Also, you should follow the manufacturers recommendations for filling with top-soil and the grass mixture. Ordinary turf could cause problems, especially if laid directly over the system units. All the grass paving systems rely on carefully designed components, which includes the sub-base, the rootzone and even the seed mix. You can't afford to cut corners, otherwise you compromise the system integrity.

They are lovely old things, those tiles, and well worth keeping hold of. Good luck!

If the existing ground is suspect in anyway, then it might be worth putting in a decent sub-base to bear the weight of the concrete and the shed, plus all its inevitable paraphernalia, but in 99 cases out of 100, the above will be more than adequate.

from what I've seen of PIC jobs, they tend to use the block paving kerb units to form the riser of steps, and then use the PIC to form the tread. You could use almost anything, from engineering brick, stone cobbles/setts, edging kerbs or walling stone, depending on which pattern and colour scheme you have chosen

Some slate can be slippery when wet, but cleaved slate (as opposed to sawn slate) is usually less so. Also, you may find that unsealed slate becomes colonised by mosses and algaes in shady, untrafficked spots.

There's been a surge of interest in slate laid on-edge over the past few years, but this is a challenge to do and to get to look right, not something I'd recommend for those with limited patience, but it is very, very attractive as an edge detail or in smaller areas.

Aquaseal is not something I would use on slate; I'd use a high quality sealant, something like Resiblock 22, which I would expect to last at least 4 years, whereas the Aqualseal, being acrylic and not primarily developed for paved surfaces, could well turn out to be an annual task.

Good luck!

use a 75mm thick bed of Class E concrete (that's approximately a 1:3:6 mix of cement/sand/gravels). That should be fine for foot traffic. Keep the added water to an absolute minimum; the mix needs only be damp, not sopping wet. This will make laying the tiles that much easier and also reduce the amount of staining.

Jointing should be 6-10mm, I'd guess, and pointed with a 1:4 mortar.

Thanx for interest, info etc. yours jill

Also, if the old concrete is cracked, these cracks can propagate through the new paving/concrete and make an unwelcome appearance in the new surface in as little as 6 months in severe cases.This is because the concrete beneath the new paving will continue to shift/settle over time. In some cases the added load/weight of the new paving actually accelerates the movement.

My usual recommendation in these cases is to rtip out the old concrete and start afresh. It's one of those things that might take you a day or so extra labour and a couple of hundred quid to sort out, but if you take the easy option and hope for the best, you won't half be pizdov if it does move! ;~)

PS - using all capital letters is the 'net equivalent of SHOUTING! - Do us a favour and make sure caps lock is off before typing. Good man!

How large are the gaps? If over a half inch, they could be a trip hazard in the near future. Sand will not fill gaps for very long if they are that large, as if will wash out quickly.

I would suggest cutting as the best solution. You may have to pull a few sections up and actually cut a row or two of the cobbles to maintain the pattern. (i mean you may need to trim a few down in a row so that you don't have to just stick one little sliver in)

Lot of good info on the saws here at the site if you look in the tools section. Should be able to rent one, but the blade will be pricy as they charge you for wear.

However, you mention that the 'grade' of your drive is only 1% which makes me suspect you are not UK-based, as 'grade' is not a term we use in that context; it's far more common in N America.

If that is the case, there's not much I can do to advise you, as I have no knowldege of the the paving market on the left hand side of the pond. You could try some of the links featured on my site to grass paving companies and see if they have outlets in your neck of the woods, but beyond that, there's really very little I can say.

Meanwhile, if I've completely misread the situation and you are stuck in these soggy islands like me, I'd suggest you contact Cooper Clarke in Bolton (address on Links page) and ask them about their EcoGrid range - that has often proved to be the most cost-effective solution for smaller, residential grass paving projects (ie, less than 500m²)

I know you can seal the blocks and joints with a sealant but is it really a long term solution?

Alternately, I could resurface the drive with tarmac. Is there a simple surfave sealing coat that ca be applied or must the old topping be removed and completely relaid? (The base is fine. no movement etc) What are my options?

Third and last question (thanks for the patience) could I use one of the new epoxy coated finishes or would it scrub off with turning vehicles?

Then, I'd lay a strong geo-membrane, such as Terram 1000 over the clay and the land drainage, and place my sub-base material over that. the membrane will prevent the stone becoming mixed with the clay and will allow surface water to find its way to the drainage without washing away the sub-base or the decorative gravel.

thanks for the comments in the Visitor Book, by the way.

I wouldn't bother using a cement-bound material in the recess trays. Fill them to about 30mm below the top with DTp1, pack that down firmly, and then use the SBG (hoggin) as a top dressing. It might need topping up occasionally - it's always worth keeping a half agg-bag of the hoggin somewhere out of the way, as, when you come to top up the drive, as you will, you can never ever get a colour match!

If the tray flexes a lot when trafficked, you can get a strengthening brace welded to the base - we've done this on Recess Tray Covers that have been paved with tarmac.

Peversely, both Marshalls and Bradstone (in their Aggregate Industries outfit) actually supply genuine granite setts but they don't promote them much to the residential market, for some unknown reason. Bardon do a SlimSett (why do these companies always have to come up with a cheesy name for their products?) which is easy to work with, but hard to source in smaller quantities.

How many do you need? In square metres, that is? And whereabouts are you? Up here in t'north reclaimed granite cubes can be sourced from the salvage yards for around 60-90 quid per tonne, with each tonne covering 4-5 m², but darn sarff, they're a bit pricey, over 100 quid per tonne, I believe.

Laying granite cubes means preparing a concrete or mortar bed, tapping down each sett to level, checking alignment, pointing/jointing, knocking all the skin off your knuckles, struggling to cut oversize cubes with a toffee hammer and chisel.....it's a lot of work.

The end result is all that really matters, though. What look are you trying to achieve? Sawn setts look very clean and tidy, but cubes look much more olde-worlde and can be laid to fans or spirals much more readily.

Cost-wise - there's not much to choose. The reclaimed cubes are slightly cheaper to buy but more expensive to lay. Overall, both paving types work out at around 80-100 quid per m² for what is, relatively speaking, a small area (owt under 100m²).

Colourwise, the yorkstone setts go well with it, as they are a buffy-browny-ochrey colour and quite sympathetic. Granite cubes, especially the greyish-silver granites are 'neutral' and work with almost any color scheme. In fact the only cubes/setts I'd avoid are the Shap/Aberdeen pinks/red, as I despise pink and yellow together - the Dolly Mixture look!

The yorkstone will look pukka - trust me!

Chewing Gum is best scraped off and then left to the elements. There are gum removers that you can buy, but they are intended for town centres, shopping malls etc, and they ain't cheap; for one or two spots, it's not economic.
If you can freeze the gum, it comes up quite easily. I saw it done with dry ice(?) or something like that some years ago - the gum was sprayed from an aerosol with a liquid that rapidly turned to vapour, and then it literally flaked off the paving.

Oil - there's loads of so-called remedies. The ones that have been proven to work are listed on the Removing Stains page.

There's a company based in the Midlands that has a very good reputation and do work Nationwide - Classic Impressions. Their MD is Noel Hand, and you can contact him on 01788 540333 during business hours. Tell him I referred you, as I was speaking with him only yesterday.

I'd still get another couple of quotes, though, just to be on the safe side - try contacting PICS in Newbury and they'll tell you who works your area and is relaible. Contact info on the Links page.

As for a summary, that's more or less given on the PIC page. PIC is sort-of weed-free, but it's NOT maintenance free - if you let crud build up in the joints, weeds will grow in the crud. Also, it doesn't sink, as long as it's laid properly - if it's laid badly or the control joints are omitted, it will sink/crack/settle.

Properly laid, it's a good surface, but it's not elemental: it's monolithic, which means big problems if anything goes wrong underneath, such as leaking gas service pipes or broken drains.

But, as I always say, it's you that has to live with this for the next god-knows-how-many years, not I, so the final choicce must be yours. If PIC sounds good to you, then give Noel a call and find out what it would cost, but also see if you can get a cost for, say, concrete block paving, over the same area, so you can compare overall costs.

Let us know how you get on.

Only you can choose the best contractor. Who do you feel most confident with? Who has the best portfolio and offer the best after-sales service? Who offers an insurance backed guarantee? In an ideal world, you want at least 20 years life out of this paving, so, for me, it would be worth paying a few bob extra to get the quaklity and guaranrtees that will ensure I get 20-odd years, rather than saving a few quid and seeing the damned stuff fall apart in 2005

As for the soakaway - these only work in areas that are naturally well-drained. If you're on clay, soakaways generally don't work. Where does your existing SW system drain to?

With regard to the drainage issue - if the linear drain (ACO or other type) is to be connected to the existing sewers system, then it should be connected to the SW system, if at all possible. If this is not feasible, or it is a combined system, then the connection must be 'trapped' to prevent odours escaping from the Foul System.

Secondly, the re-use of existing sub-base. If it's sound, there's no point in replacing it - if it ain't broke, don't fix it! However, it may need regulating, which involves re-levelling and topping up as required. I'm at a loss as to why the contractor claims it has no bearing on the job price. Excavation for and supply of a suitable sub-base layer represents a major part of the cost of any pavement installation. So, while I would not insist on a new sub-base (unless the existing proves to be totally unsuitable) I would insist on a price reduction if no sub-base is installed.

Have you checked out their references yet?

Telephone 01332 517600 or them. Their website may be useful to you.

You might have to fettle the spacing to get a full number of courses, so I'd be tempted to work from the outside in, so that there's fewer cubes to re-position to get the spacing right as you reach the centre.

If you look at the Steps for Block Paving page, there's an animated guide to laying in arcs and circles that you might find useful.

Q1 - you don't have to use a kerb as a retainer. You could use a temporary timber shutter, as shown in the Formwork page, which is probably a better solution for a shed base.

Q2 - see above

Q3 - no really critical need to tape around the cable and the membrane, but it makes a better job if you do.

The purpose of the membrane is to prevent the sub-base/sub-grade sucking the water out from the concrete mix while it cures, and to protect the slab from groundwater and aggressive salts in the longer term. Although you'd not lose much mix water through the un-taped joint, it's always best to 'play safe'.

Have you allowed for a sub-base or a 'blinding' beneath the membrtane to protect it from puncturing?

You can use 4" × 1" (100mm × 25mm) timber for the shuttering, with stakes at 500mm centres - this is plenty for a 100mm deep pour, as there's not a great deal of pressure, other than when placing and tamping the concrete. As soon as it starts to cure, the pressure reduces.

great to hear you got the Timberstone laid - what do your think of them? Are you pleased with the finished effect or are you underwhelmed, as some other Timberstone users have been?

Anyway - the gravel dressing should be 150mm below dpc, just like a solid surfacing would be. If you sneak up 10-20mm, it's not the end of the world, but, strictly speaking, it should be at least 150mm below dpc.

And to your second Q, I'd keep the gravel down a fraction from the top of the solid paving. As you seem to have guessed, if the gravel is put in quite generously, it spills over onto the paving, so keep it down 10mm or so. It will need topping up at some time, probably next spring, so if you're buying summat out of the ordinary for your gravel dressing, make sure you order a couple of spare bags that will keep you going for the next few years.

Any pics?

I would think that a porous block pavement would work out more expensive than bitmac on a project such as this, as there is considerably more preparation work involved. Porous bitmac is probably not feasible on grounds of cost on a job of this size.

Normally, bitmac is one of the cheapest firm surfacings (along with plain concrete) but have you considered block paving? Given that you have an adequate sub-base, you might find that for 30m², you can get a keener price for concrete block paving than you have for bitmac.

However, the cheapest play surfacing is bark - far from ideal, but it is cheap and safe. It's just a pigging nightmare when it gets blown everywhere.

I'd certainly get at least 2 more prices before making a decision.