How to make a cubby house base with pavers on an uneven lawn?

[PaverCurious]

Hi Bunnings workshop community, 

I have read a few threads about cubby house bases, and I am interested in creating a level base for a floor-less cubby house with pavers in my back garden as this seems like a long-lasting and safe solution. The lawn is slightly sloped/uneven, so we will need to level the area of lawn first somehow. The cubby house dimensions are 1600mm W x 1565mm D. I am hoping someone can give me a step by step process of what I will need to do to make this happen, as someone who is very inexperienced with projects like this. Alternatively, if this is the kind of project that would be impossible for an inexperienced/un-handy person to do, it would be helpful to be told that as well! I am nervous about going into Bunnings with no clue as to what I need. I have watched videos and read many websites but I am confused about what the simplest way to go about this would be - e.g. do I have to use mortar? Do I need to build a timber frame first? Does it need to be a special kind of timber?  

Thank you to anyone who may be able to help! 

[EricL]

Hello @PaverCurious

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your question about using pavers as a base for a cubby house.

Before you begin, I suggest drawing a plan with pen and paper. I propose thinking about the size of the cubby house base, do you want it to be a bit bigger so that you have a small walkway around the house? Do you want it to be just a little bit bigger than the frame of the house? Once you have this measurement in mind you can begin thinking about the size of the paver.

Earlier you gave a measurement of 1600mm x 1565mm, is this the recommended base size by the manufacturer or is this the size of the house frame indicated on the box? If it is, your base will need to be a bit bigger so that the cubby house sits on the base and not on the soil. So, let's say for example that you chose a 400mm x 400mm paver, you would need 4 pavers to get a size of 1600mm width wise. In order to get the same size length wise, you would need 4 rows to get a total of 16 pavers.

In order to prepare the base for the pavers you can either dig or build a timber frame. If you plan on digging, you just need to consider the thickness of the gravel and sand you'll be putting in. If you build a timber frame, you just need to make sure that the frame is fully supported so that it does not bulge out when you fill it with gravel and sand.

I encourage you to draw up your plan and share it with our members and ask questions. We can then make recommendations on how to proceed.

Here are some discussions that might help you with your base planning:

• How to build a cubby house base? by @Takatala
   
• Cubby house base ideas? by @SxcMnx
   
• What to use for cubby house base? by@katew1.

Here are some handy step-by-step guides:

• How to lay paving for a path by @Adam_W
   
• How to prepare for paving
   
• How to lay pavers

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric