Laying paving flags

I’ve been given a load of paving flags ( top of photo ) as you can see at the moment the yard is a mess.

It’s just an hopscotch of bits of solid stuff that’s been placed over the years since the original York stones were nicked years ago.

Just looking for some advice about preparing the ground for laying the stones as I also have vehicle access to the yard so it needs to be solid.

When I’ve lifted whats there at the moment and binned it, should I just flatten the soil out or am I better off digging out a bit and putting stone or sand or something down ?

Thanks

Paving expert
Everything you ever need to know about paving.

Horrible, back breaking work – those things weigh a ton.
Get someone in. Let them rip their hands to shreds and bugger their spine.
Do a couple of days overtime at what you are good at and pay someone to do what they are good at. They’ll have the equipment and will do a better job in half the time.

bikemike speaks some sense, practically and financially, but it’s a very straightforward diy job and satisfying to be out doing manual work if you have a desk job. IME.

Start by taking out all the existing ‘slabs’ and cobbles – pile them up – they’ll come in handy for the groundwork once the soil has been dug out to a sufficient depth to accommodate the hardcore necessary for decent levels – Groundwork can eat up all your budget in no time so wheather you take the job on or outsource it be mindful of skip costs .. Have you got good access? That will make or break the cost and efficiency of the job – If you can’t get a mini digger in and it’s all got to be dug out by hand and later sand and cement wheel barrowed through then Labour costs /time could be an issue – Be mindful of levels – drainage – stay below the property’s damp course . . Project management could be a happy medium between DIY and Subcontractors ..

Don’t get too close to your damp proof course (if you have one) and cause headaches later!

Mine would have been too close and not being able to lower it due to shallow drains, went for a gravel strip which is the easiest workaround. It fills with rubbish though so next time I would use a grated drain along the wall.

When myself and mrscarlos did our 9′ x 28′ driveway we dug out 15 inch depth of mud/clay/sandstone. Then put in 12 inch of hardcore (broken up bricks/concrete) filled all the gaps with ballast and compacted it with a whacker plate. On top of this we compacted another inch of ballast then each flag was laid on a good inch and a half of wet concrete.
It took us nearly 2 weeks of the wife digging out on a morning and me going to the tip every afternoon to dig out the footings and a further 3 weekends to refil and lay the flags.
We’re really happy with the job , it all looks reasonably well done with only one small area that gets a puddle but there’s no way I’m about to dig it all up to fix one area. If you don’t have the time to spare and can afford it I’d think about getting someone in to do it for you especially at this time of year.

Really, are you parking a chieftain on it?!

Assuming you aren’t going to be parking a car on it, remove all the old stuff, level it off then lay the new flags on a bed of dry sand with a bit of cement added…
The ground under the existing will be well settled looking how long they’ve been down.

I did my patio myself last year. It was back-breaking but VERY satisfying.

Pavingexpert.com – use that, don’t stray from it, bend at the knees, invest in good gloves and enjoy.

Are all the existing flags solid enough to park your car or whatever on without any rocking or wobbling? They look like they are. If you don’t mind a few inches extra height I’d be considering putting the new ones on a continuous base of mortar about 1.5″ deep and leave them where they are. You’ll have a lot of rubble and soil to dig out and get rid of otherwise.

If you have to dig out, a few inches of ‘crusher run’ well compacted with a wacker plate is my favoured approach.

Why remove the old stuff? They are not going anywhere. Lay straight over the top on a full mortar bed. Do not 5 spot them.