Courtyard renovation ideas wanted

[Marny]

I have a small area at the front of my house 4 x 4 metres. Its purpose is to hide the bins but I also want to use 3/4 of the area for a little garden to enhance the look as you can see it from a front bedroom windows. Years ago a friend helped me put down concrete tiles as it was more serviceable as we have an enormous gum on a nature strip which constantly drops leaves. The tiles are now uneven and some of them are broken exposing dirt. I don't want to have to pull up the tiles but want to know if I can just cover the area with stones and then pebble lock ensuring that the area is level. Or is there another option. I have thought of painting the tiles but this will neither level them or cover the dirt. I think the tiles became uneven because of the gum so the cover would need to be flexible and enable water to penetrative for the garden. What would you suggest?

Many thanks

Marny 

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Marny. It's fantastic that you've joined us and many thanks for your question.

Depending on how uneven the pavers are, Cirtex PebbleLock 0.5m² Permeable Pavers and pebbles could be a solution.

You might find that if you lift the uneven pavers and remove some of the underlying base material, it could allow them to sit flat again. This will be dependent on whether the roots are directly under the pavers or whether they are pushing the ground up.

Is the entire area affected or just certain portions, and what sort of garden do you want to create? If the pavers were only an issue in a certain area, perhaps you could build a garden bed on top covering the problem. You might like to check out our Top 10 most popular raised garden beds for some inspiration.

I look forward to following along with your project and providing assistance as needed.

Mitchell

[Marny]

Thanks Mitchell

Yes have leveled some but really want to change the appearance as well. Yes am considering raised gardens but need to allow for access to the bins. It is mainly the concrete tiles I want to cover. Maybe no quick answer .

Marny

[StevieB]

Hi @Marny,

Hope we've been able to help get you started on this project thanks to @MitchellMc's great ideas and suggestions. 

Feel free to post any extra questions you have for this space here and @MitchellMc will be more than happy to assist when he's back on the site on Friday. I'm sure our community members will also have plenty of fantastic advice in the meantime.

Stevie

[Marny]

I posted a while ago about what I should do with a very messy front utility area. I decided to bite the bullet and pulled up the pavers in the bin area. I used sand and a little concrete to lay the pavers on and to bind the pavers as they do not fit flush. Should I have used morter in the joints?

[MitchellMc]

Hi @Marny,

It sounds like you have laid the pavers correctly, and if anything, the gaps between pavers are usually filled with sand. Mortar is not required in-between the pavers as due to natural movement, it would eventually crack. If there are any gaps between the pavers, you might like to brush in some Dingo 20kg Powerloc Paving Sand. This sand has a binding agent to lock it into the gaps preventing it from being washed out.

Do you have any current images of your project? I trust our members would like to see your progress.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[Marny]

Many thanks. Will post picture tomorrow.  Will take your advice with the powerlock as it will be a much used part of the front courtyard.