Gravel on top of old flags?

Red-Squirrel_2

Hi all, would be grateful for any advice on this!

The first 'section of my garden is an ugly patio with uneven 50 year old flags down. Its the full width of the house and about 10 feet long, then there is a low wall with a couple of steps and the nice bit starts with the lawn!

Because of the change in level, I do want to keep it as a patio type area but the flags are awful, they are so uneven that water collects every time it rains and algae stuff grows really quickly and is a pain to get rid of.

Can I put gravel straight on top of the old flags or am I going to cause more problems than I solve? I don't have a great deal of spare cash to throw at the problem but as the weather gets nicer it seems a shame that what could be a lovely shaded area is just a grotty bin store ruining the rest of the garden!

I should mention that the house is a semi, and that the neighbours have extended so one 'border' of this area is their wall.

Lizabeth21

Gravel 'patios' are not easy to use - hard to walk on, unstable for table and chairs etc.
I've just had my 20year old patio refurbished - I pressure washed it and had someone come and relay it for me. I'm hoping it will last another 20 years!
Ask around for recommendations.

sheramber

Water will continue to collect and algae will continue to grow as the lack of drainage will still be there.

Pull up the slabs, rake the ground level where necessary, and firm the ground, lay down a membrane and then put the gravel on top.

Only extra expense will be for the membrane as the gravel will cost the same.

Davesnave

Older slabs can be attractive if they aren't some hideous colour. Accumulated grime helps them to blend more easily into a garden environment, so even if you don't want them, a 'natural' style gardener might.

For that reason, you could list them on Freecycle, Gumtree, or similar and someone will probably remove them for free, saving you the bother.

Me, I'd clean them up, pull them up and re-lay them on a decent base.

Whatever you do, don't compromise the neighbour's or your own DPC and stay 150mm below it.

Red-Squirrel_2

Looks like I'll have to do a proper job of it then! The flags are awful, half grey half faded red and look like something from an Eastern Bloc playground!

Thanks for the help.