We're about to lay a crushed gravel path with 'stepping stone' pavers down the side of our house to replace the dirt and weeds that are there currently. This neat job by KnockItDown illustrates almost exactly what we want to do (hope you don't mind me linking to it!).
viewtopic.php?p=676753#p676753
Down the side of our house there are three small drainage 'grates' that lead down to the stormwater. (The area gets a lot of water when it rains) Unfortunately these have been placed a little higher than ideal, and apparently can't be relocated any lower in the ground because of the height of the stromwater pipe running underneath. Also, the termite barrier on the house is only maybe 10cm higher than the level of the drain, giving us little room to work with. Our plan is to grade the existing soil smoothly away from the house and towards the drain grates at a slight downward slope. We then will lay and compact an approx 7cm crushed gravel layer on top of the soil, and perhaps put decorative pebbles on top of that. I've attached a very crude diagram showing our plan, and also a photo of the area.
1. During rain, will the water run over the crushed gravel, or is it more likely to seep through and instead gather on the natural soil underneath? I'd like to know whether the natural soil level needs to be at a sufficient height that it will drain into the grate, or if the compacted gravel should be at this height. If possible I'd like to be able to excavate some of the soil out to give us a deeper layer of gravel before it reaches the termite barrier, but that would mean that only the layer of gravel would be above the drain, as shown in the diagram.
2. Is there a more suitable medium for this than crushed gravel?
3. Is there any advantage to a layer of sand or weed mat underneath the gravel to stop it sinking into the soil over time? I've heard mixed opinions on this.
4. We plan to lay 'stepping stone' concrete pavers approx 40cm from each other down the length of the path. I'd originally planned to set these in mortar but have heard that setting them on a layer of gravel and then sand works well, and they can then be adjusted later if need be. Can anybody suggest which of these methods would be more suitable?
5. If we were to concrete the pavers in, is a bed of gravel and sand underneath each one the best bet?
I know that's a lot of questions, sorry. Any and all advice you guys could give me would be really helpful. We're first timers at this and learning lots as we go.
Thanks very much in advance!
http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad325/cjones83/diagram2.jpg
http://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad325/cjones83/Pathwayprep.jpg