Can paving slabs be laid directly on grass?

Paving slabs can be laid directly on grass if they are used individually as stepping stones. A continuous garden path, however, needs a sub-base.

For stepping stones, cut away the turf to make an opening the same size as each slab. Level and compact the soil beneath before laying the slab in place. Each slab then provides a firm, comfortable surface underfoot and can be lifted whenever needed. Without a sub-base, however, the soil beneath rubber paving slabs will move over time. The slabs will settle in places, leaving the path uneven.

For a garden path made from rubber slabs, strip off the topsoil and prepare level ground firm enough to support the path. Lay a plastic honeycomb grid – sold as a gravel grid, a grass grid or a honeycomb gravel stabiliser – on the prepared ground. Fill its cells to the top with angular gravel, then lay the paving slabs on top. Built this way, the path stays level and free-draining.