BACKGROUND:

The Tembeleski family is well on the way to having an abundant and sustainable backyard. So far Costa has installed water tanks, an irrigation system and planted out garden beds that are already bearing fruit.

The next job is to put in the paving to create structure around the garden.  Paving provides the arteries of any garden design, creating paths that lead people around the space and defining areas for entertaining and play. The mission for the Tembeleski’s backyard is to create a large entertaining space and a brick path, which encircles the garden and doubles as a racetrack for the kids on their bikes. A design that’s both functional and fun.

MATERIALS:

Costa has collected the necessary materials:

- Road base
- Screed
- Pavers – which are 400mm by 400mm
- Common Bricks – Most were accumulated by cane and his dad and were in piles along every side passage…some had to be culled as they were broken, but we used these as a base for the elevated slabs we poured for the rainwater tanks. Others we used to chock up our posts prior to concreting.. Everything has a re-use. And the rest that got tossed out will be recycled for road base at the tip, because we kept our skip bins clean of rubbish, only brick, concrete and dirt…there is a saving to be had when you separate your waste…
 

TIPS:
Pavers

•    First up it’s critical to get the levels right before laying any pavers because it’s important that water drains away from the house.
•    Remember that levelling the area takes time and this detail is better done by hand.
•    Road base is the foundation of any paving job and is made from recycled crushed concrete.  Get it roughly level, gently water in, and then use a plate compactor to lock it in place.
•    After compacting the road base Costa added a layer of crusher dust, or screed, on top. Other alternatives include washed river sand.
•    Costa then levelled the base. Remember that it’s important to have a little fall so the paving drains from high to the low side.
•    Costa selected a limestone paver to compliment the yellow of the house. But because it’s a light colour it needs to be sealed, otherwise any mark on the pavers will stain. Once the pavers are sealed they will clean easily.

PATHS:

Costa chose a rustic brick look for the paths, which contrasts well with the clean lines of the larger patio style pavers.

•    When laying the bricks use a similar foundation of road base and crusher dust.
•    Common bricks can be quite random in size and shape as there is invariably a mixture of both internal and external bricks. This means that you must lay each brick with some caution and address your string line so that you are aware of any variations in length , size or thickness. Its one thing to want a rustic look but its another to have a humpty dumpty look disguised as rustic. If you stick to your string lines you will get the best result.
•    But when laying bricks it’s critical to get them straight. Firstly Costa used a string line to mark out where he wanted the bricks.
•    When you do get gaps open up, just stick to your string lines and remember to step back and check regularly from a distance
•    Any gaps that open up will be filled with sand once the bricks are laid to plan.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

Patio Pavers were : Hewnstone Smooth Limestone 400mmx 400mm from
 
Paving Plus Cnr Pennat Hills Rd and Yarrara Rd Pennant Hills
Ph: 94841855
Contact : Colleen
www.pavingplus.com.au
 
Common Bricks;
The Brick Pit
Robert St Holroyd NSW 2142
Ph: 9637 6166
www.thebrickpit.com.au

Costa got road base ,crusher dust, sand  and cement from:
The Good Soil
98 Victoria St Smithfield NSW  2164
 Ph: 02 96045557
Contact : Tony
Web: www.thegoodsoil.com.au