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I've been speaking with contractors about laying a patio over what is essentially mud at the moment. The advice has been to put down Type 1 MOT hardcore and machine-compact it to form a good sub-base.

I suggested to one contractor that I have a load of rubble that I could use for this. Without inspecting the material, he gave me a flat "no". He wants to be sure it's done properly. I understand he wants to trust his materials, but filling a skip with rubble and then buying in bags of hardcore seems mad.

The waste material I have was pulled out of the ground in other parts of the garden and varies in size down to about 1cm. It includes smashed up concrete, pieces of old paving slab, stone chippings, pebbles and gravel.

What do you think? Should I use this material, or buy in Type 1 MOT?

Tim
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    You missed the step where you hire someone to show up with a portable crusher and screen and convert your random rubble into actual hardcore. – Ecnerwal Apr 11 '22 at 11:39
  • If I was your contractor and you expected me to stand behind the work, it would have to be done per my specifications not yours. By using a non-standard material that has unknown characteristics, you are putting the contractor in an unacceptable position. Either do it his way or make it a DIY project. – jwh20 Apr 11 '22 at 14:56

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As a base for a slab the rubble is not good, it does not compact equally or well.

It would be good as a filler if you making something that called for a raised foot or two of cement(steps, box) on a good base or if you had to fill in a hole before putting a base over.

crip659
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