ᐅ Patio slabs instead of grass – challenging conditions

Hello,

for 2017, we are planning to transform our garden into a "courtyard."

Here’s the situation: We spend a lot of time in the garden. When we go outside from the terrace, there is grass – or rather, there used to be grass.

We have small children and go outside in all kinds of weather. Now we want to create a courtyard with slabs (not paving stones) so that the children can comfortably ride vehicles like pedal tractors – meaning a relatively smooth surface. Besides, we don’t really like paving stones; slabs look nicer to us.

This wouldn’t be a problem, if it weren’t for some circumstances that complicate everything:

1: You can easily spend 100 euros per square meter on the subbase. For 120 m2 (1,292 sq ft), this is simply too expensive for us; we need a more affordable alternative. We are trying to buy used slabs and want to save money on the subbase because

2: The garden cannot be accessed by lorries. A small mini excavator can get in, but that’s it. So even if we wanted a subbase of about 40 cm (16 inches), disposing of the excavation material would be so complicated and costly that it doesn’t make sense.

I have researched online for a long time and have an idea how a subbase with just a few centimeters might work: There is a company that sells plastic grass grid pavers as a base for paving, which they recommend.

This way, you avoid excavating deeply.

Has anyone tried this before? Does anyone have ideas on how we can create a smooth, clean, stable courtyard from grass/mud without deep excavation and without spending 10,000 euros?

Maybe there is an option I haven’t thought of yet.

Thank you very much for your helpful ideas!

Best regards,
Felix

Basically, I wouldn’t recommend skimping on the substructure. If it’s not solid, it will quickly look bad. Instead of being smooth, the surface might end up uneven, like a hilly terrain.
Can you use a wheelbarrow there? If so, maybe consider an electric cart.
I have no experience with these plastic grass pavers.

Whether you can save on the substructure probably also depends on the soil. In a peatland area, the substructure requirements differ from those on rock.

I can only share that decades ago, I laid a garden path where there was previously lawn. I just removed a thin layer of soil about the thickness of the paving slabs and then laid the slabs directly on the bare soil (I didn’t have any sand at the time). That path is still there, and so far no settling or anything like that has occurred.

If your soil is well compacted, it might be enough to remove some soil, level out unevenness with sand, and then lay the slabs. Of course, I cannot say for sure if that will work for you.

If you ever want to remove this area again, it is certainly an advantage if you haven’t used any expensive-to-dispose materials as the substructure. Therefore, I would avoid using gravel or similar materials if possible and use only sand. Of course, sand can sometimes cause problems with ants. But if the slabs are laid so close together that there are virtually no gaps between them, this problem doesn’t usually arise.

Occasionally, people give away slabs for free. Check local classified ads.

Thank you, Gartenfreund, for your feedback.

One question: Did you install the individual slabs with large gaps between them or placed them tightly together to create a "continuous" path? (Of course with joints/small gaps..)
What size are the slabs?

Best regards

FelixPrüfer schrieb:
At 120 m2 (1290 sq ft), it’s just too expensive for us; we need a more affordable option. We’re trying to buy the panels second-hand and want to save on the substructure – because

Have you already considered where the runoff will go when sealing 120 m2 (1290 sq ft)?

Yes, we have, it is settled.