novice alert! How do you improve the drainage under paving stones?

[ZeMNetterWithZeBigBoobies]

We are going to re-lay the stones, I suspect we have clay type soil. Should we cover the area with sand before we relay them?

Is there a problem with drainage at the moment? I'm no expert (at all!) but my gut feel is that very little water will seep through the paving, so if water is pooling it's more likely to be either insufficient/incorrect fall on the surface or nowhere for the water to run off to.

we have very heavy clay, and the slabs are at the bottom of a slope. H solved the problem by laying a land drain (essentially a big corrugated flexible perforated drainpipe) under the slabs. This does involve digging a channel at least a foot deep to lay the pipe in, and it helps if there is somewhere for the water to run to. We then covered the pipe/ channel in pea gravel before laying the slabs again.

Sand will just sink into the clay. Sorry.

Thank you Tissy and Tangle! (your names sound like a childrens TV duo )

I will have to get some gardening books from the library and do a bit of research.