Patio project - guidance please

bucksman

I am upgrading a corner of my garden, the old shed I have removed,  I am digging out an area roughly 5m x 3m for a new shed and patio. I am around 200mm below the final level of the porcelain pavers.  I aim to add type 1 and whack it down every 50mm or so leaving 20-30mm for a cememnt bed of the pation slabs. Two questions please:
1.  Should I lay on the clay ground work a membrane before adding the type 1?
2. Two sides of the patio will be up against the wooden fence, do I need to include any strengthening here to stabilise these edges?  On the other edge there is going to be a low level supporting wall constructed with 100 x 200 sleepers. 

Thank you in advance for your guidance. 

weeg

My first instinct is : yes to type1, no to cement bed. The tiles will crack. Bed them on sand and re-level as required. Membrane does very little laid over clay, so I wouldn't bother.

I know of no better source of advice than https://www.pavingexpert.com/ (I worked in an office where the engineers used to refer to that site for technical advice for domestic building warrants)

stuart45

bucksman said:

I am upgrading a corner of my garden, the old shed I have removed,  I am digging out an area roughly 5m x 3m for a new shed and patio. I am around 200mm below the final level of the porcelain pavers.  I aim to add type 1 and whack it down every 50mm or so leaving 20-30mm for a cememnt bed of the pation slabs. Two questions please:
1.  Should I lay on the clay ground work a membrane before adding the type 1?
2. Two sides of the patio will be up against the wooden fence, do I need to include any strengthening here to stabilise these edges?  On the other edge there is going to be a low level supporting wall constructed with 100 x 200 sleepers. 

Thank you in advance for your guidance. 

I prefer to build a retaining wall around the perimeter for a patio to stop any movement, but you might get away without one.
Mortar beds are probably the most popular method in the UK, but you will need to prime the backs. Alternatively, you can lay on a no fines sharp sand, or a very accurate concrete slab and tile adhesive.

FreeBear

bucksman said: I am digging out an area roughly 5m x 3m for a new shed and patio. I am around 200mm below the final level of the porcelain pavers.

When I dug out the base for my drive, I went down ~200mm ( bit more in some areas). A neighbour that "does" patios & hard landscaping asked how many HGVs I planned on parking on it...

150mm of hardcore is generally the recommended depth for drives. 100mm for paths & patios. As long as you put in an adequate fall so that rainwater drains away, you are going to have a very sturdy base that will last.

With both the drive and patio I've done here, I've not bothered with a membrane or any edge restraints. That said, two sides of the drive are constrained by a brick wall, and the other edges have a ~150mm deep concrete haunching with the last row of blocks bedded in. I doubt very much that it will move.