Laying a patio with slabs and gravel
Hannah
last year
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Comments (6)
Ricky Watkins
last yearSonia
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Patio Slabs - Right now Confused.Com
Comments (6)Good quality and cheap don't really sit that easily together I am afraid. Forzaitala is right in that you can get cheap sandstone for the price she indicates. Beware though as the cheaper stuff is often softer and absorbs more water. The softness doesn't mean it will wear out, but it does mean that it will also absorb stains more easily as well as water. The water also means that it is easier for algae to grow and penetrate the surface of the stone and for dirt to be ground in. This makes it much harder to clean. People tend to forget that patios do need at least an annual jetwash and if the surface gets dirtier more quickly then you have to increase this frequency. Another thing to remember about the cost of the stone is that this only represents a small part of the patio cost unless you are laying it yourself. A patio costs around £200-220 per square meter laid and so labour makes up a large part of the cost. Similarly as Forzaitala says, uncalibrated stone gets very expensive to lay because the sub-base has to take account of the different thicknesses of each paver - so avoid it unless you are looking for something like reclaimed old Yorkstone. Cheap stone can also be a false economy in other ways too - I recall a client who sourced cheap stone only to find that it wasn't quite flat and so had lots of trip hazard edges and places for water to pool when it had been laid. A word of warning on concrete slabs. The cheaper they are the worse they will be - this is both in appearance and wearing. After a few years small bits of concrete wear away and you can see the gravel that was in the mix standing out - looks horrible. Finally - don't forget outside Porcelain - can be cost effective and very hard wearing and easier to clean. A good supplier for the South East is London Stone, or CED nationally....See MoreLaying concrete over existing concrete?
Comments (4)I think pouring the new concrete over the old one may be a good idea to help you save money, but it is possible if the old one is not damaged or of poor quality. Probably some construction engineers could give you the best answer. I dare not make such decisions alone. We recently poured concrete on the front terrace of the house with the help of specialists from https://albatrossrestoration.ca/, and they informed us about the best solutions that would be convenient in terms of time and money....See MoreHelp with Patio paver colour
Comments (7)Can I mediate? I think you're both right in a sense but perhaps both talking about different things. One issue is how dark it is, or how light the new slabs will be. That is totally separate to the actual colour. I agree that lighter slabs would really lift it, but the colour can be lots of different things, grey being just one of them. I would say a slab that works with the brick is a good idea, it could be a creamy/buff coloured slab or tile, just make sure it's light enough to make a difference....See MoreRecently Laid Patio Slabs Lifting
Comments (10)I'm sorry to say this, but this is what you get when you use somebody who is not a landscaper. You wouldn't get a landscaper to build a house, so why get a builder to landscape your garden? By the looks of the photograph there is no hardcore base under the blobs of mortar. There should be a minimum of 150mm well compacted MOT Type1 as a foundation, unless you are laying on a suitable existing sub base like rock. Also, to new regulations, all paving has to have the rear of the slab primed as well as laid on a full bed of mortar. I would say the whole paved area has to be lifted and done again, it just won't last sorry....See MoreHannah
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