# Forum Home Renovation Paving  Paving over concrete path. First attempt. Opinions?

## attilazoltan

So I have a grubby looking concrete path down the side of my house leading to the front door. You come down a set of stairs, then there is this short path about 8m long that runs along hte edge of the house. The edge of the concrete path nearing the old colourbond fence just drops off, with about 15cm of leaves/dirt before hte fence. 
This wooden gate is where you walk in front the front yard (down some stairs). See gravel creeping onto the concrete path.  
A better view of the ~15cm gap between path and fence. Full of leaves. The fence is also a bit tired as you can see..  
This is the front corner as you reach the front door of the house  
Looking around the corner at hte front door  
A better view showing that the front door is raised up about 50mm      
My thinking is that this area could be freshened up nicely by laying some pavers over the existing concrete path.
I have spent the day reading about paving and how to do it properly. I have not however read about paving over concrete specifically.  *My questions are:* 
1) Would my approach over concrete be to simply lay bedding sand, pavers, and grouting sand? No need for base layer, right? 
2)Would I bother with a whacker packer or is it not required since I already have a solid base. Just lay bedding sand, screed, lay pavers, grout, and wet down? 
3) What would I do along the edge of the fence? I was thinking maybe get a few timber planks, say 15cm wide and a few stakes. Lay the planks flat against the concrete, drive the stakes in at intervals behind it to hold it in place. I would set the planks at the same height as the top of the pavers. Is this an ok approach? I've never used mortar or anything so dont know if there are better ways. Also thinking if I leave a gap between each plank that will help drainage. 
4) What thickness pavers would I want laying over concrete? Standard 40mm paver ok? Or would that be too close to the door? 
5) What would you do for drainage? Theres probably enough room between the concrete and the fence to slot in a plastic gutter. Not sure how necessary that would be. 
6) How would you deal with the pavers along the short edge by the door where the white balustrade is? Theres just the two timber posts going into the concrete I believe.  
Thanks in advance.

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## Random Username

I might be more tempted to tile it, so you don't have to worry about it getting the level too high. 
But I kind of don't mind it as it is...maybe go whole hog with some ferns/bracken/native violets and keep it looking 'natural'.

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## justonething

Why don't you high pressure clean it first. Get some weed mats and cover both sides, a bit of wood chip and then plant a few plants  and see if you like the look of it.  It is much easier to clean and paint your concrete paths than laying pavers.

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## joynz

+1 for cleaning and painting

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## PlatypusGardens

> Why don't you high pressure clean it first. Get some weed mats and cover both sides, a bit of wood chip and then plant a few plants  and see if you like the look of it.  It is much easier to clean and paint your concrete paths than laying pavers.

  
I was gonna suggest spray-on tiles.
Get a couple of quotes.   :Smilie:

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