DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

Hi,

I need to replace a water pipe running to the street, down the side of my Victorian semi, so I'll be replacing the existing concrete path.

My question is, which material will be easiest, as well as allowing me to drag the bins from the back of the house to the street?

I like the idea of gravel, because of the security aspect, but moving the bins across that would be tough.
I've been told that slate chippings compact well, as an alternative.

Does anybody have any feedback or alternative suggestions?

Thanks!

You really want pea shingle around the water main, then back fill with earth to around 6-9" from finish level. From here you want lay around 7" of type one & really compact this down "preferably with a wacker plate".
Then put 1" of 14mm natural gravel on top to finish.
I have this as a drive & pulling the bins across it is fine if you don't make the gravel finish to deep.
You could us crushed concrete instead of type one, but you might have to through out the bigger lumps or break them up. But will be cheaper.

Thanks for the reply.

I'm not sure if I could use a wacker plate, as the sewage pipe also runs under the path and I wouldn't want it to fracture (IF there's any risk of that).

Mind you, that makes me think...maybe I can't run water and waste pipes down the same side of the house?

As it's a semi-detached house, currently the waste pipes run under my side path and my adjoining neighbour's waste pipe also connects in at the back of the house.

Meanwhile, my water supply runs up their side path (I suppose we share the supply from the water main), and then across the back and into our kitchen.

My plan was to create a new water connection, so that we can use a larger diameter water pipe, to improve our water pressure (under advice).

Hence digging up the side path and replacing it.
But this is all going right off topic, so I'll check with my builder!

Don't worry about the wacker plate, just don't use where the pipes are getting near the surface, do this by hand.
The wacker "if a small one" only works around 2" down, so you should put the type one in a couple of inches at a time & build it up. If you don't, you will end up with an uneven path a few months down the line when it settles.