Hi and sorry for the delayed response.
Thanks for the pictures. Okay, redoing it once is understandable – but generally I’m not really a fan of exposed aggregate concrete :).
The lawn edging stones will be replaced too, right?
You definitely need some form of edge restraint (curbstone, wedge, bonding, fixed bearing supports, ...) so that the slabs in the outermost row don’t slip.
The lawn is currently also higher than the path itself, isn’t it?
Anyway, everything has to be removed first for now. Then I would really take a look at the condition of the subbase to see if it’s okay.
It would be quite unfortunate if you put in so much effort now and then the slabs settle heavily.
Can you currently access the terrace level with the ground, or is there a step from the door to the terrace?
Depending on how the heights are generally required, it might make sense to adjust the substructure accordingly to level out the heights.
It might not be so easy, since there are also finished light wells etc. that must be considered.
How big are the height differences currently?
At the points where the path and terrace meet, you could try to create a suitable slope so that the heights are “equalized.”
But as already mentioned, a few details are still missing. What size do you imagine the desired slabs to be?
Best regards
Paddy
Thank you very much for the detailed response and the ideas.
Thanks for the pictures. Okay, redoing it once is understandable – but generally I’m not really a fan of exposed aggregate concrete :).
Exactly, we feel the same way ;-)
You definitely need some form of edge restraint (curbstone, wedge, bonding, fixed bearing supports, ...) so that the slabs in the outermost row don’t slip.
Curbstones with concrete wedges are planned. What would you think about stainless steel edging?
We can’t really find suitable edging stones for the light terrace slabs.
The lawn is currently also higher than the path itself, isn’t it?
Correct. The paths will all be a good bit narrower, hopefully that will help to balance it out well.
Anyway, everything has to be removed first for now. Then I would really take a look at the condition of the subbase to see if it’s okay.
It would be quite unfortunate if you put in so much effort now and then the slabs settle heavily.
Definitely! What would you pay attention to? One problem is that there is quite a lot of weed in the path, which I would of course like to remove. But then you would probably have to touch a lot of the subbase.
Can you currently access the terrace level with the ground, or is there a step from the door to the terrace?
Depending on how the heights are generally required, it might make sense to adjust the substructure accordingly to level out the heights.
It might not be so easy, since there are also finished light wells etc. that must be considered.
How big are the height differences currently?
At the points where the path and terrace meet, you could try to create a suitable slope so that the heights are “equalized.”
We want to try this in the planning now.
1. The terrace currently has no slope. Towards the path, it will get 1%, so at the path the terrace will be 4-5 cm lower than it is currently.
2. The path lies lower than the grass (about 5 cm).
As a result, the height difference should no longer be quite so large. I estimate the height from light well to terrace at about 5 cm. I would try to balance that out.
But as already mentioned, a few details are still missing. What size do you imagine the desired slabs to be?
The slabs we currently have in mind come in 60x60 and 120x60. My wife prefers rectangular slabs; I’m not yet sure if I dare to install the bigger slabs (with help). The height adjustment will probably be harder the larger the slabs become, right?
Do you have an opinion on cross/third/half bonding? With the gravel bedding supports, a cross bond would be suitable, but with the rectangular slabs I imagine that wouldn’t look as nice as a third bond.