Brand new garden from scratch, fake grass, patio, path.....

[k13wjd]

several questions, so i'll number them

1. Weed killer. ive lifted the old slabs from a 34m5 area at the front of my house. the weeds were running rife under the slabs. i'd like to kill them. my brain tells me to buy a 25kg bag of sodium chlorate, bit i don't want to look like a terrorist. whats the next best thing ??? for reference i'll be putting down 2 layers of weed membrane down on top of the old compacted sand, a big peice of artificial grass, a surround of granite cobb, and then a few tonnes of cotswolds buff gravel as a border.


2 : those cobbs. i planned to just mortor them ontop of the membrane using a damp 4:1, and point them as i go. they just need to be held in place, so that should be fine right??? the height will be taken up with a few tonnes of whinstone grit under the fake grass, and the stones round the out side.


3 i've planned to use natural limestone out the back, around 14m2. i'll be using a base of 50mm compacted type 1, 2 with another 50mm of compacted sharp sand. 2 layers of weed membrane, i'll then bed the limestone onto a bed of 6/1 mortor build with builders sand. point using swept/pushed in 8/1 and watered gently.



anything i've missed ???

 

[merlin50]

"brain tells me to buy a 25kg bag of sodium chlorate, bit i don't want to look like a terrorist"

they do not use that any more as a fire retardant has now been added

 

[k13wjd]

yip, but it can be removed


anyway, doesn't answer my problem.

most of the slabs have been removed, and its a network of roots under there.


looking to get something down this weekend.

 

[r896neo]

1.Sodium cholrate as a weedkiller is now illegal, also killing roots in that manner doesn't really work you need to tear them out.

2.bed them on a lean concrete instead its much more appropriate.

3. personally i'd bump the type 1 up to 75mm. Ditch the compacted sand layer, Also ditch the membrane.

Natural stone needs to be layed on a full 25-50mm bed of mortar and you really need grit sand or plastering sand as building sand in that sort of depth is not only weaker once cured but when mixed up wet it holds so much water it becomes far to sloppy and will make tapping the slabs down problematic.

Pointing needs to be a much stronger mix like 3/4:1 and mixed up damp and trowelled in then struck
Check out paving expert.com

 

[k13wjd]

any advice for laying a row of granite cobs ? aiming for 100mmx100mm cobs.


garden is gonna be raked gritty stuff at the start. i was thinking of digging a trench that was 150mmx150mm, filling it as i go with a 4:1 damp mortor, and bedding the cobs. after that i can get the heights right for the inside of the border for the fake grass with compact whinstone, and just fill the outer with deco agg.


any thoughts?

 

[r896neo]

yes that sound fine but you want to bed them on concrete not mortar, mortar is very weak over about 50mm thick and all kerbs and edge restrainsts should be layed on and haunched with concrete