Laying some chancery paving and in a small - Section the bed is about 150mm deep

NovicePaver · Post: # 8931Post **NovicePaver** Wed Jul 06, 2005 5:34 pm

I took up about 24 sq Metres of grey concrete paving and took out the old bedding approx 50mm deep and am about to replace with Chancery paving.
However in one section 3-4 sq M where I extended the patio the bed needs to be 150mm deep. I plan to use your 10:1 dry mix , will this be ok , or should I lay a concrete mix first of 100 mm in this section?

InfAddict · Post: # 8933Post **InfAddict** Wed Jul 06, 2005 10:05 pm

You should not lay a 10:1 semi-dry mix any more than about 50mm as it tends to weaken the bedding layer. You could use a MOT type 1 subbase material which you would compact to raise the levels up to the required level. I suppose you could also raise the levels using concrete, but I'm not sure of the pros/cons of which approach is best.

NovicePaver · Post: # 8937Post **NovicePaver** Thu Jul 07, 2005 11:19 am

I should have explained that I was trying to avoid having to hire a 'whacker' etc for the sake of a few square metres.

Can you get the MOT type 1 subbase in small bags or does it only come in tonne bags and could I compact it enough using something heavy instead of having to hire a 'whacker'.

InfAddict · Post: # 8938Post **InfAddict** Thu Jul 07, 2005 12:20 pm

If you went for the MOT type 1 option, for 4 square metres and 100mm finished depth, you would need 0.8 tonne anyway and most 'tonne' bags are between 0.8 and 0.9 tonne nowadays.

A lot of hire companies hire out whackers by the hour or for half a day. The weather screwed me up when I hired one for the weekend, so I bartered with the bloke and got it for another 4 hours on a fine day for only Â£10.

Anyone got any comments on other appropriate methods of raising the levels in a 4 square metre patch?

Post: # 8941Post **Tony McC** Thu Jul 07, 2005 2:51 pm

If you're too fricky to use a plate compactor, you could use the sand/cement mix, but you'd need to build it up in 50mm layers and trample it down well and good with your boots before placing the next layer. You shouldn't have more than 50mm of loose material as the actual bedding layer, and this is not something I recommend for larger areas, as it's much more expensive than DTp1, but it's acceptable in emergencies.