# Forum Home Renovation Paving  Height of paving up against house wall

## neddy312

I have just finished a timber landing/deck from my back door. This is level with the back door which is 340mm above ground level. I want to create a paved patio adjacent to this along the back wall. 
My quandry is how best to transition from the landing to the patio. I had intended to raise the ground level (160mm) so that you could step straight down onto the patio, however this will result in the pavers sitting level with the bottom of the vents in the wall and I have read that this could cause issues with damp and termites (the floor bearers are visible through the vents).
The alternative is to dig out and maintain the current ground level and build a box step down. This will require more effort as I have to dig and also the garden bed along the fence will then be higher and require some kind of raised edging around the pavers including drainage. 
Does anyone have any suggestions/tips to make the first option feasible? 
Thanks

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## SilentButDeadly

Those vents will be above your dampcourse layer. This should be visible as a plastic or soft metal layer in a line of mortar near ground level or just above slab height. 
For the love of anything structural you hold dear...don't allow soil or paving above this point. 
Without pics, my position is that you can only but dig.

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## neddy312

> Those vents will be above your dampcourse layer. This should be visible as a plastic or soft metal layer in a line of mortar near ground level or just above slab height. 
> For the love of anything structural you hold dear...don't allow soil or paving above this point. 
> Without pics, my position is that you can only but dig.

  Thanks SilentbutDeadly, 
I have looked for the dampcourse layer but can't find it. Perhaps they mortared over it?
The house is on a slight slope, and this wall is the high side. There are 4-5 courses of brick under the current ground level here. The house is on concrete stumps and the subfloor space ranges from 800mm to 1.2m. It is nice and dry down there, but raising the paving would probably allow some water ingress. 
Looks like I'll be reacquainting myself with the spade!

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## Snipper

Why can't you keep the pavers below the vents.  A step lower than he deck.  Or keep a 300 mm gap from the wall if you must be higher and fill with white rocks too below vents

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## Spottiswoode

Can you use a shallower step to prevent digging? Maybe make the step wider to compensate for not being high enough.

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## neddy312

> Why can't you keep the pavers below the vents.  A step lower than he deck.  Or keep a 300 mm gap from the wall if you must be higher and fill with white rocks too below vents

  That has been my plan - having the top of the paver sit 10mm below the bottom of the vents would give me a single step down of approx180mm from deck to patio. 
The ground against the wall is usually dry, as the eaves shelter it and it's the north side so gets the sun to dry out. Pavers will be sloped towards the garden, so there shouldn't be any pooling against wall. 
I'm no expert so been doing a lot of research and when I read about some places requiring 75-150mm clearance from ground to dampcourse makes me unsure if this plan is ok.

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## neddy312

Just found this: http://nudgeeroadlandscapes.com.au/p...avingguide.pdf - it is from 2007...   

> Tip: It is essential that rain water flows off thepaving and away from buildings. To ensurethis paving must not be completely flat, itshould slope about 20mm (2cm) per metre.If the paving is against the side of a building,the pavers need to be a minimum of 25mm(2.5cm) below the damp proof course toprevent rising damp problems in your home.The damp proof course and air vents shouldnever be covered

  Assuming my damp course layer is immediately under the vents, having the paving 25mm below the vents would give a step of around 200mm which is a tad too much but I could then just use a doormat/thin step or similar to raise to a more comfortable height. The 'doormat' could also potentially account for the drainage slope of the paving and protect the deck. 
Thoughts?

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## SilentButDeadly

Might work...

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