Block paved driveway, some blocks have sunk

[Avocet]

Hi all,

The terrain around our house slopes. A couple of years ago, we had to have the retaining wall rebuilt (it's a boundary we're responsible for). The drive is block-paved up to the retaining wall. In a few places, the blocks have now sunk (I assume it's the disturbed earth settling after the retaining wall was built). For the most part, they've only dropped an inch or less, but in a few places they're up to 3" lower.

Is kiln-dried sand the right stuff to use to pack the bocks back up level, or should I be using something different - like sharp sand or gravel?

 

[Wayners]

Lift blocks.
You can make tool to do that or buy one. I'd make it as just one block to start.
Built up with sharp sand.
Make a tool with wood to drag along to level base.
Place blocks back down and hit with a big rubber mallet if a small area.
Hire a wacker if it's the big area.
Kiln dried sand in joints.

There must be a YouTube video on it

 

[Avocet]

Thanks. That's more or less what I've gone with. I've done a couple of square metres and I'm slowly getting the hang of it, but it's harder than it looks!

 

[morqthana]

Most jobs which look easy when someone skilled does them are.

 

[Avocet]

Most jobs which look easy when someone skilled does them are.

Don't you mean "aren't"?!

 

[morqthana]

Don't you mean "aren't"?!

No.

... it's harder than it looks!

Most jobs which look easy when someone skilled does them are (harder than they look).

 

[robinbanks]

Jetwash on blast mode around the perimeter of the block, or a trowel to loosen interstitial material if the gap is big enough, then lifted out with a sink plunger

If it's sunk by 3 inches I wouldn't use sand that deep; 20mm to dustt, tamped, with sand blinding on top

 

[Avocet]

No.



Most jobs which look easy when someone skilled does them are (harder than they look).

Ah! OK got ya now.

 

[robinbanks]

But you're right, in a way - as a standalone observation, "Most jobs which look easy when someone skilled does them aren't" does make more sense.

Except that you'd use "that" rather than "which"; "which" is for incidentals/by-the-ways, and the sentence needs to still be able to function without them:

The house, which is red, is at the end of the street
The house is at the end of the street

There isn't a good way to remove your "which" and have the sentence still work:

Most jobs, which look easy, when someone skilled does them aren't
Most jobs when someone skilled does them aren't

Most jobs, which look easy when someone skilled does them, aren't
Most jobs aren't

In both of those latter statements, losing the which loses the meaning; the looking easy would have to have come from from elsewhere in the conversation/another statement. As a solo statement, that means it needs "that" rather than "which"

One of the (many) problems with transferring an actual conversation to a series of written messages!

Amen