Vibrating plate required for foot path?

[Tim]

I need to put in a small foot path to my front door (3m x 1m. It will only be walked on (no vehicles). I've purchased some block paving (small brick type, approx 30-35mm deep). I'm reading on pavingexpert.com that it recommends using a vibrating plate to compact the MOT, Scree and Block layers.

If this is just a foot path, would I get away with jumping up and down on a board? Or putting a board down and hitting with a lump hammer?

Regards,

Tim

[Palindrome]

The odds are, no. You won't get away with it. It does, of course, depend on what the ground is like, but you probably aren't going to get enough compaction that way - and the blocks will settle later.

As it is a small area, you could possibly manage with a hand rammer, eg:

However, personally, I'd hire a vibratory one. It's only twenty quid or so. No blisters. No aching back. A much better job in much less time. Less risk of injury (bring a hand rammer down on your foot and no steel toe cap = no toenails).

If you do hire one, get them to start it for you in the shop. You will hopefully not get to find out why!

-- Sue

[Tim]

Thanks for the advise. I've knocked the idea on the head though. I'd want to do a proper job of it and therefore would need to hire a vibrating plate. This would cost £30 for 1 day or about £40 for a weekend. Plus I'd have to have it delivered (additional cost). A block cutter would also have been nice, not spending an age with an angle grinder. Mixing cement and concrete on a board all day didn't sound like much fun either.

The idea was to do the job for £100, but with these extra costs I may as well get asphalt/tarmac put down and have a proper job done of it. OK that will cost £250 to £300 (hopefully), but will look loads better.

Thanks again,

Tim

[Rob graham]

Well, make sure you demand and get the right spec. With structures like roads and footpaths its the under-structure that counts. A poor base simply mean that your posh-looking path sinks in odd places and you wish you hadn't done it. Then what do you do next?

Rob Graham

[Tim]

Yeah that's what I figured, hence why I wasn't entirely happy doing the job without a vibrating plate. But the cost of hiring one would mean I'm getting closer to tarmac costs. Still I've had one guy quote £800 for a 4m squared. Sounded like a bit of a geezer on the phone. Guess he wasn't interested :D

Thanks,

Tim