After pumping out as much water as possible, and several days of good, dry weather, the heavy clay soil still wasn't dry. It wasn't boggy but was very saturated.
We made the decision to press ahead and laid down two items: A non-woven geotextile membrane; Type 1 MOT
The membrane is meant to allow water to filter through but as we have that nasty, dense, clay soil, this was a mute point. What it does in this case is to stop the MOT being compressed and lost into the clay when we start compacting it down.
You can see the type 1 MOT in the wheelbarrow here. Type 1, as opposed to Type 2, refers to the size of stones. Type 1 should be around 20-40mm stones and suitable for patios, driveways etc. Type 2 is much finer material - it's over kill for a patio and more expensive.
MOT comes mixed with cement so once compacted and sprayed with a bit of water, it becomes very solid.
We hired a compactor to do this and its pretty cheap for a couple days. They are heavy - very heavy and in a tight space difficult to maneuver.
You need a long level - here you can see a 1.8m level. You can lay the MOT level and create any falls in the slab bedding later. This is much easier.
You can see my laser level on the left. I used this as a check to get close to the required level. I didn't worry about being too accurate because I knew the bedding mortar for the slabs would take up the difference. However upon reflection, it's a good idea to get as close as possible to save on mixing the mortar which would become quite physically intensive.
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