How to level backyard for paving?

Phil1982

TLDR: I want to pave a section of my yard. What material should I use to build the ground level 250mm above the current lawn and sandstone bedrock?

The back of my flat yard has a sandstone bedrock slab emerging from the lawn, which runs to the boundary fence. The fence is a cinderblock retaining wall.

I want to build the ground level up at the back of the yard so I can pave the area (2.5m x 8m). To reach the height of the sandstone, the deepest part of the area I want to build up will be 250mm.

I will be building a small retainging wall with step to contain the material.

what is a recommended fill that will be long lasting, will prevent movement of the pavers, will allow drainage etc?

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Comments

MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Phil1982. It's terrific to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about levelling and area.

My major concern here would be building up the ground level against the wall of the house. If you raise it by 250mm, there’s a good chance you’ll be going above the damp-proof course (DPC) or blocking the weep holes in your brickwork. That’s definitely something you want to avoid, as it can allow water to enter the wall cavity and cause serious moisture issues inside the house. Building codes usually require at least 75mm clearance below the DPC and weep holes to any finished surface like paving, so it’s something to carefully check before going ahead.

As for the fill material itself, if clearance isn’t an issue, I’d recommend using a compactable road base as your main fill. It’s designed to lock together tightly when compacted, which helps prevent the movement of pavers and provides good drainage. You’d compact it in layers as you build up the area. Then you'd typically add a layer of bedding sand (like washed river sand) over the top before laying the pavers.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

Phil1982

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/51316#Comment_51316

That is so much for this advice Mitchell, it’s very helpful.

I wasn’t sure about the drainage with road base so great to hear it’s a good porous option.

Blonde brick is my garage, and though there are no weep holes to avoid, it will be about 300mm above the interior garage floor, which is a slab.

I had considered moisture ingress and had a few ideas, including running an ag line around the perimeter, or even just waterproofing or adding a core flute barrier between the fill and the brickwork. But curious to get further advice on this from the forum.

EricL

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/87797#Comment_87797

Hello @Phil1982

I'm in agreement with Mitchell in regards to providing a gap between your brick wall and the raised paving section. I would probably suggest combing all three suggested safety features such as using a gap, waterproofing and an agi pipe for drainage. The farther away the raised section is the less of a moisture threat it will be to your brick wall.

Let me call on our experienced members @Dave-1 and @Nailbag for their recommendations.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

Dave-1

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/109464#Comment_109464

Good Evening @Phil1982

Well you can go down my path and end up with water transferring itself to your nice sparkly garage (Thats what happened to me)

Or you can do a mixture of water proofing the outside and install a drainage at the base level but also keep the soil/roadbase off the wall by a bricks width at least. Fixing water ingress issues in garage Is the solution I ended up doing. For you it would be much easier to make an airbreak to stop any future issues 🙂 Drainage should always be factored in and as you are yet to start it will be far easier.

I dont think I would trust a core flute solution btw.

Dave

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