Concrete/sub base & crazy paving-expansion joint? - Paving over the edge of retaining wall

[Benny]

Hi Tony,
Other areas of my town house have been done in sandstone crazy pave when it was built, so I am matching the existing work in making a side pateo.

At the edge of the paved area is a stair well (access to the paved area is these stairs. The paving is going to overlay the edge of a retaining wall into the stair well by about 20mm. The retaining wall itself is about 230mm & beyond that I am compacting crushed rock as a sub base.

Do I need to create an expansion joint at the edge of the retaining wall (rendered concrete which will be paved over) to allow for movent later, or will it not matter & I should just Mortar in the edge pavers & 10:1 the rest out over the sub base? Im a bit worried the sub base may settle lower than the mortared in pavers and crack along the pointing & look dodgy.

Cutting 250mm pavers would make a neat edge but Im not sure its necessary. Its only 20msq. Do I let it crack & re-point later?

Anyway, I hope that makes sense, I appreciate any advice you(or anyone else) can give. We dont freeze here either(Melb, Aust).

Cheers

Ben

[Tony McC]

For 20 square metres, I wouldn't worry too much about movement joints. I'd mortar the joint and see how it goes - even if it does crack, it's a relatively minor task to cut it out and re-point.

[Benny]

Thanks Tony,
all went well. It would definately have been overkill but its hard to visualise B4 doing it (for me). I did the whole thing using your techniques without knowing much when I started & it turned out fantastic.
Your site is the best!!
Cheers

Benny
:laugh: