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I'm going to need to build an all weather path to my new studio shed. There is about eight inches of loamy soil on top of a hard stoney layer. Water doesn't percolate through the hard layer which makes the top gloopy when wet.
I plan to dig back down to the hard layer, put some shoring boards in, then in fill the channel with hardcore.
What should I use as a path foundation material? I've heard that recycled crushed brick and concrete makes a good cheap foundation, but don't know where I can find it or indeed what it is called. I live near a quarry so I could equally get a load type of type one, rent a compactor, then put some gravel on top.
Am I thinking along the right lines?
hardcore (provides drainage) then scalpings (on top)
sand also commonly used
sort of OT after my (concrete base) patio experience I an now tempted to try a 'walls filled with sand' base - less concrete and sand doesn't compact and if it can move up/down/sideways it presumably will be ok
edit - if you mow consider the edge, my dad (who does lawns) likes sunken paving stones cause he just mows over them, and they might be less effort to install,
given your wood position could you lay a path of trunk circles or get arty and do an ancient Pict type walkway
Type 1 or scalpings would be an option to lay and pack on top of your hardcore.
Recycled can be type 1 or 6f5. Basically different size. I'd never use scalpings/planings as they're shite. If the hard layer is that "non porous" I'd use a 20 mm single size limestone or similar.
+1 for 20mm single size, it will drain better.
Rather than put boards in at the sides, I'd line the base and sides with Terram or similar geotextile - it will allow free drainage while keeping silt out of the stones, and you won't have to worry about the top edge of the boards as trip / mowing hazard.
You can normally get free hardcore/rubble from the free-ads or gumtree in the free to collector section. Plenty good enough for a path.
Great advice guys as ever. It's a wild spot where the studio is sited, snow drops now, daffodils next, then nettles for the rest of the year. So I will mostly be strimming rather than mowing. I will nip down to the quarry and see if they can supply me with the 20mm chips.
I'm not planning anything too arty or funky just yet, simply something that doesn't resemble a peat bog.
Non-woven geotextile - provides a stable base. Like the stuff they use under train tracks and stuff like that.
When I had a job building upland footpaths back in the mid 90s, we would use Terram and Tensar to stabilise the base for paths that passed over soft, peaty ground. Tensar is the plastic grid which protects the delicate geotextile base from tearing when you dump hardcore on it. Only really needed if the ground was very soft or poorly drained, otherwise just dig back to solid earth, whack in some boulder hardcore and surface it with fine sandy gravel.
Will offer consultancy for tea 😀
Delicate geotextile? You mean too thin? But yes, it can be combined with other products (in fact you can buy it pre-fabricated bonded to other products like Terram). Some of these products would provide a far superior base than hardcore but perhaps quite a bit more expensive and too much for the OP installation.
Cheap and cheerful is top of my wish list. I just need something rugged that will support my not insubstantial weight.
Stuartie, if you are passing look in, I'll pop the kettle on.
Its a path for foot traffic, 20 mm single size is perfect trust me. If you want to put a little bit of textile down then just go for the plantex type which comes on a 1200 or 2500 roll I think. It'll stop the weeds coming thro also. Avoid a 10 mm single size as it'll drive you mad as it spreads everywhere! One other bonus of the gravel is that it doesn't require compacting therefore saving you from smashing **** out of your newly laid gravel boards with your whacker plate.
Wrightyson+1
How about 6 x 1 pegged in to provide sides and fill with wood chip. Cheap cheerful and far more environmentally friendly than stone.
I used the 20mm limestone from B&Q over a layer of Terram with success in the UK on the side of my drive.
Compacts down well, stops any cats digging it up and crapping everywhere too.