Patio Design Problems

3 years ago

Help.....

So I'm in the middle of carrying out some renovation work to our garden, New fencing has been installed recently, and we about to have our patio laid between it and our kitchen wall, with the living room window being taken out and a set of french doors fitted.

The problem I'm having is trying to work out how to tie the patio into the area around by the back door and the area just down from there, I'm struggling to think of something which will look good, The end of the patio where you can see the blocks stacked on flat is sorted, the plan is to face the blocks with cuts of the slabs which are mitred together.

All levels have been set, as you can see from the string line, I have to lay some more hardcore to bring the level up as you can see from the fencing gravel board, the finish of the patio slabs is set to the bottom of the gravel board.

The slabs I will be using are 1200x300mm Porcelain plank style in grey

The Lawn is a bit out of level, but the plan is to sort that out at a later date.

Could anyone give some thoughts to the attached pics, and advise me,

please.

Cheers

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Comments (12)

User
3 years ago
Could you extend the patio so it's in front of the back door too, and lose the awful concrete?
rookie1986
3 years ago
So the area you’ve planned for the French doors // patio is the area that’s in the shade?
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When we had out new hard wood windows and French widows done, first we had a sales - man in this instance, come out to us and discuss what we wanted. We didn't need to have placed an order beforehand, that's what he came out for - to make a sale and take out order! Sending a salesman to discuss what you want is key to doing business! They can't hedge their bets on the off chance you may not buy anything, if you choose not to go ahead, that's just par for the course in the life of a salesperson and the sales cycle! When he came, we discussed everything we wanted to do (and anything he wasn't sure about on the technical side, he said he'd check and get back to us) took rough measurements and to all intents and purposes it was at that point we then placed the order, but we needn't have done so. After we paid an initial deposit, the measurer came out. He was more technical and provided the final sanity and possibility check for what we wanted and specc'd it all out. On the other hand, when we ordered our Panoramic doors (similar to bi-folds but different) they initial contact was by phone and internet - we gave them rough measurements of the size we'd be looking for and the colours and additions we wanted and they gave us a quote. They did however, have a mobile showroom that could have come to visit, with examples of finishes and options and will come and discuss your requirements. But as it turned out, we went to their show stand at the Homebuilding & renovation show instead to discuss it. We paid a refundable 10% deposit initially. Once we had the opening created, they sent a chap along to do precise measurements and to button down exactly what we wanted to have. We then paid 80% for them to make the doors and then the last 10% when they were fitted. So I just don't understand why they're not willing to come out. That's how most salespeople make their wages! If they can't be bothered to come out, don't use them, find a company who is willing to come out to discuss your requirements and perform a site survey. One thing though, I know some window and door companies, only fit to existing openings and won't do any re-modelling work, so you may have to find a builder if you want opening made bigger or moved and then the doors/windows can be fitted.
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That’s better! I can see most of the garden now. I’m no designer but the two levels of the garden are actually not too differing in height, if you lifted all the paving you are almost at the same level, which is good. Are you going to use a landscaper? They will easily dig out, and level the ground for you. There are so many different types of paving you can use. Indian Sandstone is very popular and you can choose a riven rustic finish for a country look, or sawn Sandstone which is flatter and has a more modern look. Or there is outdoor grade porcelain which gives a modern vibe. They come is different shades of grey or buff. Some people use clay pavers which create a cottage look. A good landscaper will ensure the patio slopes very gently away from the house. I have a drainage grill near my house, but you could just fill that same gap near the house with gravel. Below is the grill on my patio and then some pictures of different paving. I have both porcelain and sandstone in different parts of the garden. MY PORCELAIN PATIO WITH GRILL RIVEN SANDSTONE SAWN SANDSTONE PORCELAIN.
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Hi Jonathan - thanks! Unfortunately for height reasons I can't put a pergola up. Neighbours won't like it as our patio will already be 30cm above the lawn. On the height of the surfaces, I wonder if I ought to just accept a higher worktop height. This will block the view of the garden a bit, but with a BBQ and maybe pizza oven in the kitchen area, the height will unavoidably be higher then the walls anyway. So a higher wall perhaps isn't a problem (and would look tidier when viewed from the garden anyway). Do you have any specific thoughts on the lighting options? Seems like an infinite set if options. I made the model in Sketchup with a plugin called vray. . Borrowed a friend's machine to do it.. I'm not sure I've got a great render from vray, but it was the default settings. Plenty of YouTube tutorials.if.interested, I'm no expert at all. Thanks
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keiblem
3 years ago
A photograph of the entire rear elevation to see the ‘area down from there’ up to the opposite boundary would be helpful. In advance of that it would undoubtedly look better to continue in front of the kitchen door.

It is difficult to see the string line but I am assuming you have allowed for a fall away from the house, the paving will finish 6 inches below the DPC and you don’t intend to block that vent in the wall under the window.
Justin Scriven
Original Author
3 years ago
Thanks for all your responses..

The intention is to do the garden in phases's hence " the ugly concrete" Sarah mentioned...

Keiblem... yes I have allowed for the fall 1/60 fall soo 100mm over 6m , that's where the difficulty in tieing it all in lies...

I was thinking about doing something with the back doorstep by the kitchen to tie it all in, just looking for suggestions.

aerial photo attached.
keiblem
3 years ago
I thought you might have already considered all that. It looks like a garden that goes on forever! Very wise to tackle it in stages.

For now could you perhaps square off the patio by extending it to include the small rectangle of grass in front of the door step and perhaps the concrete around the doorstep from the corner of the house wall to the same distance the other side of the step.
annabellaamy
3 years ago
Its quite acceptable to use 2 different materials when designing a patio. If you want to do it in stages, plan ahead and decide what you want to do before starting.

I've posted some pics with decking & paving to maybe give you some ideas.

Contemporary Patio · More Info

111 Hale Road, Manchester · More Info
keiblem
3 years ago
Absolutely correct annabellaamy have a plan. I also agree that it is acceptable to use more than one material but in a small space it’s best to keep that to 3 max for hard landscaping. Which is why, I am sorry to say, I am not overly keen on your examples.There is too much going on.

If however you want to use lots of materials then a long narrow garden can stand it if you creat different ‘rooms’ but again to avoid it being overly fussy have a cohesive theme running through.
Anthony (Beano)
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
you could cut the concrete path from around the step and along the base of the house, that will allow you to lower the grass strip and the path, you can reface the step with tiles and re render any of the base of you outside dash that might be exposed from removing and replacing the concrete path.

this would allow you to have small step down from you patio on the end and side without the sloping look from the grass as it stands.

hope this makes sense

or you could actually rebuild the step up, make it wider/deeper and reposition the path slightly allowing a bit of evenness on the width, this allows the patio to tie into new door step.

id probably go with the second option thinking about as your step as it is looks very small., this larger step could also be tiled

forgive the lines but just to show you heights you could try and tie in together

it might be a case of a bit of both, heighten, widen and deepen the step and lower the grass slightly to achive this
keiblem
3 years ago
Anthony Beano: That looks great. It’s difficult to see the string line clearly but I think it might finish higher than the DPC. At my last house I used a huge reclaimed flag stone that was about 6 inches thick and finished just above the DPC. I left a slight gap between it and the wall and got away with it.
Anthony (Beano)
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Yes I agree, it’s hard to see the string line and dpc would have to be taken into account but as the patio height has already been reached I assure (hope) op has taken this into account, also the fact the step is the height it is, by just replacing by a wider, deeper (from house to grass) version should not present many problem I’m guessing
Justin Scriven
Original Author
3 years ago
Thanks for you suggestion Anthony.

The string line of the finish level of the side which is next to grassed area. runs just below the current slab level to the left of the door, and then rises as the ground slopes to the height of the blocks which are on edge at the end of the proposed patio.

I do like your suggestion. so the plan is to break up the step and remove the grass and then excavate the area and install a new step at a lower level, so it all ties in as per your drawing

dpc has been taking into account when setting out the levels for the patio where it starts new the living Room window , 150mm below it , basically there was a concrete path which went around there, I have taken the path up and used the same levels but for a patio instead
Anthony (Beano)
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Hi again

glad I could help out, think a completely new step and adjusted garden height will look really well, sometimes you just have to crack that egg for the perfect omelet!

slopes are always hard to work with but the secret is dont make the slope too steep, some people go a bit Ott with the gradient, you just want it to drain, not a water feature.

keep us posted with the progress 😀

Patio Design Problems

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