# Forum Home Renovation Paving  Paving under clothes line

## benandpou

Hi guys, I'm wanting to lay12 or so pavers underneath our wall mounted clothes line.  The pavers will be 400 x 400 with roughly 100mm gap between and the surround area will be covered with garden rocks.  Do you think that laying each paver on a pad of mortar/cement would be sufficient as opposed to putting down some road base and compacting it?  The ground in that area is pretty flat and hard....

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## SabreOne

Can't see  any reason why that wouldn't work,  but word of caution, I'd be concerned abot the 100mm  spacing being filled in with rocks, as when hanging out washing your eyes aren't looking at where you are placing your feet? Potential for ankle injury?

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## benandpou

Cool thanks, when I say garden rocks I mean the 20mm variety that will fill around the pavers and come up to the same height as the paver surface.

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## SabreOne

Yep, but don't underestimate how easy it is to trip over a very small "change of level". Maybe consider something like 10mm pea gravel or similiar.

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## joynz

> Yep, but don't underestimate how easy it is to trip over a very small "change of level". Maybe consider something like 10mm pea gravel or similiar.

  and there'll be weeds....

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## PlatypusGardens

Lay the pavers close together, no gap, no pebbles. 
Pebbles shift and move as you tread on them.
You'll end up kicking them on to the pavers and also expose the edges of the pavers, making them a trip hazard. 
Stepping stones or pavers wit large gaps and pebbles/gravel between them may look in glossy photos but in the real world they're a nightmare.  
Especially, as mentioned, in an area where you will be looking at the clothesline rather than where you're stepping.... 
If you're gonna do it, do it properly with a compacted base and pavers butted up close together.
Alternatively look in to options like astroturf of getting the area concreted.   :Smilie:

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## oliversmith

I would second the advice offered by PlatypusGardens - lay the pavers closer together so that there aren't any gaps. Although filling the gaps with pebbles certainly looks nice, it can pose a bit of a tripping hazard, particularly if they come out of the gaps. As for your initial question, I generally recommend laying pavers on a compacted base over a cement one. This allows for slight shifting in the ground, but is definitely more of a personal preference than a rule.

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