High performance bedding (hpb) for sub-base

[greenpc]

Hi,

I'm looking to fix up my little yard (~11m x 7m), which has an ugly gulley -- 25 cm drop from the normal grade along the back fence side (~1.5m wide) that loves to collect water after a soaking. The original surveyor cheated me out a metre when the initial sodding was done. I like to clean up the mess, and turn a 1/3 of the yard into a patio (interlock, slab...still haven't decided) and the rest as play areas for the kids.

Has anyone heard of or use High Performance Bedding (HPB) for their sub-base? It's a trademarked product from a local company in my area, Dufferin Aggregates (Canada). I'm told it's essentially consist of 1/8 inch stone, like pea gravel, and is very easy to apply. It's claimed to be 90+ percent pre-compacted without additional mechanical compaction. A number of advices I've received state that I can forgone the standard of laying down the 3/4 inch crusher run sub-base and the sand bedding. Any truth? Experience? Recommendation?

Thanks in advance

[Tony McC]

As the Brew Cabin is primarily targetted at the paving trade in Britain and Ireland, it's unlikely any of our usual crew would be able to comment on products from Canada.

However, the HPB you mention is similar to an idea being used in some parts of Britain and in central Europe, where it seems to be very successful. Using it on a private patio is probably a little OTT, as all of the case studies I've visited or read about have been commercial, city-centre projects, subject to significant trafficking, and have been used in conjunction with a high-performance jointing compound. The bedding on its own may not be enough to guarantee against failure.