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landscape designGardens
gwenz_babey

Clay soil patio advice

gwenz_babey
2 years ago

Hi guys!!!
I'm stuck on what to do. Just moved into a new house and we have clay soil in the garden. We have grass but it gets so boggy in winter with puddles of water and in summer it's cracked. I don't think there's point in trying to grow the grass etc. We have a cockapoo and if anyone knows what they're like then you'll know it's like having a mini JCB. 😂 digs everything, eats mud and gets STINKING. anyway.. we were thinking of putting a patio down, would this be OK on top of clay soil? Do you have any advice? Thanks!

Comments (5)

  • User
    2 years ago

    I have clay soil too. So long as you have a hardcore base, a patio will be fine. In fact my back garden was covered in paving slabs when I moved in.

  • Tani H-S
    2 years ago

    We also have clay soil here - great for putting an extension on! Lol.

    We also had concrete base and swapped for limestone slabs. No issue here but just make sure that it's slightly sloping away from the house (or to where your overflow is) as surface water will need somewhere to drain

    Our garden is stepped so we only had slight issue at bottom where stones were. We just dug down a bit further to break up the thick clay - mixed with larger stones for drainage then deep layer on top and it's much better now.

  • gwenz_babey
    Original Author
    2 years ago

    Our top bit where the grass is is really straight.. dunno where the water would drain to? 🙈 haha

  • User
    2 years ago

    You could install a soakaway

  • Sonia
    2 years ago

    You will need to dig down to lay Type 1 first, a kind of rough stones, this is then whacked down with a whacker, then your paving choice is cemented on top, This gives a good sound base. A decent landscaper will do it this way. If you have planting beds around it the water will drain off into them. To improve the soil in the beds you can mix in good topsoil or compost and horticultural grit. There are some plants that love wet soil so you can still have a wonderfully lush garden. Below is a pic of my brother preparing the ground for paving in my garden last year. I’m trying to share more pics but computer says no.......




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