

If there’s no way you can achieve the 150mm rule, there are possible workarounds: http://www.pavingexpert.com/dpc01.htm

I’ve had to do one with a drained channel filled with slate chippings.
 
  1. The rubble doesn't contain any plaster, but does contain cement previously used to hold the wall together. Is this a problem, or is it only plaster I need to worry about?
  2. The minimum fall for paving is quoted as 1/40, which seems quite a lot. Is this correct, or can I get away with less?
Thanks
1 that's fine, 2 pavingexpert site will have advice
 
I spent about half an hour getting nowhere breaking up my brick and other waste before giving up. Hired a crusher and it made short work of it and produced perfect MOT. Quite satisfying to do as well. I had a bit more and made sub bases for a patio and two sheds. It wasn't cheap to hirehbut was cheaper than a skip and buying new MOT and much better than just using the rubble as is

I don't think crushed brick would class as MOT Type anything :whistle:
 
Thank you all for your responses. This has been very helpful.

So , any thoughts on levels
Yes, I should be able to get to 150mm below the DPC. That's not a problem. It will be a bit of a step and will require a bit of digging, but doable.

If there’s no way you can achieve the 150mm rule, there are possible workarounds: http://www.pavingexpert.com/dpc01.htm

I’ve had to do one with a drained channel filled with slate chippings.
This is a useful link - thank you. I'm getting most of what I need from there.
 

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