Need paving and creative ideas for backyard makeover

[mattcouts]

Hey team 

I’ve got a space (included in pictures) which is part concrete slab and part brick paving which is sat on mud (no base or sand).

I’d like to do something creative with the space but the first stage is to cover the area. I know that best practice is to use a base material, cover it with sand and then put pavers on top. Just curious whether to keep the bricks where they are and build on top or take them out and start from the mud layer… 

The other part of the project I’m thinking of running the Jasmine along the wall and replanting a 2m magnolia tree in the corner. Add some chairs or even an arbour of some kind and have a nice reading space. 

I’d welcome any feedback on those ideas! Note; I’ve never done anything like this before and ideally I’d do it myself (with the help of a Father in law)…

 

[JacobZ]

Hi @mattcouts,

Thank you for sharing your project plans and welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is fantastic to have you with us.

I'd suggest starting by drawing out a basic bird's eye view layout of the space with some measurements. Having some very basic plans on paper often gets you thinking creatively and will help to organise your ideas. Uploading a photo of your plan will also certainly help our members offer their best advice.

With any paving project, you are best to start with a clean slate. I'd suggest removing what is there and starting fresh, that way you can adjust the heights, add your base and add drainage to the space if required. Check out How to install garden drainage and How To Prepare And Lay a Base For Pavers for some guidance.

It will be fairly easy to remove the brick pavers, but you may need to use a jackhammer to remove the concrete.

Remember to take into consideration how high you want the finished surface to sit. If, for example, you use 50mm of drainage gravel or road base and a 50mm thick paver, you will need to excavate 100mm below your finished height.

Jasmine along a fence line always looks wonderful. Check out Training climbers to screen a fence from @royq for a great example.

An arbour is also a brilliant idea. We are currently helping @BeginnerPaul with his arbour. A similar design might be brilliant for your space.

Another thing to consider is lighting. There are great options for solar lights, however, if you want anything to run off 240 volts, you will need an electrician to assist.

The possibilities are always daunting when you are in the planning stage, so you might benefit from checking out some of the following articles:

• How To Design a Garden
   
• How To Plan & Landscape a Garden Makeover
   
• How To Design A Landscaping Plan
   
• How To Lay Pavers
   

Also, allow me to tag some of our helpful members to see what they think, @Noelle, @Noyade, @Dave-1, @Jewelleryrescue, @Nailbag.

Let me know if you have any further questions; I look forward to seeing your project come to life.

Jacob

[Dave-1]

Good Evening @mattcouts 

New area to play with! Oh yeah. I usually end up with too many ideas lol

Because of the slope of your yard and how it looks like the low point of the yard is that corner I am thinking of a low level deck as a solution. 

You would still need to lift the pavers (no point covering a resource you can use later) but the concrete can stay.

Then as long as the timber is say 50mm above the concrete you have a base level of your joists to start from.

If you go for a deck things that you should factor in.

Drainage (jsuts o it dosnt end up a mud pit underneath or impact neighbours)

Height of the deck compared to the fence, you dont want to see straight into your neighbours (your vine will help with that and Jasmine grows fast)

How a raised deck will "sit" in your garden. As in will it flow and blend or stand out sharply. Either is ok, just comes down to your style.

Low voltage lighting so you dont need to worry about a sparky installing. Do you want some posts incorporated into the deck to string lights between?

Lasty, what type of path do you want to get to your new area? Stepping stones set at ground level? Pebble lined path? Mixture of Both?

As I said so much fun! Take heaps of photos, as @JacobZ suggests sketching it out top down is great. Id also add both side plane sketches as well to give you that "feel" I did that when I was landscaping my front yard and path. Believe it or not it ended up narrowing down things and turned out like my sketch. Just havd a squiz at my bookmarks.

Dave