hard core plus clay path

Unionworkeruk · July 2018

I have dug out the hard core from a concrete path at the side of my house It went down 12 inches and further. I am still finding bricks rubble and stones embedded in the clay underneath. It is about 2 metres across and 10 long and filled about 150 rubbish bags, so far.

I really dont want to keep on hacking it out with a pickaxe as it seems to be getting me nowhere with a never ending mess of clay, stones and rubble.

Ideally I want to lay a wooden path made up of sawn scaffold boards down the centre and have a wooden plateform at one end for storage, the width of a scaffold board, and soil either side for , hopefully plants. It only gets a few hours of sun a day.

Rather than keep digging which seems to just compound the problem of clay and hardcore could I lay, possibly sand (What sort ?), and build a slightly raised path on 4x4" timber embeded in the sand and try dig out more on the sides or build raised beds with top soil to use for plants ?

Any advice would be helpful.

Kitty 2 · July 2018

Hi @Unionworkeruk
Have you already dug down 12" across the whole space? Not sure why you're removing the existing hardcore? Is the old path higher than the DPC?

When we replaced the cracked tarmac path at the side of ours we only took off the top few inches and left the gritty stuff beneath as a base. Levelled it with a couple of inches of sharp sand, then laid a path of heavy duty 3'x2' flagstones.

I've never done a wooden path but imagine the ground prep would be similar to decking maybe...?
A word of warning. You say it only gets a few hours of sun, is it north facing? If so, slippy moss and algae growth could be an issue on a wooden surface.
I wouldn't build raised beds along the side of the house wall side without leaving an adequate gap for ventilation.

My views are those of an enthusiastic diy'er, not a builder. Hope that more experienced forumers can chip in with better advice. A photo of the site might help.
Good luck with the project 😊.

Unionworkeruk · July 2018

I have already dug it up as there were about four layers of thick screed which had broken up at different levels with hardcore, bricks and huge stones poking through in parts. It has never been leveled off before pouring the concrete on top.

I am now back to earth clay and stones which I can level off with sharp sand as you say and lay the supports for the path down the centre. I think I will then get some soil to fill the sides and hopefully be able to grow something

Thanks for your help

Nollie · July 2018

Good sensible advice Kitty. Do make sure it is sharp sand that you use and not general builders sand, which will bind with the clay underneath to form an impenetrable substrate that will impact on drainage. Personally I favour using grit rather than sand, which (with no scientific evidence to back it up) I feel it allows for more natural movement and swelling of the wood when wet because of its larger size. If it does get slippery, you could hammer in some decorative studs to aid purchase underfoot - make a feature of it perhaps? I would also second Kitty’s advice re not building up the soil on the house without an air gap. I left about an inch from the wall when creating a raised bed against it, but should have left a bigger gap as the stone wall still gets a bit damp. In other places I used big planters:

hard core plus clay path

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