Sidewalk concrete project

[prvz27]

Hi everyone!

Hope you're all doing well and enjoying the Summer weather

Currently, our sidewalk design consists of these concrete slabs and the rest is dirt with pebbles on top. The issue we're having, is with transporting things along this sidewalk such as the lawnmower or wheelie bins. Wheels don't spin well on the dirt/pebbles and we end up having to drag the bins or the lawnmower across, leaving behind a trail.

It would be ideal to cover this whole area in concrete to ease transportation. However, we're not sure what the best way is to go about this project, as this is our first time tackling a project like this. We've had a friend suggest that we could remove all the pebbles, buy concrete slabs or make our own and lay them down like the existing concrete slabs already there. But the sidewalk does narrow down when going towards the back yard, so the concrete slabs will need to vary in size and angle. 

Would appreciate any other suggestions/advice here. 

Thank you

[MitchellMc]

Hi @prvz27,

It sounds like laying pavers over the whole area might be tricky. You'd need to adjust their size by cutting them down to suit the area becoming narrower. Perhaps you could lay a central run of them as wide as the garbage bins wheels leaving the pebbles on the outside.

You could pour concrete, and a cement mixer would be convenient if you were considering doing the job yourself. You might like to check out the recent discussion: Dog kennel by @HyacinthBucket. They were thrilled with the performance of their Ozito 120L 550W Cement Mixer.

Let me mention the knowledgeable @TedBear and @Yorky88 to see if they could offer an opinion.

Mitchell

[TedBear]

I am a believer in the (often overlooked) approach of - 'When in doubt, do both'.   Or in your case, do all - of the suggestions.

The pebbles offer you drainage (very good to have next to house walls) while also offering a border that can taper in to take care of the width variation.

The slabs you already have.

If you add paving bricks to the each side of the slabs with their widest edge facing the pathway ends (ie sticking out like wings) you would likely have a surface that is wide enough to accommodate the bin, etc. You can adjust the overall hard-path width to suit. I suggest putting bricks between the slabs too, so that the pebbles won't get under your feet when you use the path.

Then put pebbles back on both sides to fill in the tapering border and provide water drainage.

I have included a link to a picture I found on-line picture which will give you some idea of the kind of effect I am describing.

https://brandonlandscape.com/images/paving-patios/paving13.jpg

You will need to pull up what's there and start again though to get a good job, but it sounds like you are prepared to do that.

I hope that helps with developing ideas. I would be interested to see what you finally do with the area.

[MitchellMc]

Great advice, @TedBear! I really like the look of your example picture.

Many thanks for contributing.

Mitchell

[prvz27]

Thanks for the reply @MitchellMc 

We are thinking to do exactly that and lay a central run of the slabs. This will be the easiest way for us to tackle the issue.

Will send through pictures when project is completed !

[MitchellMc]

That sounds like a great idea @prvz27!

You should find this step-by-step guide useful: How to lay paving for a path.

Please let us know if you need any assistance or would like to share your results.

Mitchell