Paving yards and courtyards: small spaces, heavy demands

Many Victorian and Edwardian terraces have an enclosed back yard reached only through the house or a narrow back alley. Every bag of sub-base and every broken slab has to be carried through, which drives labour time more than the area does. Tell the contractor how the yard is reached, how wide the narrowest point is and whether the alley can take a vehicle or a skip.

Old yards often hide things worth finding before paving: a disused outside toilet connection, a gully that drains into a shared pipe, a coal hole or cellar grate, or the neighbour's drain crossing under your side. A contractor who lifts the old surface should stop and tell you when it finds one rather than pave over it.

Enclosed yards have little or no soil to soak water away, so the surface needs falls to a gully or a drainage channel, away from the house walls and the damp-proof course. In a yard surrounded by walls, a permeable surface without anywhere for the water to soak into simply moves the puddle underground.

Connecting new surface water drainage to the public sewer, rather than to an existing gully, needs the water company's consent. If the contractor proposes a new connection, ask who applies for it.

• the direction and fall of the finished surface
• position of gullies, channels and any new drain runs
• level of the surface relative to the damp-proof course and door thresholds
• treatment of existing gullies, manholes and grates
• how spoil and old paving will be removed through the access

A courtyard serving several flats or houses usually belongs to a freeholder, a management company or all the owners together. Before any work, find out who owns it, who has rights of way over it and how costs are shared under the leases or deeds. One owner cannot normally commission paving of a shared area alone, and contractors quoting for shared land will want to know who is paying and who signs off the work.

A yard where vans, lorries or forklifts turn needs a build-up designed for that traffic: deeper sub-base, heavier-duty blocks or concrete, and edges that will not creep. The contractor should ask about the heaviest vehicle, how often it turns on the surface and whether there are point loads such as skip stands or racking feet.

Where vehicles park or refuel, or where oil or chemicals are handled, the drainage may need an interceptor so contaminated water does not reach a surface water drain. Your contractor or a drainage engineer can advise on what the site needs; the Environment Agency publishes pollution prevention guidance for businesses.

Enclosed yards often get little sun and stay damp, so algae and moss grow quickly and some surfaces become slippery. Textured porcelain, sawn stone with a suitable finish and concrete block all behave differently; ask to see a sample wet. Light colours help a dark yard feel bigger but show stains more.

Where the yard is also the route to the bins, think about the path for the wheelie bin, the width of the gate and whether a step can become a ramp.

Describe the yard, its access and what it is used for, and add photos to your description if you can. We pass the request, without your contact details, to paving contractors in your area, and only one can buy it. We email you the contractor's name, address and phone number before it sees yours. The service is free, and you are not obliged to accept a quote.