Between our house and a detached garden room on a deck, we have a gravel path. Previously intended only for walking and cycling, but has now been widened to about 2.5 meters. I want to be able to drive by with a car or mini excavator to get to the back of the house. Note: This won't happen frequently, only in exceptional cases, but I want the possibility to exist.
I now intend to lay a walkway between the stairs from the house and the deck by the garden room, so you don't have to cross the gravel path barefoot. I often go between the house and the garden room and want to avoid wearing shoes and having sore feet and not drag in gravel etc.
The walkway will be built of something like 34 x 145 mm decking board as it's the same as I have in the stairs. It will lie level with the ground on the gravel path with a minimal elevation to minimize gravel coming up on the deck.
Width 125 cm, length 250 cm.
As you can see in the pictures, there was previously a rock outcropping that I have now removed with expandable mortar, hence the large hole in one of the pictures.
My idea is to lower three standing beams into the hole and fill with stone and gravel underneath and around, so it becomes stable. On these beams, I will then lay the deck boards across as an extension of the stairs. A bit like a bridge simply, even though it's lying on/in the ground.
What do you think about the idea itself, does it work or will it settle and flex if you drive over it with a car in a few years? What dimension do you recommend for the beams? Do you think I need joists under the beams, hard to accomplish... Tips are gratefully received.
