Create a stone and brick courtyard - preparing the base

With some judicious planting, this attractive stone- and brick-paved area will become a focal point for outdoor relaxing and entertaining.

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Tools: Leather gloves; safety glasses; hearing protection; garden hose; shovel; rake; wheelbarrow; hammer; brick hammer; tape measure; chalk line and blue chalk; stringline; wooden stakes; permanent felt markers; lengths of 19mm galvanised water pipe. These materials and other requisites are available from Builders Warehouse.

Materials: (in quantities to suit specific area involved): 75–100mm-thick random stone flags; bricks or pavers (for 230 x 110mm bricks, allow 40 per square metre); filter fabric; 20mm roadbase (1 tonne covers approximately 10 square metres to a depth of about 150mm); paving blend sand (to cover the area to a depth of about 25mm); sufficient fine sand to fill gaps around stones and bricks.

Preparing the base

1. When you have found a suitable spot, make a rough sketch showing trees, shrubs and garden beds, then take measurements [suggestion: ’Beware of going too close to trees and shrubs; not only might you end up cutting roots, but also, in time as the plants grow, their roots might lift the base.’]. Transfer these measurements to graph paper, letting each square equal 500mm. Lay tracing paper over your plan and sketch in the stone border and bricks.
Outline the courtyard with a garden hose. Then mark 150mm beyond the perimeter with spray marking paint. Also align adjoining paths.

2. Tie a stringline to stakes driven in at each end of the courtyard so it is aligned with the best drainage direction. Use a line or water level to adjust the string until it is level. Then lower one end of the string 25mm for every 3m of length to establish a sloped reference line.

3 . Dig out the courtyard area to a depth of about 200–250mm below the finished patio level. Measure from the string to gauge the depth. Hold a level on a 2400mm straightedge to check areas on both sides of the string.

4. Cover the ground with filter fabric (optional) after tamping it with the plate compactor. Landscape filter fabric stabilises the soil underneath the roadbase, keeping the materials apart while allowing water to drain through. Now spread a 50mm layer of roadbase over the top of the layer of fabric.