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Planning the patio
Choose the
slabs or bricks you will use to build your patio
to harmonise with the bricks of your house, the eye naturally connects the two,
being similar sorts of surface. Dark colours are less reflective and therefore don't
give so much glare, which can be very strong in the full summer sun. A darker coloured
slab will also feel much warmer than a lighter one, and will retain - and radiate
heat well into the evening after the sun has disappeared.
I recall seeing a path once that someone had
laid covered in white gravel, as it was in a sunny position, on a bright sunny day
it was painful to look at.
Too many contrasts and too much variety looks confusing.
Never have more than
three types of paving, including bricks or edging materials, the effect soon
becomes messy if you have more. If you want the patio to have a pattern rather than
be an expanse of uniform slabs, then consider circles or arches made of the same
bricks / slabs rather than different types or colours. Different patterns in one
colour look more sophisticated than different colours of one type of slab or brick.
A contrasting
edge can look very effective, say of block paviours (as used for drive-ways)
around patio slabs with the darker colour on the outside.
Remember that if you are replacing existing slabs, you will also
need to replace those making the path around the house at least to where it disappears
around a corner, or the effect will be lost.
Laying a patio
Whichever way you look at it, this is a heavy
job and having seen lots of patios laid by amateurs where the slabs are uneven /
wobble and / or have grass and weeds coming up between them, I'd strongly advise
you to leave it to the experts unless you are able (that's able - not confident,
there's a difference)
If you do feel able to make a good job of it
yourself, then get a guide book such as those on this page, or leaflets often available
free at your local builders merchant or garden center. (It's always a comfort to
be able to refer to something in print, especially when you think you've taken a
wrong turn).
A professionally laid patio will usually represent
about 3 or 4 full days work, depending on the size, an amateur laid patio can stretch
out over weeks.
Remove the turf and dig down so that the soil surface is about 6 inches below
the intended level of the patio.
Level this area off reasonably accurately.
Lay a hardcore layer (limestone as used for roads or whatever is available locally
from the builders / gravel merchants) about 3-4 inches thick and compact using
a vibrating (wacca) plate, available from tool hire centers.
Lay the first line of slabs against the house (don't actually touch the house
with the slabs, but leave a gap of 2-3" that you can fill in with gravel), use
a builders line to make sure the edge is straight. Make sure the slabs are
below the level of the damp proof course
Bed slabs on a dryish mortar mixture of sharp sand and cement. Check each slab
as you lay it with a (long) spirit level that it is level with it's neighbours.
Don't walk on slabs you have just laid!
Introduce a gentle slope as you move away from the house of about an inch in
6 feet using the builders line and spirit level for reference. If you have a
3 foot spirit level for instance, use a 1/2" spacer under the end away from
the house, when it shows level - you have your 1" in 6 foot slope.
The commonest mistake and cause
of a patio not being level or stable is that the base is not prepared properly.
Don't skimp on the foundation, dig down far enough, have a thick layer of hardcore,
compact it down with a mechanical vibrator and bed the slabs on a good layer of
mortar.
If you try to skimp on the
foundation layer, all will be well for a while, but a year or so later your patio
will resemble the collision of two small tectonic plates.
More on how to lay a patio
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Patio Slabs
Relative
costs - patios
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Cheaper |
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More expensive |
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| Simple patterns |
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Complex patterns |
| Slabs used whole |
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Cut slabs |
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Compressed concrete slabs |
Imitation natural stone in coloured cement |
Very realistic man-made natural stone copies |
Natural stone |
Latest patio
related items at eBay
 Gironde
Circle Feature Kit £289.98
Contains 36
pieces to make a circle 2800mm in diameter., Resembles
time-worn French limestone flags, Creates a Mediterranean
feel to the garden, Allows authentic random pattern
appearance.
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 Gironde Patio Feature Kit
£219.98
35 slabs in a
mix of sizes. Use to make a 2800 x 2300mm or a 4700 x 1400mm
random pattern, or make your own shape and pattern.,
Resembles time-worn French limestone flags, Creates a
Mediterranean feel to the garden, Allows authentic random
pattern appearance.
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 B&Q
Old Town Paving Circle Weathered Limestone £249.98
Contains 36
pieces to make a circle 2800mm in diameter, The random
tooled markings on weathered limestone give a timeworn
elegance to your garden, Accessories shown are not included.
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 Old Town Full Circle Pack Grey/Green
£249.98
Contains 36
pieces to make a circle 2800mm in diameter., Grey/Green,
Surface effect is characteristic of old natural stone flags,
Weathered edges, Colours carefully blended to give subtle
tonal variation
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How to form a concrete slab
Discover methods on how to form a concrete slab. Pouring a concrete slab for
a new building project is easy if you have the right masonry tools for the job.
Cement mixers and basic masonry tools to pour a concrete slab are essential
to a mason's toolbox for forming concrete slabs.
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