The Brew Cabin

My drive cleared of concrete/soil now looks like a mud pit after 2 days of torrential rain.I also have 4 ton of hard-core sat on the garden and the grass is'nt too happy either.I'm against putting the hardcore down due to the puddles/muddied area,will i be okay to lay hard core when the puddles have disappeared?should i wait for some firmness within the soil?or am worrying about nothing.

If the sub-grade beneath is normally firm and stable, then the best option would be to wait for a gap in the rain, scrape off the worst of the mud and then get the sub-base material in place and compacted.

If there is any doubt about the integrity of the sub-grade, then use a separation membrane (summat like Terram 1000 ) that will prevent the sub-base disappearing into the earth.

Thanks for the reply,the rain held off today i managed to clear puddles/excess mud and now have sub base down.Got sand and block arrving tomorrow.

The weather looks more favourable this week. How much paving have you to lay?

Roughly 55ft by 7ft from pavement down side of house into rear garden/garage area.The width is slightly out thru and i'm having to do cuts against the house as this is the place where its less likely to be noticeable.Has been quite an eye-opener from start with the digging,and at times has felt like a lead weight round my neck.I also had to have a dwarf wall built between myself and next door as my drive is 2ft higher.The only consolation i have is that i work shifts 4 on 6 off so i can get stuck in but its down-heartening when the rain starts.

It's only the really heavy rain that puts a stop to laying work. Obviously, you need it dry for the sand jointing, but, more or less everything else can be done in the damp - if it wasn't so, it would be impossible to make a living as a paving contractor in these soggy islands! ;)