Pulling out decking and pavers - how hard will it be?

[FoofOfTheWalkingDead]

My small back garden is covered in decking that is now rotting and needs to be removed. Rather than put in a new deck that will just rot away I would like to revamp the garden so that it's full of plants. The kicker is that under the decking are horrible concrete pavers that have been there for at least 20 years.

I was thinking that taking out the deck wouldn't be too difficult and might take me 3 or 4 weekends (I am an out of shape middle-aged lady). How tricky do you think it might be to remove the pavers and how hard to landscape what is left beneath?

Should I get a landscaping company in for this? How much would that even cost, any ideas? My garden is about 5m by 8m.

If you take it out yourself and just pay the landscaper for putting the new stuff in, that’s obviously going to be cheaper than getting them to do both jobs. I’m a fat middle aged lady and I’ve managed to pull out decking, lift a drive and rip out a kitchen, to save money because the workmen only had to put the new stuff in.

If you see it as a summer project and get some friends or relatives to help you at certain points, it's definitely doable.
We did a similar thing and totally underestimated the amount of concrete that had been used under the paving stones. I was convinced we'd find a body at one point!
Absolutely worth it in the long run though.

The decking fine,the pavers you might struggle with they tend to be enormously heavy and could be on a concrete base. I’d get help for the pavers. I’d also be tempted to jet wash and see what they look like cleaned up

It will be great fun, maybe worth investing in someone to dispose of the leftovers but I am constantly amazed at what people will reuse - all my taken up decking is in use down at my allotment site making raised beds. So try freecycle first. My decking was screwed down with screws that need a specific decking screw bit; most of them just unscrewed. I really enjoyed that bit. The slabs might go too, although I see less success with those on freecycle. But worth a try.

Regarding what is under the flags, that might be a bit more challenging if they’ve been put down properly on whacked sand/hardcore; it’s not going to be very hospitable. But have a look at Beth Chatto’s dry garden, which was created on an old car park.

You might be able to just remove some of the pavers with a view to creating a cottage style courtyard garden. First get rid of the decking. If any planks are salvageable it might be worth putting them aside as they possibly could come in handy for edging. Then pressure wash the pavers. See what you've got.
If they were in good condition, nicely laid, I'd then take out the outer ones to give beds around the edge, then take out some random ones on each of the long sides so that you don't end up with the dreaded patio and beds all round the edge look.
It's worth a try before you commit. If you can't visualise it once the pavers are lifted as above, you haven't lost anything.
You could put the lifted ones in FB market place for free as sometimes people just want a few for stepping stones etc.

Thank you for all the replies. I will try to enlist my very diy averse DH to the task as well. We have a community Facebook that I can offer any usable decking on. The pavers will defo need removing because we dug a hole in the middle of the garden to do some sewer investigations and the labourer just patched up the deck.

If the paving slabs are not concreted in, you'll be fine. Lift each one with a spade slipped under to loosen it, then if need be, once it is upright, you can move it by rolling/lowering it onto its edge (the narrow edge that lies at right-angles to the ground). It takes time but it saves you ever really having to take the weight as you never really have to lift it.