The Brew Cabin

What a great site...

In my garden I have bricks and 50mm thick strong slabs which are not used. Can I used this as hardcore for the sub base. If not is there a place ( I live in harrow, North London) such as homebase, B&Q where I can buy material for sub base?

Any idea how can I break this slabs? Also do I have to used digging fork to dig up the ground or can i hire any tool for digging from hiring company?

Thanks.
Nirmal Patel

If you want to use the old flags and bricks as hardcore, they must be broken up into small chunks - nothing bigger than about 75mm, and even then you'll need a lot of 'fines' to fill the voids. If this sub-base is for a patio, it might be satisfactory, but if this is for a driveway, I woould always use (and recommend) a proper granulated sub-base material as sold by almost every Builders' Merchant in the land.

If you decide to smash up the flags/slabs, you can use a sledgehammer or a lumphammer, but it's a lot of work!

For the digging - it depends on the area and access. If you can get a mini-digger in, then so much the better; if not, then it's a job for the pick, the mattock and the spade - see the Tools page.