The Brew Cabin

Owing to subsidence, our front garden wall is being rebuilt, and the existing concrete covering is to be dug up and replaced. This seems like a good opportunity to replace the solid concrete with something a little more aesthetic, and have been looking at a range of paving options.

The garden is about 5m wide and 4m deep, with a small bay window intruding along one side and a crab apple tree in a raised sqaure bed about 133cms x 133cms, in the centre of the garden but oriented at 45 degrees.

The house brick is mainly yellow, and we like the look of Devonshire Stone Products' Kingsbridge Random Paving in Cotswold Stone or Harrogate. We saw these at Pinks Hill, Guildford, having seen them discussed in the forum.

A whole host of questions....

Is the garden too small and the shape too complicated to support the use of this type of paving?
Could you suggest a suitable pattern for this size and shape of garden?
How much skill will the contractors need in laying these type of flags? They have been appointed by the loss adjusters, and primarily advertise themselves as interior decorators!

Any better ideas/advice would be gratefully received - unfortunately we don't have a lot of time to get this right.

Even if you can't help, congratulations on a top site - this is what the internet should be like!

Hi Peter,

taking your Q's one at a time...

The size/shape is fine for using that particular flag, but I'd suggest adding a brick edging or something to give a contrast. One type of paving all on it's Jack Jones looks a bit bland. Even something like a rope top edging around the diamond bed in the centre would help 'enliven' it.

Pattern and Design - well, that's a BIG question, as I can come up with hundreds of designs, but it's finding one that suits you without being OTT or overly fussy, which would look daft in such a relatively small area. If you do go for the random stone, then a random pattern would seem to be the order of the day. Pinks Hill do a Layout service, or you can email me.

Finally, I would not let bloody interior decorators anywhere near a paving job!! Interior decorators are scared of the rain and the mud, and those nasty rough paving materials might scratch their baby-soft little hands - leave them inside sewing hems on curtains or ballsing-up the colour scheme, and insist on a professional paving contractor. ;)

I'm really surprised that the Loss Adjusters have suggested you use IntDecs - if you had a gas leak, would they recommend a glazier? Each man to his trade: insist on a paving specialist. There's dozens of 'em around that part of the world. :)